50 + favourites

HFF, Everyone! Madrid. Parque de El Capricho. Palacio de Los Duques de Osuna.

A sunny day before the Calima struck again (another dust / sand cloud from the Sahara), rendering photo opps a zero these past few days and expected to last a few more days. I gather France has got it too.

Granite playground. On Z please for the rocky detail.

HFF, Everyone! The next day the snow had all gone. The view from my sister's home (now mine too for the time being!), looking over the hen coop and the roofs of Valderrey, our community. Early evening shot. Best on Z.

On my evening walk. The right time of year for this tree at its best. On large, please!

Typical granite, La Sierra de La Cabrera. I'm not sure if it's a Henry Moore or a Barbare Hepworth.

Cornwall. Rocky shoreline.

A street in Algete just before the big freeze this winter.

Photo taken in August 2014. I previously walked this stretch of coast path in the summer of 2010 and the path did indeed go straight across from this point! A massive land slip had occurred in those few years. Porthtowan and St Agnes Beacon can be seen. First posted on ipernity in 2018. Better on large.

Sierra de La Cabrera, Madrid province. * I used to call this 'Spanish' lavender but at the insistence of Isabel I am now (correctly I'm sure!) calling it 'Iberian' lavender, as it is also found in Portugal! This variety is known as Cantueso and used to be thought of as the same as Provencal wild lavender but DNA profiling shows it is not the same. The top two 'petals' are in fact modified leaves. Shot taken in 2013 and first shown on ipernity in 2017.

Spring revisited no 7. H. A. N. W. E. everyone!

These are profuse here between April and June, as are others including a Snake's Tongue variety. Well, early June is still spring in the Sierra. Anacamptis picta, is the name of this variety. I have Ronald Losure to thank for this information. He has included more information and photos in a useful link alongside his comment below. Shot taken 2013 and first posted on ipernity 2016.

Algete, Madrid province, poppy field. May 2015. Upload feature now up and running again so this may be the last of my 'spring revisited' series for the time-being. (Or maybe not! Time will tell!).

aNNa Schramm solved the puzzle as to what tree these catkins come from. They are the male catkins of the Populus Tremula (Lt), European Aspen (Eng), Zitterpappel (Gm), Peuplier tremble (Fr) or Alamo (Sp). Thank you aNNa! Taken March 2013, first posted on ipernity 2016. Valdemorillo, Madrid Province.

Please enlarge to see the granite detail. It's not perfect but this is definitely a favourite of mine. Photo from 2011.

View from Carn Marth to Carrick Roads (Falmouth Docks just about visible), Cornwall. Yes, there is a fence in there! Photo from 2011, first posted on ipernity 2016. Montbretia and heather in the foreground.

A scorching day - the one where I forgot my sun cream and had ears like pork scratchings (the Spanish would better understand 'toreznos') at the end of it! It also persuaded me that a hat was essential! Taken in 2012 and first posted in ipernity in 2018. Perhaps better on full screen.

From the ridge looking down onto the town of La Cabrera. Granite scenery. I waited ages to get some vultures in view but not that day, alas! I had to move on as eventually I had to catch my bus back to Madrid! Taken august 2015, first posted on ipernity 2017.