narcissus

This picture was irresistible as it seems clear that each narciso (as they are called in Spanish) is enamoured of its own reflection.

Daffodils in a flooded flower bed

Looking for an apt poetical quotation, I find that Sir Aubrey de Vere described the daffodil as “Love-star of the unbeloved March”.

Well, it’s certainly March, and the weather here is undoubtedly unlovely. (That flower bed is at least two inches deep in water at the moment, and it’s at the top of the garden; I dare not venture down to see if the trees in the orchard are knee deep, but I suspect they must be.)

drop by drop

Well, I’m back in the pueblo and the weather is wet and wild. Yesterday evening there was a brief pause in the downpour, though, and I managed to take a few pictures. (As always, you can click each photo to see a larger version.)

I love the way the raindrops and buds work together, but I need to practise more to get the pictures I really want. A little sunshine might help, too.

closeup of early buds on plum tree with raindrop
Continue reading “drop by drop”

splash!

car driving on flooded road

I guess the locals didn’t build enough snowmen.

(See the BBC story Can building snowmen really help to prevent flooding?)

grey’ku

rainy day break

This morning, I waited in the half-light for a bus that finally arrived 40 minutes late: there was no one about, and the only noise was the rain, an occasional car and a few birds. It gave me plenty of time to think, though it was too wet to get a notebook out to try and capture any of the ideas.

(I suppose I could record memos on my phone, but how you’re supposed to skim through an audio file later, I don’t know.)

Mind you, I actually believe that writing a thought down too soon can ‘fix’ it before it is ready, and I may carry a phrase or image round in my head for days or weeks, occasionally even years, before I finally anchor it to the page.
Continue reading “grey’ku”

they lied

They promised us a week of rain, starting last Saturday, and I was really rather looking forward to it. In fact, although it’s definitely not as hot as it was, this is probably the most cloud we’ve seen:

Late summer scenery, Gredos
a wisp and a promise