2012-02-06 Lanzarote --- Cactus Garden

Warning, some of these are prickly !!

The black ‘tarmac’ looking mulch is (of course) lava gravel !

 

 

Us under a cactus tree……

For your convenience !

2012-02-02 LANZAROTE !!

Warning ……..there is a lot of this………if you don’t like cacti, and volcanic landscapes …look away NOW !

However if you would like to see our holiday snaps, enjoy !!

 

From, and in our very roomy Apartment……

we were unlucky with the weather, it was cloudy for most of the time so temperatures were a bit disappointing, but the island it’s self was very interesting, as you will see from the pictures.

  oh the blazing sun  !

 

 

 

 

Note the extra blankets…..we were issued them by the hotel, as there is NO obvious central heating in Lanzarote.

Apologise for the reflection, it because we were on a coach going to a market…..some of the sights were too good to miss !

 

 

I liked these chimneys…….

 

A ringed Plover, I think ?

 

 

 

 

 

a bit breezy !

 

and sunny…..too !

 

an unidentified flower at the mo, any ideas ? they grow everywhere, the weed of Lanzarote ?

AT THE MARKET…….

A ‘living’ statue ……

 

 

 

 

 

Roundabout sculpture. This one moves in the wind, all parts seem to move in different directions.

2012-01-30 Birds on the feeder

 

We invested in a cheap sunflower dispenser…….it seems to be very popular !

 

Blue tit

Nuthatch

Great tit

again

nuthatch again

and possibly a Marsh tit (or Willow tit)

2012-01-28 The lake above us..

 

We have never seen the lake as low as this at this time of year…..we hope it is because they have been working on the dam, and not just lack of rain……..

 

for those who have swum and paddled here…..we hope it gets better !

 

Fire ! Fire !      Oh no its not Frederic this time !! ……….This time it was Karl !! coucou ma puce !

2012-01-23 A Mixture !….Lillians Birthday, A snake…….and a Balcony.

 

Lilu’s Birthday 11 today ! ( Marie Odile is singing Happy Birthday )

 

Dont look at the next picture if you dont like SNAKES !!

 

 

 

 

 

This is a half meter long snake Dave found in our Grange (Barn) it is dead, although we were not quite sure at first (!)  We think a cat or something had dragged it out from its hibernation, it is what is called a Couleuvre here, which is a grass snake.

Although I suspect this is not a grass snake, but a Montpellier snake, but Couleuvre seems to do for most non venomous snakes……….

 

 

Balcony at our studio.

At last we got around to tiling the balcony at the studio……for those who have seen the studio, you will appreciate the improvement.

 

2012-01-21 Sushi Sushi Sushi !!!

 

As it is approaching the Chinese New Year……I thought we should have something very…… Japanese !! Having been introduced to vegetarian sushi by my son Tom, I was interested to try it myself.

I started with the dessert, and an experiment with sweets (bon bon’s) these TOTALLY not for Diabetics are almond paste, surrounded by ‘lace’ sweets which i washed the sugar from, and wrapped around the lump of almond paste, they stick well, the green bits are more lace sweets cut diagonally …and then bits of dry apricot to represent fish !! (it does get better……hopefully)

These are the proper ones stuffed with raw veg and some for the boys with smoked salmon….served with soy sauce and wasabi paste……..tres bon!!

Now for the guinea pigs………………

A Happy Eater ?       Well Karl liked it !!

2012-01-13 Mr ED !

 

Some people who live up in the forest have this horse, he seems to prefer our grass and on several occasions has broken loose and made his way down to the nice grass opposite us………we phone and say, he’s here again, later they arrive by quad, and the girl rides him back up the mountain….about 5km !

 

Here he is on zoom !

And sometimes he likes a little nap !

2012-01-01 New Years Day !

 

New Years day, No snow, not too cold ……Blue tit feeding on new hanging bird feeder…

Some of the ‘wild’ flowers that i bought in a packet and sprinkled down the side of the road between Annick and us…….they seem to all be doing better during the winter, than they did during the summer, this is a small pot marigold.