VARID NATURE SHOTS

It has suddenly gone cold nessessitating extra bedding and clothing. It warms up to 14 degrees in the afternoons but is only 4 early morning. It takes a bit of getting used to after the horific heat of summer but it's very welcome. I much prefer a cooler atmosphere but it still hasn't rained. It did rain 16 weeks ago, but not enough to penetrate the dry soil.Even so nature has a way of renewing what was thought to be dead.Last year some chestnut trees were heavily pruned, in fact the tops were sawn off leaving only the dry dead wood.

This old dry tree sprouted a new heathy branch and subsequently leaves which seem to be flourishing. Eva took these photos for me with her phone on her way home.

It's not so easy to see because of other trees nearby but the heathy and vigarous branch growing from the top part of the sawn off tree trunk was a great surprise. These trees are at least 200 years old, but some live to be 500 years old or even longer.

Back at the balcony Coal Tits come in dozens to the feeders.

Here the Coal Tit is sharing the feeder with a Crested Tit. Unfortunately when I looked at their photos they were facing the other way, but the Crested Tit's crest is so errect and the head markings so beautiful that I decided to share it anyway. 

 

The Great Tit

Early morning shot of a youg Crested Tit.

The European Jay

I know it should all be in focus but the blue of the wings is so captivating that I just had to share it.

The Brimstone Butterfly

I will be linking uo to "Saturday's Critters". If you would like to check it out just click on the icon on my side bar and it will take you there where you will see wonderful nature shots of all creatures both great and small.

NATURE

Nature has a way of captivating the senses, and one such enchantment  lies in the word "Petrichor"  This term describes the delightful fragrance that fills the air after rain falls on the earth after a long dry spell, creating a mesmerizing alfactory experience. I love it, others may not, like my daughter who dislikes it intensely, she says it reminds her of decay. I only discovered the word Petrichor this week, but have enjoyed it's refreshing fragrance  for as long as I can remember.  If only it would rain here this week, but it seems we are in the wake of a new heatwave. 

I made some closeups of the new Hoya Carnosa flowers to share the fascinating heathy nectar production. 

These waxy flowers drip a sweet sticky floral nector naturally produced to attract pollinators

The rich nector production  is a sign of a healthy thriving Hoya  Carnosa plant.

A new Hoya flower which is not ready to open yet, but is still attractive at this stage of developement.

The coal tit has enjoyed bathing during the very hot weather and continues to visit every day.

These delightful little passerines are so entertaining to watch and they are not shy.

They don't seem to mind my presence on the balcony when they visit me.

"The Selfish Gene"

A book written by Richard Dawkins in 1975 and I am enjoying the podcast sent to me by Eva as she knew I would be captivated by his voice explaining what the selfish gene means and I am finding his theory about gene competition and their ability to replicate themselves extremely interesting. It's much more than this of course and I can recomend the podcast, although I have only got to series four so far. I have been laid up with my back problem so listening to podcasts and taking photos of what I see on my balcony is all I could manage to do.

That's all! Have a good weekend.

I will be linking up to "Saterdays Critters" a most entertaining blog about all creatures great and small.

UPDATE AND SEPTEMBER and OCTOBER IMAGES.

Dear friends and faithful followers, :) I have been away from blogging for a long time, but I am fairly well. I just didn't have the energy to return, and then I hurt my back doing some gardening which is still quite painful and sitting at the computer does not help. I shall be posting less frequently, but I will visit whenever I can. It's still so hot here with no sign of autumn's glorious colours or falling leaves, It's september 2nd and the plum tree in the orchard is heavy with  fruit  and when it ripens it will be made into preserves to make pies or stored away until the winter chill.  Blackberries have been picked from the fields to make jam to eat with crusty bread at breakfast with black tea in my favourite pink mug.

Roasted Chestnuts with vegetables are eaten well before the traditional turkey dinner and pair well with fruit as well.The Jays take full advantage of the fallen nuts, and we see them take flight whenever we pass in the car. I can't see Jays at close range as they hide in the leafy haven of the trees, like the other birds. I  have taken a few photos of the tit family however, and a few other nature shots    

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That's all for now, I wish it could have been more, until next time, I send you warm hugs, and wishes for your good health and happyness.

FLOWERS AND DOGS.

 Hello everyone, today is milder weather and I'm sitting at the computer wondering what on earth I can share with my loyal followers.Due to the extreme heat I haven't been taking many photos, but this morning I had a look around the garden and these are some of the photos I took and last week it rained for three consecutive days so I took some photos afterwards. I also noticed to my surprise that my Hoya Carnosa is flowering for the second time.

There are not many flowers in bloom at this time of the month, but as I want to link up to Saturday's Critters, I am sharing a painting done in pastels by a very good friend and mentor, who passed away at the grand age of 94 who will always have a special place in my heart.

It measures 87 cmX52cm.

Same painting but just a little nearer, as there were too many reflections in a frontal image. I had to take the photo from the side. It hangs on one of my bedroom walls were I can see it every day and be reminded of my lovely and loving dogs, and the kindest man I ever knew.  

I will be linking up to Saturday's Critters later this week.

It 's 7 am and  I have just opened the blinds and balcony doors to get some cool air in my 33 degrees bedroom, Mornings are the only part of the day when it's cooler. It was 40 degrees outside yesterday, and the stiffling heat was made infinately worse by the air pollution caused by falling ash from a fire in Burgaes..After I fed the birds, my blinds and doors were closed all day, and it has been like this for several weeks. The only ray of sunshine I see is when my daughter Eva arrives, she is like a breath of fresh air, and she brightens my day. Did you see the solar eclipse seven days ago ? We did, and it was just outside my bedroom window. We each had a pair of glasses, with which to watch this rare celestrial event and it was exciting to see this total solar eclipse, which will only happen again in mainland Portugal in 2144, so it really was a once in a lifetime experience. I have put together a few photos mostly of white flowers to share without captions I hope you won't mind. Regretfully I won't be posting or visiting as much as usual until we get cooler weather conditions.