Rocking Your Word 2021. week 11

Fancy it being week 11 already. Another three weeks and it will be Easter. It will be a rather subdued Easter week here as all the traditional parades and celebrations have been cancelled, though, of course, the usual church services will go ahead. I am sad for the local folk who have missed out on so many of their traditional fiestas. February 28th was Día de Andalucía, and this year it passed almost unnoticed except for a few green and white banners and flags in windows, and tied to the rejas rails outside door and windows, but there was no dancing, singing and of course, food in the marquee that usually marks the day.

Yesterday was another little bit of fun that was cancelled at its usual venue of the picnic area at the sports pavilion, but it was none the less celebrated in homes throughout the area. It was Día de la Vieja, (Day of the old woman), when children make paper munecas or 'dolls' on poles , dressed as an old women, (occasionally an old man), and with a head filled with sweets etc like a pinatta. These are normally taken to the picnic spot, and when the family have shared a meal together, the children beat the dolls with sticks and stones to retrieve all the 'goodies' inside. It's a strange affair but very much a part of the custom out here. Our Town hall asked everyone to send in photos of their 'Viejas' and they showed lots on their Facebook page. Most were photographed with the children who made them, but I thought it best to use a stand-alone one to show on here. I loved how many of them were wearing masks this year!

 

We have enjoyed some sunnier days this week. It is still cold in the evenings, but lovely to sit out in during the day as long as you can find a sheltered spot out of the wind. But Friday through to Monday it was still very grey, wet and cold. We had to go to Garrucha to finish off the renewal of our driving licenses. They both expire this week. Here we have to have a new photo, an eye test, a medical and sometimes a reaction test, to renew them once we are seventy. Because I am diabetic I needed a letter from my doctor as well, and Monday I had to take that to the office in Garrucha. We had done most of the tests and paper work last Friday. We parked the car at the start of Garrucha and walked all the length of the sea front and harbour, looking for the office, only to find it was closed on Fridays. So we walked all the way back again and found another office right next to where we had parked the car! But we didn't mind. It was good to be out walking a bit, and according to my fitbit I walked 10,000 steps, a record for me.

Anyway, we knew where to go when we returned on Monday, and with my doctor's note the work was soon done and we each have a cover note until our new licenses arrive. Chris' was renewed for the standard five years but they would only do mine for three years and then I will have to do it all again!

While we were there, we walked along the promenade for a bit. The sea was a steely grey, as was the sky, and the waves were strong and noisy. (Unfortunately I have never been able to capture that on camera properly).

All along the promenade there are tall palm trees. I don't know how they survive the wild winds that blow along there, and the salty air, but they seem to thrive on it. Already we noticed most of them had several buds of flowers opening so there will be a good crop of dates later in the autumn.

Garrucha beach always has lots of seagulls, I guess because it is a fishing port, so there is plenty of food around. But on Monday the wind and rain had driven them off the beach and they were soaring high above the palms and the apartment blocks.

I love watching them. They can be a bit scary close up, but they are very beautiful, and when they fly, they glide on the air currents in graceful loops.

Yesterday I spotted a little visitor in the garden. This is a female glow worm. It is only the second one I have seen on our property. I collected it on a leaf and it immediately curled up, but I put it on the table and left it alone, and it soon stretched out and started to walk again. So when I had taken its picture, I gently returned it back to the grass next door.

Apparently they like rain, so that is why she was on the move this week. Only the male can fly, so the female lights up her rear end to attract a mate. They are fascinating creatures and if you are interested in knowing more about them, there is a good, simple piece about them HERE.

And this made me smile so I hope you smile too.

Yesterday morning we took advantage of our slightly relaxed boundaries, and went to Vera to do some food shopping. The sun stayed out, so in the afternoon I decided to go for a short walk just in the village. There is a patch of muddy wasteland (campo) that is a short cut for us walking to the market or bakers and when I crossed it I spotted this fig tree. In winter the fig trees are completely bare of leaves, and have a smooth grey bark. But as soon as the weather improves the first leaves sprout, followed by the fruit. (I am sure there is flower stage in there somewhere but I have never noticed them!). So it was nice yesterday to see fresh green leaves sprouting from every branch on this old tree.

I crossed over and walked along the new pavement that has just been made all the way down the main road. It was a sea of yellow flowers. They are the delicate little oxalis, but they flower so profusely that every bit of land and roadside verge reminds me of the fields of rape that colour the landscape in UK. They are not quite so bright in these pictures as they were closing up, so I guess they only open wide in the mornings. Maybe the sun was too fierce for them early afternoon, which is the hottest hours of the day.

As the new pavement ran out, I turned in towards the urbanisation Huerta Nueva, which is a part of Los Gallardos, and completed a circle back to where I started. From the road back out to the village I turned and took these two pictures. The first is the Cabrera mountains. They are always a backdrop where ever I go around here. Some days they are as clear as a bell, and others they disappear completely in a clouds or sea mist. 

The second picture shows the little white town of Mojacar as seen across the campo. It feels so high up when you are there, but really it is dwarfed by the mountains just to the right of it. But it is a good bit higher than Mojacar playa, that runs below it.

I came home from my walk with a little bunch of wild marguerites. I love all the daisy flowers and they are another plant that grows freely on any waste ground. So I have a little bowl of sunshine on my kitchen table for a few days. Aren't they pretty?

And now I will link up with Rocking Your World and Annie's Friday Smiles. Hope you have a good week everyone.