viernes, 5 de diciembre de 2014

Sunsets, toads and kestrels

With the shorter days of December, I never seem to have time to get out in the garden when it's daylight out.  We have had some rain, though, which is a good thing.



The pond out back is full again, and the tamarix are showing a little fall color...

... although the reservoir is still quite low.

The dampness in the garage attracted this enormous toad...


...that completely freaked me out because he did not hop but walked like a turtle instead.
I think this is what they call in Spanish a "running toad" or 
epidalea calamita.  I still call it freaky.


The cool, wet weather also brought a cernícalo, or kestrel, who comes to our porch at dusk to spend the night.    Sometimes, he also brings dinner (a bit of which you can see to the left of the beam). 


So cool!


The best part of cloudy, overcast days is that we get these unbelievable sunsets.



6 comentarios:

  1. Dear Karen, what a beautiful sunset! You have amazing vieuws. And that owl, fantastic.
    Groetjes, Hetty

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    1. Thank you, Hetty. Actually, it's a falcon - a female, I think (which could make life very interesting in the spring!).

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  2. Did my last message go through? Sorry for repeating if it did: I love being able to visit and see somewhere new. I love your views! and that is one LARGE toad! :-) Dana

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    1. I know, right? It was huge and walked like a turtle - we never had toads like that back in New England!

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  3. We have huge toads here but I haven't seen them walking, I'll have to try to watch. The kestrel is very special, we have a Little owl who lives on our roof; I love all the wild animals that live around us. Fabulous images of the sunsets!

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    1. Christina, we have Little Owls here, too (called "mochuelos" in Spanish). They are adorable, but so loud! Our farmer friend, Pedro, says they have less meat on them than a potato - ha, ha! I did a post on them in January: http://ladyoflamancha.blogspot.com.es/2014_01_01_archive.html

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