Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - Jan. 2013

It's the 15th of the month again. One of the  reasons I like the Garden bloggers' bloom day challenge so much is that it has made me more aware of exactly what blooms when. My aim is have flowers in winter in every corner of my garden. After all, this is the Algarve and even on a grey winter's day like today, the temperatures are expected to range between 6 and 14 degrees Celsius.

Aloe arborescens does very well in this region. Mine is in a pot (not the best place for it) and has produced a flower. The close-up was taken 4 days' ago.

The grass (in the background) has a common weed for company but I won't panic as I did before because my friendly gardener told me not to worry about it: "The frost and spring weather will make it wither," he said. The grass needs mowing but it's cold (at least I think it is) and unpleasantly windy and I'm ill.

The orchids haven't flowered yet but this yellow one looks promising. As I was taking photos this morning, guess what I discovered on my more fragile red orchid - a couple of locusts - yuck - I didn't invite them!

Locusts enjoying the morning sun

 Still blooming

I am amazed that the hibiscus still have some blooms - not looking their best but who can blame them.

This geranium seems to like living by the wall.

"You can count on me" section

This lavender flowers all year round!

These lavenders are looking good. One is starting to bloom now and the one behind it has beautiful grey foliage.

Some more "shades of grey" - groundcovering rosemary and lamb's ear.

I've discovered the name of this dependable bush - it's a blue potato bush (Lycianthes rantonnetii). 

My potato vine flowers all year long, too. Pushing through is some jasminum polyanthum that is ready to bloom and scent the air next month.

Now for some firsts:

This is supposed to keep away mosquitoes. I can't remember its name but I am used to seeing it flower in summer. Well, it's decided to flower now, which is a nice surprise.

These are the first orange blossoms and there are lots of oranges still on the tree!

This is my first crocus flower this year!

 

Indoors, my poinsettias are still looking quite good. I can't believe that they even survived being left alone in the cold house while I travelled north. I don't usually have luck with them so the fact they are still looking OK after spending a month in my home is indeed a pleasant surprise.

Now I'm off to May Dream Gardens, where Carol hosts this challenge, to visit some wonderful gardens. Why don't you join me?

E is for Elephant

Young African elephants - aren't they cute?

African elephants are the largest land animals on Earth.

 

Facts you may not have known:

• African elephants have large ears that look a bit like the map of the continent.
• Asian elephants are smaller and have smaller, rounded ears.
• Their ears radiate heat and keep them cooler.
• Elephants like spraying themselves with water and a coating of dust.
• Their trunks contain over 100 thousand muscles and are used for smelling, breathing, trumpeting, drinking and picking up things.
• African elephants have two "fingerlike features on the end of their trunks" that help them grasp things. Asian elephants have only one of these features.
• They use their tusks to dig for food and water, strip bark from trees and fight (the males).
• Many elephants are still being killed for their ivory tusks, even though the ivory trade has been illegal for years.
• Elephants are herbivorous and consume massive amounts of food daily.
• The male elephant is called a bull and the female is called a cow.
• Male elephants can grow to be 4 metres tall and weigh 7 thousand kilos!
• An elephant pregnancy is around 22 months and the baby elephant will weigh about 100 kg at birth!
• Elephants are intelligent animals. They are one of the few species to use tools and seem to "show empathy for dying or dead individuals of their kind".
• Many elephants have died recently in Zimbabwe due to droughts and consequent water shortage.

For more information, the National Geographic is a great site to visit.

Cee's Fun Foto Challenge: Metal

From the traditional ...

Wrought iron band stand, Portimão

Wrought iron gate to a former factory, Silves

Bridge, Alcácer do Sal

Looking up at the structure of the Dom Luis Bridge, Porto

Recently painted bridge over the Arade River, Portimão

... to the modern...

Metal-roofed congress centre/concert hall blending into the landscape

http://ceenphotography.com/fun-foto-challenge/
Cee's new blog url updated on 9th November 2013.

Goals

I'm not one for making New Year resolutions. That may be because when I do, I usually break at least one of them before the first week of the new year is up. Does anyone out there have the same problem?

 

Having said that, I have achieved some courageous goals in the past. I decided to change career just before the age of thirty. It involved getting a university degree, so I did, while working full-time, with the encouragement of a colleague and the understanding of my boss and my family, of course.

Then, a few years ago, while visiting the island of Madeira, I realized that having grown up in the tropics, I was never going to get used to the cold, grey, wet winters in the north of Portugal. I set out to get a transfer to a better climate and here I am, in the sunny Algarve!

One of the first pics I took with my mobile phone in the Algarve

Now I have a simple goal: to lose the kilos I put on during 2012. Wish me luck!

 

When setting goals for myself, I like to keep in mind a quote by Theodore Roosevelt:

“Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars, but remember to keep your feet on the ground.”

Goals is the theme set by Jake this weekend. Check out fellow bloggers' goals here.

Cee's Fun Foto Challenge: 2012 people, animals, outdoors and nature

I am joining Cee's challenge for the first time and starting off with a combination post:

People and Animals

Walking back and forth all day in the summer months, selling his wares cannot be easy, yet he always has a smile for anyone he meets along the way.

Locals at the monthly market in Algoz - shopping and catching up on the gossip.

This guy had the good sense to choose a sitting position!

I have used this photo of a participant in the street animation at a medieval fair before on a post for Jake's Sunday post challenge.

I can't resist introducing my 4 dogs. There are quite a few posts about them on my blog. Here are 2 in the garden.

Here are my other 2 on an outing to the beach.

Outdoors and Nature

A carob tree, common in the Algarve landscape.

An almond tree in bloom, also common in the Algarve in January/February.

A cloudy morning at the Aveiro lagoon.

Click on the image below to visit Cee and learn more about her challenge.

Cee's new blog url updated on 9th November 2013.