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Malcolm had an appointment with the GP again this morning, for his third and last steroid injection into his shoulder.  Fortunately, the hypodermic behaved itself this time and hopefully, that should be an end to it.  So, no walk today, just a few pictures from the last few days.
It was foggy on Friday morning, which led to some ethereal scenes as we walked around the park.

The early sunshine fell on the wooden fence near our home and illuminated the many spider webs constructed along it's length.

The warmth of the sun also created a fog of it's own as the wet posts 'steamed' with water vapour in the cold, morning air.  All very misty.

Sea

On one day while we were in Portugal, the breeze got up a bit and as a result, the waves began to get a bit more 'interesting'.  That day, we took a walk along to the small village and beach of Santa Eulalia.  The walks along the cliffs are very rewarding and the beach was being well used.  I was more interested in the waves crashing on the rocks below.

Seeing these waves hitting the cliffs, it's easy to see why the crumbly texture of the rocks, doesn't stand up to the battering too well.

The sunshine, twinkling off the sea made it rather wonderful.

Malcolm was enjoying the scene too, looking out from his vantage point a little higher up the cliff from me.  See any ships Malcolm?

More flowers

A few more flowers today.  No trip to Southern Europe is complete without enjoying the ever-present Oleanders (Nerium oleander).  As poisonous as it is beautiful, this large shrub comes in pink and white varieties with single and double flowered forms.  This is a double pink.

Recently however, extracts from the Oleander have been investigated as a possible cure for some form of cancer as well as some skin conditions.

Another pink flower found everywhere around the area were the Pink Trumpet Vine (Podranea ricasoliana).  Also called Port St. John's Creeper, it is a native of South America and parts of Africa.  Related to the Jacarandas we saw in Madeira and the Indian Bean Trees which we sometimes see in our parks and gardens, they make a great show in the gardens of Southern Europe.

Flower

Being autumn, there were, naturally, not very many plants in full bloom while we were in Portugal.  Having said that, we were still treated to some beautiful floral displays, both natural and cultivated.  The first was this rather scrubby shrub seen growing on the cliffs.  It is a Daphne gnidum, a native of Southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

Don't be fooled by the pretty flowers, it is a highly poisonous plant and contact with the sap can lead to dermatitis.  Next is a very common plant on dry, sandy soils all over the Western parts of Southern Europe.  Yellowish, papery flowers sit atop grey, hairy leaves and the whole plant smells strongly of Curry.  It is Helichrysum Stoechas or 'Stinking Everlasting'.  Touching and crushing the plant to smell the curry scent, can lead to you not getting rid of the smell from your fingers for many hours, as I have found to my cost!

Two cultivated plants next.  Almost everywhere you look, you will see Hibiscus plants.  They are planted as hedges and grown as specimen shrubs all over the place, but when you see them in full bloom, it's easy to see why.

Lastly, an invasive species, introduced as a garden plant from more tropical regions, the Lantana (Lantana camara) has become quite a problem in some areas.  For all that, it does produce some magnificent flowers of several different colours on the same plant.  They have another, greater benefit.  Their flowers are rich in nectar and so are highly prized by Bees, Butterflies and all manner of insects.  They're pleasing to the eye too.

Boardwalk

Around some parts of the cliffs of Olhos d'Agua, there are some boardwalks.  These not only make walking around the area much easier, but also help to preserve the rather delicate cliffs.

All over the wooden structure, the surface has been scraped off in small 'scratches' by wasps, harvesting the wood to make their paper nests.

The boardwalks provide a great vantage point to look out to sea, through the pines.

It's also worth looking the other way, up the cliffs to the pines on the cliff tops.  You get some interesting perspectives from this angle.

Insect

Two new species for me to tick off my life-list today.  Both were seen in the sandy soils on the cliff-tops of Portugal.  The first was a large, pale grasshopper which flew in and settled just long enough for me to get one shot.  It turned out to be a Red-winged Grasshopper (Oedipoda germanica).

Although quite common around much of Europe and the Near East, this was the first time I had seen and positively identified one.  Next came a much more active insect.  It twitched constantly, flicked it's antennae and seemed to be hyperactive.  as it settled on the sand it began digging furiously, kicking sand up behind it, searching for prey.  It was a Sand Digger Wasp (Ammophila sabulosa).

Hunting mainly for caterpillars and other insect larvae, they are also fairly common around Europe.  When a prey item has been located, they sting to disable it before dragging it down a hole (often one which they have dug themselves) and lay an egg on it so that when their own larvae hatch, they have 'fresh meat' on which to feed.  Despite this gruesome start to life, the adults are actually not carnivorous, preferring to feed on pollen.

Beach

The Beaches around Olhos d'Agua are wide, golden and rather busy.  Last time we were there, we had the beaches almost to ourselves, but this year, a couple of weeks earlier and a good few degrees warmer and the beaches were much more crowded.  It didn't make much difference to us as we picked our way along the coast, rock-pooling and enjoying the views.

The rock pools were filled with tiny shrimps, fish and crabs.  The rocks themselves were covered in a very slippery layer of algae which required much care to traverse.  Limpets and barnacles clung to them, doing their best to put up with the hot sun and increased salinity of the water around them.  Among the more colourful members of this community were the Beadlet Anemones (Actinia equina), looking like bright red blobs of jelly with their tentacles withdrawn.

Some of the sandy inlets and small bays revealed fishing boats, hauled onto the beach until dusk, when they were cast off for the evening.

Others were almost devoid of people except for the odd, lone fisherman after his dinner.