Country Life

... Acacia country continued ...

This area is the highest in the Algarve at 900 meters above sea level (the sea is off in the hazy distance) ...



A charming house in the spa village of Caldez de Monchique ...



A viaduct on the Rio Arade ...



And all our storks are back from their winter holidays ...

In the country amidst the Pinus Pedra (stone pines) ...



And the ones at my regular grocery store (with Shinus (red peppercorn trees) ...

 

Oh to live the life of LoL, from where I am sat,you are a very lucky pair to live in such a wonderful part of the world,all that blue sky,the wildlife,the exotic plants need I say more.

Keep them there pictures coming,they`ll keep us warm until we get our week of summer.

 

lovely pictures LoL, love the pics with the mountains, very nice indeed, i agree with pip keep em coming

 

Thanks pip and rosa. Wnere else do you have storks nesting on your little grocery store?

The blue skies and exotic trees are a bonus.

Pip, I'll keep the dream alive for you and Mrs pip along with your in laws.

 

Our visitor wanted to see the level of the dams yesterday now that we've been having a fair amount of rain ... so off we went ... they're quite close to us.

Here's the 'main road' our lane goes off ...



... and some of the olive scrubland filling up with wildflowers now ...





And up to the lakes at the dam ...









... it got a little bit dark at times ...



... to be continued ...

 

... visit to the lake at the dams continued ...

Wild roses cascading down the bank ...



The Gorse is looking fantastic ...



French Lavender ...



Cistus ladanifer which covers the hillsides this time of year ...



A beautiful Callistemon ...



An Arbutus unedo with fresh leaves and berries forming ...



A graceful weeping Schinus (pepper tree) (I have just edited the name of this) ...



And a tiny pink Horsechestnut with one bloom ...



I have two further trees which are currently up for identification in the ID sectionn.

[ 21. April 2008, 04:56 PM: Message edited by: Lady of Leisure ]

 

Beautiful pics, I LOVE the wildflowers under the olive trees, something nostalgic that tweeks at my heart!

 

lol, lovely, lovely pics.

2 & 3 pics look like 'old' meadows from here don't they? How great is that. How come all the pics from you, even the one of a shop, are so much nicer than ones from England? I know why really, you are lucky to have that all around you.

Keep posting pics lol, might make us feel a bit warmer!

cheers

 

Great pics LoL

Even without the sunshine it is still a beautiful place, love the lavender

 

Thank you woo, JB, borrowers and pip. I like to show Algarve as I know it (rain or shine) and not just the bars and beaches. :rolleyes:

It's a wonderful time of the year here ... we DO actually have seasons and now is Spring and rain season which we embrace before the summer arrives.

The wildflowers will come into their element in the next week or two so I may be able to get some better pictures ... perhaps with some sunshine highlighting them.

I will go back up to the lakes in the week (about a 20 minute drive) as our rain is possibly going to take a holiday elsewhere and I need to identify two trees up there more closely.

 

Looks very much like the lakes are nearly to their normal full line.

The wild flowers look good at this time of the year, most farmers over here would probably spray that lot.

The pink horse chestnut must be at quite an elevation as its not much advanced on them over here, probably a couple of weeks or so.

You know me Knit picking again, but are you sure that is gorse, and the other one is the weeping willow, it looks a bit like a pepper tree to me.

 

Lol uve brought happy memories back for me.The pictures of the wild flowers.It reminds me of when we went to calabria south Italy a couple of years ago.Its still unspoilt there and there were places just like the ones in your lovely picture.<asighsmileyface> 02

 

I am pleased my pictures brought back nice memories for you, 02.

Yes, pete the lakes at this dam, Barragem do Funcho, are at a good level, the lakes for the dam 'next door' Barragem do Arade are low but not as low as we've seen them in the past. They filter from Funcho to Arade.

The elevation there is on average about 275m, the highest point in Algarve being Foia at 900m, so not really that high. My Book of Portuguese Trees says the Aesculus carnea blooms in April. Remember the two Canary Palms in Algoz with the disease ... we went by today and they have been uprooted and two quite large Pink Horse-Chestnuts planted in their place and they are blooming.

Yes, I'm sure it's common gorse, Ulex europaeus, and I almost stabbed myself to death today examining it closely!

Of course it's a Schinus and not a weeping willow ... I just thought I'd see if I could catch anyone out. ... but I can't fool you, can I? :rolleyes:

Here are a couple more pics taken today and a picture of the dam showing the location of these trees / shrubs / etc where the authorities have made lovely picnic areas to enjoy the views.









[ 21. April 2008, 05:11 PM: Message edited by: Lady of Leisure ]

 

Fab pics of your beautiful countryside LoL

How considerate of the authorities to create a picnic area.

Love to troll through this thread and see the Algarve in bloom, with this in mind, I am going to use the new ratings system and award you full marks :D