A WALK ON THE FARM

The weather continues warm and  very pleasant for walking on the farm. It was 3 pm, when I started off walking down the slope on our driveway, and I spent a couple of hours looking at all the changes that had taken place since my last amble, marvelling in the richness of colour that nature had bestowed on the leaves still on the trees and on the ground.I haven't counted the photos that I took, but there are many. 

 

This picture is typical of the landscape. Rocky outcrops are visible everywhere, and add interest to the sloping land. Some have been made into steps, and I used to walk around here, and then sit to rest on a stone bench  made with three large stones, like a mini Stonehenge structure.

I walked down the leaf covered driveway, enjoying the sound of the leaves rustling under my feet, stopping occasionally to take the colourful autumn views with my camera.

Lower down I went, towards the pond, by a different route.

To my right was this beautiful coloured tree, so I had to take  a photo.

On the ground was a small Oak tree, with vivid coloured leaves.

Then I saw these small toadstools inside a sawed off tree trunk.

The squirrels had probably been nibbling at them.

What you see here, is the right side of the pond. You can just see the steps on the bottom left side of this photo, which take you to the pond.

This is the left hand side of the pond. As you can imagine many leaves find their way into the water.

To my surprise I saw these unusual green ball like things floating on the surface. I have never seen this before.

I took another shot, then made my way to the Chestnut Grove

This is the trunk of a Chestnut tree. These trees are over a hundred years old, and still bear  the most delicious chestnuts.

At the end of the line of trees is my studio, where I used to do my art work, and it's still in use, albeit not by me for the same purpose. I do take tea there with Paula sometimes in the afternoons. She loves restoring furniture, and is doing a wonderful job on an antique chest of drawers.

A closer look at my studio. It looks as though the electric lights are on, but it's the sun on the other side, shining through the windows.

Look what I found on another Chestnut tree. By the way, Furniture made from the wood of the Chestnut tree is the most expensive furniture to buy in Portugal.

  

Another image by my studio. On the left you can just see a stone table, and benches,made for picnicking in the shade of the trees.

I then walked by the grape vines. The leaves are now a deeper shade of red, and have  Morning Glory vines intertwined with them.

 

Now, on the sunny side of my studio,  I was delighted to see that the old Fig tree had lost all it's large leaves, which makes it easier to see birds, and thanks to Phil Slade I know now that this bird is a first autumn female Serin.

 

The streaked feathers, and upturned beak had me baffled.

The feather pattern on it's back is also interesting.

I am used to seeing the brightly coloured Serins in summer but not

a first autumn youngster  which is quite pale by comparison.

The orange tree on the left only produces bitter oranges for making marmalade.

These two Wood Pigeons have a nest on top of the Conifer. I know because I have been observing them for some time now with my binoculars, and took some photos  as I was walking down.

"Where did he go"?

 He went for a drink of-course! :=)

By 5.15pm it was already getting dark, and I took these two photos  before Paula and I left.

I enjoyed the walk, but felt tired, good tired, and slept well that night.