Urban Fox!

Although I come from Somerset,

surrounded in countryside,

I would never have imagined,

 that I would have to visit so close to London,

  to have to experience

 such a close encounter with a Fox

This was a leafy suburb of Surrey,

the dustbin men had just  emptied the ordinary waste,

& this creature was then scavenging

 for food in the middle of the road,

only moving with an oncoming vehicle.

Although we had several sitings

of this animal during the weekend,

even casually walking pass the patio doors,

 during this photo session,

at times,

the Fox was only a few feet away.

~   ~   ~   ~

A very close encounter!

Perfect Blend

 On Spanish waysides,

 the brightest blueness of this tiny flower,

 mingles in with the subtleness of bunches of grasses,

Spain's countryside, arid & dry terrain.

Villages with colour from the rustic style housing.

Splashes of sultry coloured flowers add to the Spanish influence

A ground covering succulent with the bright pink flower

Beautiful doorways,

 with intricate ironwork,

 enhancing the character of the older style buildings

Inland Spain,

 reflects a more natural look of Spain,

although  it's very dry & dusty,

 with often a hilly rough landscape,

splashes of colour emerge with the flora,

 making it a perfect combination

 with the rustic painted dwellings.

Spanish Influence

Been back a week since my Spanish holiday,

 not one by the coast, but inland,

 experiencing a more true natural Spain, 

compared with the touristic coastlines.

The Villa I stayed in was on the

 outskirts of a town called Sax.

Streets & streets of housing,

 much character in these dwellings,

 particularly in the older part of the town,

built on the side of a hill,

situated  just below a very imposing castle,

a landmark which was visible from the villa. 

A spectaclular  view of the castle,

& evermore striking light up at night

Pedal Power

Back to my travels to the Netherlands,

during our stay in Amsterdam,

it was often a battle

 to cross the road with not only motor vehicles,

 but competing with trams & bicycles.

Whilst sat comfortable outside one of the main cafes,

spoilt for choice in Rembrandt Square,

 it was just a relaxing time to take in the sights.

The taxi bicycles were really something different. 

 Definitely pedal power needed!

In almost any space at a railing,

 on one of the many bridges or outside residents dwellings,

bikes were parked up everywhere.

Eventhough cycling is free,

 the tram is really good value way

of getting around the city for sightseeing.

But, to reinforce the popularity of cycling,

even a barge was spied catering for parked up bikes!

The Netherlands boast a huge extensive network of cycle lanes,

 which really does make you feel more confident when cycling around.

But their landscape is very flat,

 which is of benefit if you decide  to use pedal power.

I use to love cycling when I was younger,

 but with even more traffic on the road in the UK,

I am reluctant to do so now.

Although English councils here,

 have made an effort to instigate some cycle lanes,

these are not consistent & 

it is still not as safe as I would like,

a great shame.

Recent Travels

Home once again,

 following recent travels to The Netherlands,

 which is where I had lived many years ago. 

  My visit was long over due,

particularly as I remain to have good friends there.

After flying into Sciphol Airport, Amsterdam,

we made our way to Rotterdam for an overnight stay.

The following day,

a further journey to the province of Zeeland.

This involved catching  trains & coach,

& finally a short ferry ride from Vlissingen to Breskens.

Whilst on the ferry,

we spied one of the many Windmills we were to see on this holiday.

After disembarking from the ferry, my very good friend,

whom I've now known for over 22 years kindly greeted us,

taking us to her home in Sluis,

via the coastal route,

allowing us to view the beaches,

which we had just seen from the ferry.

 Although the sea air was quite bracing,

we were grateful to beable to stop to take in the vast expanse of sandy beaches,

 as far as the eye could see,

& even a lighthouse to enhance the scene.

A very good start to the holiday!

 Much more to follow. . . . .

Hibiscus

Forced to stay in on this lovely dry bright sky day due to winter germs,

decided I needed to view something with a bit of colour.

Archived some of my pass photos, in particular, I really like this Hibiscus flower.

One main photo but edited to produce closer-up shots.

Vibirant & beautiful.

Photo taken in the Gambia, November 2007.

The flower head only lasted for one day.