Favourite trees

Sierra de La La Cabrera. A landscape shot this time. The lavender keeps it company in May!

Plane tree, Alcobendas, Madrid

Encinas (holm oaks) and granite.

This brings back happy childhood memories of majestic elms in England. Sadly this is the only surviving mature elm in the whole of Madrid province and it is expected to succumb to Dutch Elm Disease soon. But at the moment it lives and provides much joy.

Plaza Mayor, Guadarrama.

As mentioned before, this was overloaded a week before this shot and we have just eaten the last two of the loads of apricots that I took back to my flat in Madrid with me. Still firm but juicy, and incredibly sweet (close in sweetness and taste to a very ripe nectarine)! Not the best for my diabetes, but impossible to resist!

Granite country. Mount Abantos in the background. San Lorenzo de El Escorial just out of sight to the right.

SIerra de La Cabrera. It stands out becuase of it's position atop this granite pile but also because it stands alone - there aren't many oaks near it.

One autumn (not this one) in the Sierra de La Cabrera. These sweet chestnuts are resting on the monastery wall. Ginger Baker R.I.P. Sight and Sound. I had a friend who got involved with a wife (possibly ex-wife) of Ginger's. His life was made rather "awkward" to say the least, as Ginger knew quite a number of - let us say - 'shady' characters. It took about 10 years for my friend to breathe easily and stop glancing round street corners before proceding! www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O5IgyDcohQ

It chucked it down very soon after!

On a wall near my girlfriend's piece of land. See next or previous shot, or a couple of shots away.

I do remember the names of the two girls (Claudette and Pauline) and the dog is of course still La Truffe, but the kid... no. A wonderful time here doing the grape harvest. These buildings and trees are all gone and now under vine, according to the map. From a scanned slide.

A weekend property hunting and we stayed at a very pleasant rural hotel near here in 2018. Holm oak = 'encina' in Spanish, ubiquitous here, and much loved.

By the Río Manzanares, Madrid

I know I've posted this on Pano and certainly here before too but I like it and so here it is again! Pico de La Miel, Holm oaks, Sierra de La Cabrera.

I couldn't resist the colours! A bit striking on full screen, but go on; be a devil! www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tN7hgkNF14 Sight and sound

Juniper, toughing it out all alone. A winter shot in La Sierra de La Cabrera, overlooking the Lozoya Valley. A VERY cold day. Works well on full screen.

Pine tree near the old centre of Madrid.