WALKS WITH MY GRANDSON.

It always feels good to return to blogging, and I have many photos to share with you. Every morning Pedro and I took a walk together, after Pedro had taken his walk which also included running uphill. He is so fit, but also so patient, and he adapted to my gait when we were together, and held my arm when we walked down steps. Normally he spends a lot of time on the computer in his job, which is a book designer. He is a graphic artist specialising in page composition, and he and his father also design book covers. Whilst he was here, he also worked each morning before his walk. Here are a few photos I took on our outings.

Early morning skies

One of the many paths we took.

On our first walk we saw a Jersey-tiger moth, a diurnal moth as well as nocturnal moth. It came flying towards us and luckily came to rest on the stone balustrade. It's a striking looking moth in repose but even more beautiful in flight. 

Three poses of an attractive grasshopper  

We walked down a number of pathways keeping in the shade.

 

This was another flying insect which came flying towards us. It was huge, and quite scary, but beautiful at the same time. I managed to take one photo before it flew away. Anyone know what it is? 

It was larger than any wasp or hornet, so I'm still searching for the ID. 

My thanks to Cloudia from Comfort Spiral for the ID of this insect. It is a Milesia (fly) the European species Milesia craniformis. It is the genus of a very large Hoverfly and although larger, is a convincing mimic of the Hornet species.

One day we saw smoke billowing behind the mountain range, and it was quite near to  where we live, but the firemen were quick to respond, and they soon extinguished the fire.There have been so many fires this year.

Some unusual sky shots.

In mid July in the chestnut grove I saw what looked like fledgling blackbirds,

but Blackbirds usually make their nests close to the ground, so they must have been other large birds.

Near the pond we saw this red Dragonfly.

This fungi made me smile, as it seemed to be walking with one large foot. :=)

A footnote: that is not about this post, but it is about nature, and saving our planet.

Just yesterday, I was horrified to learn that in the UK, some people are replacing their grass lawns,   hedges, and even trees with plastic imitations! Many front gardens have been concreted over for  parking cars, causing more habitat loss, and I'm sure this does not happen just in the UK of course.  What is happening to the human race if they can't be bothered to water their lawns or sweep up a few leaves? These "plastic people" manufacturers included are not taking care of nature, they are desecrating all that is beautiful about our planet. I fear for the future generations to come.