Dia de Canarias May 30

A celebration in the Canary Islands commemorating the first session of the Canary Island Parliament, which took place May 30, 1983.

  It is now a fiesta day of folkloric and cultural events in all of the seven Canary Islands.

 Here a display of typical Canary food samples to taste, sponsored by a local supermarket with the employees dressed in their local costumes, the 'trajes de mago'.

                          Fish croquettes - a popular local tapa.                                  

Local goat cheese and chorizo.

Canary Island sweet cakes.

A sample of locally made red wine.

Thanks for dropping by....do come again and until then...  ¡Hasta la Vista!

Walking Downtown

A warm May morning when shops are just opening and all is fresh.

Calle Iriarte (Puerto de la Cruz)

Playa Martianez

Calle Iriarte

There is always something new to see and even a walk a day doesn't reveal all.

Thanks for dropping by.  Do come again and until then, ¡Hasta la Vista!

A Day in May

Our back garden early afternoon today, warm and cloudy:

And the front garden just before sunset today:

We're so lucky to have this semi-tropical green oasis on our doorstep.

May Morning

After many cloudy days, the sun returned this morning.

And the house was filled with sunshine.

And Granada rose was in full flush with a strong, spicy perfume.

More Brilliant Flowers

It's the time of the year when they all come out at once.

Bougainvillae, Osteospermum and Aloe

 

They love the warm, cloudy April weather.

More to come....

Seen while walking April 14....

 

It's such a pleasure to walk around and see these scenes.

Thanks for dropping by and hasta la vista!

Mme. Pierre S. Dupont

Mme. P.S.Dupont

A favourite in my garden.  I have the climbing version of this rose, also know in North America as Mrs. P.S. Dupont.  It was bred by Charles Mallerin of France in 1929 as a hybrid tea, and later bred as a climber by Hillock in U.S.A. in 1933.

Although this is not ideal rose growing country, there are some which do well in my garden.  This one is on a very sheltered east-facing wall, crowded between vigorous climbing plants which often hide the rose canes.

Things grow madly here in this climate and cutting back is a weekly chore.

I love the rich buttery colour, the dark red stamens and the dainty petals.  Also the way the center petals stay tightly closed while the outer petals are unfolding, as in the middle photo.

Thanks for dropping by! Do come again soon.  Hasta la Vista!

Doves and Blackbirds

So many new birds have been visiting our garden lately.  I have never seen this type of dove before and couldn't believe my eyes when one came to rest in the brugmansia the other day.  Luckily I had gone into the garden camera in hand intending to catch Minnie the cat as she played.  But then I saw a flash of white stripe on a tail flying by, and then a shock of pink and tan feathers settling down on a branch.  I crept nearer and then used the zoom on my camera to catch this lovely creature.

Note...some days later:

I've since discovered that this dove is called the STREPTOPELIA TURTUR.

STREPTOPELIA TURTUR

I showed this photo to my gardener, a local man, who said these coloured doves are quite common here in Canary Islands.  I do hope this one will visit often.

We also have a pair of light tan doves who spend their time in our Jerusalem thorn tree and since a friend told me that doves mate for life with one partner, I guess this must be a honeymoon couple who have set up house in our garden with a nest nearby.  I'm looking forward to seeing the little ones come to the feeder.

  Just hope there are too many of them! But aren't they lovely!

Here they are in the thorn tree.  Can you spot them?

Those yellow spiked flowers on the left are aloe vera.

And the doves close up...

And not to forget the blackbirds who visit every day.  I haven't seen any baby birds yet from them.

I hope the nests weren't destroyed with that big wind storm we had earlier.

Here are some taginaste blooming in a street garden.  They are over 5 ft tall.  These are in the same family as the red ones which bloom on the high mountainous area around the Teide volcano.

A landscape on the edge of town.

And looking out of my computer room window at the masses of bougainvillea in the garden.

Have a lovely beginning of April!  

Thanks for your visit and do drop by again.

Hasta la vista!

Sunshine Again

 

Oh it's now a lovely Sunday morning and our sun has returned.  The temperatures are warming up after that cold spell.  Still plenty of snow on the mountain and the surrounding hills, but down here below it's good weather for sitting outdoors with a book, hanging out the laundry or going for a walk.

 These are some of my weather photos from the last days which include the birds that come to visit my bird feeder.

Looking out with a zoom towards the Orotava Valley:

Yesterday was sunny too.

Our red trumpet vine is growing like a weed after we had so much rain.

I was recently in the Botanical Garden and again marvelled at the size of the Ficus Macrophylla.  

Below is one of the many photos I've taken of the tree:

Ficus Macrophylla (Moreton Bay Fig)

Through the window:

Brugmansia this morning:

 This morning there was a flea market at the supermarket.

I had a good look at the brass ornaments and was tempted to buy a gazelle.  I have two lovely old brass camels which I bring out at Christmas time and have since been looking for a third one to complete the scenario of the Three Kings.  But I decided the gazelle really didn't look enough like a camel.

And so I bought two little pots of thyme for planting in my garden instead.

Have a lovely weekend!

Thanks for dropping by and do come back again for a visit.  Until then...¡Hasta la vista!