Algete, Madrid Province

Apart from 3 sunny days , the weather has been atrocious these past 6 weeks since I returned from Cornwall! The oleander seems to thrive in it though!

They were out in force this dusk just gone and they are hard to capture at the best of times but this is their time when they feast on the plenty of mosquitos we unfortuntely get here, especially at the start of a heat wave (coming now). I sometimes try to capture them in honour of the sterling job they do (I react badly to mosquito bites!). I can only find two and I thought I had got a dozen or so in shot!

OK, it's 40 km away but you can see Adolfo Suarez Barajas Airport (yes we're on the flight path and the noise can be mindblowing from about 5 every morning!) and the Cuatro Torres (Four Towers) - although they are now Four-and-a-half Towers as strangely a half size additional tower was recently added and it looks a bit stupid, imho! Obviously you need to go on large here! Another Algete Street scene - from the street so it counts! No. 20.

The house is indicated here (top right). It sits on the top of a ridge and commands extensive views over the countryside of the Jarama Valley and the distant Sierra de Guadarrama. It also affords views of some spectacular weather!

Algete is fairly hilly so there are plenty of alternative steps where I can take my exercise. This one boasts only 45 fairly gentle steps but when I add it to some of the other more serious flights, it all counts! Streets of Algete no. 21.

Our 'posh' neighbours like to think they are living in, or more likely, ruling over some Near-or-Middle-East potentate! Streets of Algete No. 22. 2nd of three tonight. Maggie suggests 'excellent on large' and, as usual, Maggie is right!

A shot taken from the opposite direction to the shot recently posted of the house from the road down there. Shot taken from the middle terrace, overlooking the lower terrace, part of the back garden and part of the vegetable and fruit garden.

So essential repairs done. I took this of my reflection not because I wanted to show off my gorgeous body (ha!) but simply as an experiment (not all that successful) taken to the window. But, anyway here it is and i'm pleased to be back!

There are over 200 to choose a favourite from but, even so! I like the sturdy, if still small, interestingly shaped branches out of the ancient tree! Should be spectacular in a couple of hundred years!

These splendidly gnarled old olive trees seem to be be well liked by ipernians, Algetians and me! Parque de Los Olivos, of course, as if it needed any other name!

Not the most spectacular sunset but the light just highlighted the Sierra de La Cabrera rather nicely here, I thought. Probably better on large. I add a note about the old road. We're lucky that the view is unspolt. The main roads to neighbouring villages go well to the left and right of our view! Please see Pam J's response below. Much there of great interest! Sight and Sound: Another Sixto Rodriguez classic; www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgQ-QrCFMjs

I wasn't looking for perfection here, I just liked the colour contrast and the general HFF theme. Algete street scene 23.

Anvil shaped storm cloud (I would guess somewhere over the Lozoya Valley), sunset and, yes, it came our way. Another very stormy sleepless night! Enough is enough! (Sorry about the bit of camera shake clearly visible in those town lights!)

Algete street scene 24. Broadly similar to a post last year but with one big difference. The trees last year threw many shadows across the road. Now they've all been chopped down. Not sure why, but on looking at one or two of the stumps, perhaps some form of longhorn beetle larva (I've seen similar in other places). Anyway ANOTHER storm on the way and I got home just in time! BTW, someone (who shall remain nameless - she meant no harm), deleted the cable from this.shot. I prefer it in and kept it in for the purpose of compositional balance. Please don't amend my photos without my permission for whatever reason. Thank you!

Another day, another storm! And another day I had planned to get back to those mountains you see there! Ha ha!!

Thes was just opening up to reveal its beauty but that night there was a terrible heat wave and by the morning it had perished :o(

When you get bored, tell me and I'll move on!

More trumpet vine! Algete Street Scene 24. The first photo from my new mobile phone. I'm going to need a lot of study and practice, so please bear with me!