Plum Trees in Bloom

Our Monday flowers from Nightjar are bursting with brilliant raindrops.

Trees here have definitely started to bud. No, wait. I mean, bloom. They started to bloom. This is our plum tree. It’s a little too soon and I’m worried because there are still not that many bees around. We’ll see how it goes. Meanwhile, flowers with raindrops always give me some inspiration, even though macro photography in low light is always a challenge.

©Nightjar, all rights reserved

©Nightjar, all rights reserved

©Nightjar, all rights reserved

©Nightjar, all rights reserved

These Orchids are Stunning

Our weekly flowers from Nightjar have arrived, and they are glorious and a bit other-worldly.

This week I have garden flowers to share, our first Boat Orchid or Cymbidium bloomed! They are beautiful, but depending on the perspective they are also really weird-looking flowers. We have many more varieties and all of them have flowering stems developing that will bloom over the next few weeks, so I’ll probably share more of these soon.

©Nightjar, all rights reserved

©Nightjar, all rights reserved

©Nightjar, all rights reserved

©Nightjar, all rights reserved

Flowering Gorse

It’s time to start our week with flowers from Nightjar,

The photos are from last year but were also taken in January and unlike last week, the timing isn’t off at all! Ulex europaeus should be (and is) flowering now. A sight to behold and one of my favorite things to photograph. I don’t even know what I like the most, the beautiful flowers or those magnificent spines!

©Nightjar, all rights reserved

©Nightjar, all rights reserved

©Nightjar, all rights reserved

(Spring?) Flowers

Nightjar has sent us flowers. Mondays are always better with flowers. Thanks, Nightjar.

Today I bring you another wildflower, I think it is Verbascum virgatum, also known as twiggy mullein or wand mullein. According to my field guide it should bloom from April to July, which last time I checked doesn’t include January, but I suspect that such information is no longer useful so I’m standing by this ID anyway. The photo was taken with my telephoto lens while I was looking for birds (with limited success).

©Nightjar, all rights reserved

Bermuda-buttercups

Bright yellow flowers from Nightjar.

This week I bring you another flower that is all over the place this time of the year. Except this time it shouldn’t be. Oxalis pes-caprae, also known as sourgrass or Bermuda-buttercup, is indigenous to South Africa and an invasive species in many parts of the world. It’s beautiful nonetheless, it covers the fields in yellow and bugs seem to like it.

©Nightjar, all rights reserved

Fabulous Fumaria Flowers

Thanks to Nightjar and her magic with a camera we have beautiful flowers to start the week.

I wanted to share these photos I took on my first walk of 2020. This is Fumaria officinalis, known as common fumitory or earth smoke, and one of the first winter wildflowers to bloom here in Portugal and give the fields some colour. They look even prettier covered in morning dew.

©Nightjar, all rights reserved

©Nightjar, all rights reserved

©Nightjar, all rights reserved

Moonvine Madness

It’s no secret that I love flowers, especially on Mondays, which I think need a bit of extra pretty. Well, for this Monday,  Opus has sent us some gorgeous photos of the last of his moon vine. Enjoy!

Before the freeze I was able to rescue a moon vine blossom and photograph it. It was a bit of a challenge, since I was taking multiple photographs while it was wilting. But, it was worth it. Now I can’t wait for next year, to try again.

Moon vine Unfurling – 1 ©Opus, all rights reserved

Moon vine Unfurling – 2 ©Opus, all rights reserved

Moon vine Unfurling – 3 ©Opus, all rights reserved

Moon vine Unfurling – 4 ©Opus, all rights reserved

Fuzzy and Fierce

From Avalus, two small creatures hard at work. One of them looks adorably fuzzy and cute, and the other one looks fierce and ferocious.

The Black Bee I found buzzing around in this bush, covered in pollen.

Black Bee ©Avalus, all rights reserved

Black Bee 2 ©Avalus, all rights reserved

 

On the same day, I found this wasp. She sports some terrifying mandibles!

Clawed Wasp ©Avalus, all rights reserved

Clawed wasp 2 ©Avalus, all rights reserved

 

 

 

 

Jack’s Walk

©voyager, all rights reserved

It was a wet and windy weekend, and by this morning, almost all the pretty leaves had blown away. There are a few bright patches here and there, but the riot of colour is finished for another year. Jack and I set out feeling a bit blue about the bare trees, but the sun was shining, the day was warm and pleasant, and it wasn’t long before we were both feeling better. The colour may be gone looking up, but there’s still plenty of pretty here on the ground. We passed burning bushes burning scarlet and porches with pumpkins and mums in pots. We found lavender of the palest blue, golden hostas and even a red-breasted robin picking at purple berries. The fallen leaves from the weekend are still full of colour, too, and they brightly litter the ground in every direction. Jack says he can see the leaves better this way, and he thinks that’s why they fall – so the small creatures who don’t look up much can appreciate them too. I didn’t tell him otherwise.