On the day Eva and I went to see the deer, we saw the horse and lamb in a field and of course I had to go down to the river to see if there were any ducks swimming in the water. No ducks, so I took a photo of the bridge. This bridge like many in Northern Portugal was built by the Romans who occupied Portugal for more than 700yrs from the 3rd Century AD to the 4th century AD, building cities, establishing governments, farming the land, and connecting settlements with a network of roads and bridges. Roman bridges aren't just beautiful structures, they are a testament to the Romans incredible engineering skills, which have stood the test of time, and are still in use today. I have crossed four Roman bridges on foot. rather than by car, and it was a wonderful feeling to tread on the the same stones that were once used by Romans so many years ago.
I managed to find a photograph of an Egyptian Goose in the archives---
We passed this wooden barrel door looking a little neglected, but I thought it was interesting
On arriving home I photographed some Domestic Geese just outside our gate. and as I hadn't been to the pond in a long time we stopped so that I could take some photos.
The Marsh Frog was still in residence, and to my surprise didn't seem to mind me being there.
It seemed more curious than afraid.
I was pleased with the outcome and with the obliging frogs-
A squirrel in a favourite resting place.
The Tachinid Fly
A Carpenter Bee well inside an Azália flower.
I tried another shot, but it hurriedly buried itself deep inside the flower.
Four Jay captures,taken one after another.
Here you see a new leaf on the tree which had many tall branches cut down-
I will be linking up to "Saturday's Critters"Click on the icon on the right sidebar to get there, where you will see many different creatures from around the globe.
35 comments:
Beautiful captures. I especially love the lamb and the Egyptian Goose. Your jays are a lot different from ours. Beauties all. Nature brings such joy this time of year.
Good morning, Sonjia: When I hear of you and Eva going off on your forays together it makes me wish that my daughter lived closer so that we could enjoy such regular interludes too, but she lives far away in Ottawa so it doesn’t happen often enough. She is coming to visit in two weeks, however, so we can do some of it then. That old bridge is simply magnificent. Europe is blessed with these vestiges of former times, whereas in North America, something a hundred years old is viewed as a relic of antiquity! I wish that you and I could stand there together, gazing into the stream below, pondering the comings and goings that have occurred. How much fun would that be. The frog is gorgeous. I bet he was waiting for you to kiss him so that he could be transformed into your prince. As for the Jay, I am quite sure this is your own personal bird, ready to entertain you at all times. What a handsome fellow. What a joy to see him so regularly. Have a great day, have a great EVERY day. Say hello to Eva for me and tell her that she is a very good daughter. Hugs and kisses - David
I wonder if that bridge was built by hand; one stone at a time. It is quite the piece of work!
Schöne Bilder der Frosch wollte fotografiert werden.
Gruß
Noke
I have never thought of photographing frogs...they look so interesting. Blue jay photos are great!
Dear Sonjia :)
The horse and the lamb both look so nice. Newborn lambs are always so cute. That is a very nice bridge you have photographed. Such structures are rare to see today. Very cute frog. I really like frogs, and there are some here too.
You have taken so many great photos. Beautiful azalea, and the geese are also so beautiful.
Many hugs are sent to those from your friend in the North.
Gran variedad de animales en tu reportaje. Me gusta la imagen de ese buen puente.
Feliz entrada de un nuevo mes.
I particularly love the images of frog in the water. So lush and realistic looking close up
You've had adventures. I quite like your journey.
Beautiful photos and the ducks are looking sweet.
Hi Sonjia, Nice walk with your daughter and special moment for you both. Nice that you have the same nature interest. That bridge is extraordinary, and beautiful photos of the frog(prince?) and the flowers as well. All the best, Lasse
What a fabulous walk! Horses, lambs, waterfowl! And the territory is so beautiful. I especially loved the arches on that bridge. That tiny little jay looked like he was posing for you. He's so charming! Isn't it lovely to see new leaves emerge on trees that have been damaged? A lovely post, Sonija. And thank you for your visits to mine and your comments, too!
Fantastisch :-))
Lindas fotos. Obrigado.
Claro que gosto do cordeirinho e da ponte, e o velho barril é tocante... os gansos são engraçados.
Eu também gosto de sapos e esquilos... Ainda bem que vi uma abelha carpinteira aqui. E esta manhã finalmente ouvi o cuco.
Atenciosamente,
Vamos aproveitar nossas caminhadas.
Viola
Beautiful photos. The bridge must be very old, it's still looking good. The first photo of the frog looked like it was doing pullups for exercise. :) Great captures, all of them. Have a grand new month of May.
A big WOW from me.
These photographs were a joy to see and I'm sure the Marsh Frog is smiling in your pictures.
Wishing you a happy new month of May.
All the best Jan
I absolutely enjoyed this mix of animals and nature!
Your photo are incredible, Sonjia!
That old barrel door has so much character and I especially loved the frogs.
Always admire your eye for the little details!
Gorgeous captures.
Hello Sonjia,
What a lovely outing. I love the horse and the sweet lamb. The bridge looks great, it is amazing it is so old. Cute captures of the frog and the squirrel. The flowers are lovely. The Jay photos are awesome too. Great post and wonderful photos. Thank you for linking up and sharing your critter post. Take care, have a great weekend.
Thanks for sharing your beautiful photos and the stories behind your walks. It feels like I was right there with you!
aww .... an Egyptian Goose .... I never seen in the nature....
Thank you for sharing beautiful photos
...the lamb is sweet and quite different than those here. The stone arch bridge is similar to a railroad bridge in this area. Hopefully we will see more frogs this year, their number are down. Sonjia, thank for showing me around, here's to a Merry Month of May.
Some wonderful pictures there Sonjia. I do love this time of year when there seems to be so much more wildlife around. That Roman bridge is in remarkable condition. It seems unbelievable that they last so well, through all the floods and bad weather it must have seen. I bet modern day bridges will last nowhere near as long!
It is amazing that those Roman bridges have lasted so long. I love your shots of your frog friend and of course the visiting Jay. Have a good week, Sonjia.
Viewing all your beautiful photos of the critter that surround your area always creates a pleasantly quiet moment in my day. Your frog photos are stunning. When I was a pond person, the highlite of any day was checking in on the frogs to see how they were doing. I miss them.
Loved all your beautiful creatures Sonjia, and I found the old bridge very interesting, Also the barrel door. Marvelous photos! I am back from my blog break and it is a happy day for me to be visiting you again. Happy month of May to you my friend :)
Frogs are fantastic. Superb photos.
wow! What a wonderful variety of excellent photos of critters ~ especially like the lamb and frog ~ all wonderful though ~ thanks,
Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,
A ShutterBug Explores ~ clm
aka (A Creative Harbor)
Dear Sonjia,
I'm completely in love with the lamb! So cute, and I love sheep so much anyway! Your other photos are great too – a horse dressed as a zebra 😉, a Roman bridge (and I, too, find it fascinating how robustly the Romans built things back then. There will probably be hardly anything left of OUR culture – or lack of culture – after such a long time... except maybe plastic...). The wooden barrel door looks original – I've never seen a door like that before. I'm very happy about all your bird photos, and also about the squirrel and the busy insects.
We were also able to photograph frogs recently on a spontaneous walk through the Lobau with Brigitte and Peter, but unfortunately not as close as you, since we all only had our cell phone cameras with us. You took some wonderful shots!
Hopefully, you didn't have too many problems with the power outage in Portugal and Spain!
All the best and hugs, Traude
https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2025/05/gunthers-kakaozeremonie-und-ein-paar.html
WoW!! beautiful captures of these lovely creatures!! you are so lucky to have a daughter to enjoy this with!! i LOVED the frog!!
Hello Sonjia, just popping in to thank you for stopping by my blog. It also allowed me to look at each photo again, absolutely lovely they are! Happy week to you my friend :)
You got some lovely photos.
Se ve todo precioso y ese puente me gusta mucho, me encanta toda la cultura romana, por aquí también tenemos muchas obras romanas. Un abrazo.
Oh, there are so many lovely scenes.
Especially the red squirrel!
I love the squirrels too. Sometimes we can see here in our garden a black one.
Oh, very nice pics, dear Sonjia. I especially like the squirrels - one of my favourite animals. Thanks for visiting my blog...and sorry for the late answer. I obviously overlooked it.
All the best
Violetta
Dear Sonjia,
I must have missed this post.
The photos are beautiful, the frogs, the squirrel and of course the jay are great.
I wish you a nice Thursday.
Greetings Irma
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