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!

95 ~ The Spanish Bocadillo

Crusty Omelette Bocadillo

Bocadillo de Tortilla

Anyone who has come to Spain has probably tried a bocadillo at one time or another.

A crusty fresh baguette split lengthwise, usually filled with ham or cheese, and without butter, mayonnaise or lettuce. If you've tried one in an airport you've probably found it a little dry, making it necessary to order as well a bottle of water or café con leche to help wash it down.

On the other hand you may have found a popular little cafe or bar that is known for serving good bocadillos, toasted on the grill or not, where you can be assured of a fresh crispy panecillo (bread roll) filled with soft jamón serrano (serrano ham), York ham or slices of golden cheese. Still without butter or mayonnaise unless you are somewhere that will add them to order. But toasted on the grill, and moistened with olive oil, the simple bocadillo is raised to another level.

I bought the one above one day while I was up in the town of La Orotava, while watching and taking photos of the annual making of the flower carpets of Corpus Christi. It was filled with a generous slice of Spanish omelette, the well-known potato and onion Tortilla Española and resulted in a meal in the hand, again needing a bottle of water to accompany it but ever so good.

Another favourite filling for bocadillos is soft spread fresh chorizo:


...a pork mixture seasoned with dried smoked red peppers and spread over bread, reminiscent of Mallorcan sobrassada, which we consumed in quantity while living in the Balearic Islands.

Here is a young lady with a basket of mini bocadillos which she is generously passing around during the celebrations of the Romeria de San Isidro Labrador, in La Orotava.

And the contents of her basket: hard cooked eggs and bocadillos spread with chorizo.

And extra large bocadillos of chorizo are often used as part of the harvest decorations on the ox carts during this romeria celebration:


And down in the town, bocadillos with added fillings can be seen stacked in bakery windows, in this case with lettuce and tomato along with the jamón serrano and cheese:


Excuse me if I've made you hungry!

I'm off now to make myself a toasted ham and cheese bocadillo...no butter, but with a good drizzle of olive oil!

So thanks for your visit and until next time...¡Hasta la vista!

86 ~ Carnival in Canaries

A member of the female murga Las Hechizadas (The Bewitched)

It's that time again when the world celebrates carnival, or carnaval as it is written in Spanish. And next to Rio de Janiero, the Canary Islands has some of the world's most extravagant carnival celebrations.

This year the activities run from January 26 with the selection of candidates for carnival queen until February 21, ending with the traditional antique car show and final fireworks display.

Carnival photos here and above credited to the official Tenerife Carnival website.

Murga Los Bambones

The murgas are popular satirical groups which create and sing irreverent protest songs about current local issues and political personages, to the accompaniment of noisy percussion instruments. Competitions pit different murga groups against each other for the best costumes and the sharpest wit in their performances.

Los Bambas, a childrens' murga

As well as a carnival queen chosen from a selection of young women, there is also a Reina Tercera Edad, a senior queen chosen from older women.

Reina Tercera Edad (Senior Queen)

Everyone joins in the spirit of carnival here, no matter what age. There is also a children's queen, La Reina Infantil.

La Reina Infantil (Childrens'Queen)

Each of the seven Canary Islands celebrates its own carnival and there are many shows, parades and queen elections even in smaller towns. But the biggest shows are always that of the elections of Carnival Queen on Tenerife and Gran Canaria, the two largest islands, in the cities of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria respectively.

Tenerife will elect her queen tomorrow evening in a grand televised gala.

Las Palmas already has a carnival queen, elected a few days ago. Here she is, in a spectacular costume of an indian princess in white feathered and bejewelled headdress, stepping out of an enormous Native American dream catcher.

Photo credit to Las Palmas Carnival website

Here's the sound of Carnaval en Tenerife!

I will come back with more photos from Carnaval en Tenerife.
Until then, ...¡Hasta la vista!