Enjoying nature and photography.
A tempting shimmer, often bright and sometimes dimmer, tiny twinkles, shiny flickers, mighty seas of jolly glimmer, gently waving in the wind, often aligned, yet intertwined, thin blades on fire, in shades refined, ensnare the mind, tether the eyes, mankind inclined to stay right here, witness the rustling, bustling weeds, small beads pinned by the sun, a moment passes, all is gone.
Perhaps I am lagging behind a little with my all my photographs from the long summer; some photo posts are incoming. Perhaps I am also happy to have so many photographs so that I can keep on writing posts even if I don’t produce new ones. And, perhaps, I need a new format to publish my photographs after all.
A little island in the south, well-known by many, word of mouth does travel far. And bizarre houses out of glass are stuffed with greens, do grace the place – in midst the lake – en masse.
The hills around the Simancón mountain are rocky. Nonetheless, they seem to be teeming with life. The air is still chilly and the sun has barely risen above the horizon, casting long shadows onto the plains in the far west below. However, the clear sky already signals that temperatures will soon increase dramatically. We pass a lonely toad sitting in the middle of the narrow trail – it looks so wise it might just have the answer to any tough question we could come up with. Delicate flowers crane their necks in curiosity, marbled whites flutter between light and shadow, and a Black Redstart points us the way to the top. At lower altitudes groups of trees spent shade, but higher up the sun shines relentlessly and life seems to be withdrawn from the landscape more and more. Only a few chamois trudge along the ridges as if they are looking forward to an afterlife. The Sierra de Grazalema, a place I will gladly revisit.
When lights are out night sounds appear and overlay the gloss of days, thoughts cross, until a warbler, without fear, sings out his doubt aloud.
Who doesn’t love swallows? They are as fast as the wind, always chatty, and super cute. The Common House Martin we have here in Europe is only one of four species within the genus of Delichon, whereas the other three species are distributed around Africa and Asia. They love pastures and farmland, especially near water, and build their distinctive nest out of mud and clay beneath overhanging rock formations or buildings.
We had the pleasure to be surrounded by hundreds of them while standing on the dam of Embalse de los Bermejales. They were zipping all around us, seemingly not concerned with or interested in anything else than the delight of their flight. And for a moment, it felt like we were among them – a moment I will gladly remember for years to come.
Punkt im Dunkeln