...SPLASHING OVER THE ROCKS.....

I' d love to send

YOU

the

"freshest" greetings

from my truly

magic

summer vacations..... !!

***

The river is the center of the land, the place where the waters,

and much more, come together.

Here is the home of wildlife, the route of explorers, and recreation paradise.....

Only fragments of our inheritance remain

unexploited, but these streams are

more valuable than ever.

Tim Palmer, Lifelines

***

Dancing water.......

so powerfull and at the same time gracefull....

The magic of its fascinating vitality....

The sunlight reflects the streams thousands of brilliant colours...

the gentle murmuring of the moving water

fills the fresh pure mountain air....

The cold purity of mountain stream water……

The young brothers on the rough warmth of a sunny, water-carved rock…..

***

Nature is man's teacher.

She unfolds her treasures to his search,

unseals his eye, illumes his mind,

and purifies his heart ;

an influence breathes from all the sights and sounds of her existence.

Alfred Billings Street

***

***

Do not fail to learn

from the pure voice

of an ever - flowing

mountain stream

splashing over

the rocks.

Morihei Ueshiba

***

In this magic place of quietness;

beauty of untouched nature, you’ll feel the regenerative power of

the mountain wilderness…..

This close encounter with wild country is a fantastic way

to put our busy life back in perspective……

I wish

YOU

a wonderful, sunny and happy

summer vacation too....

*****

***

*

THE MIRACLE of METAMORPHOSIS.....

Early this magnificient sunday morning......

Come with me in my wild mediterranean garden to

meet these Beauties.....

Not only beautiful......but

sooo

" simpatici"...!!

My Butterflies just had fun and "played" for me

"Model"...!!

The head of a butterfly has the two antennae

which are long and skinny with little knobs at the ends.

They help the butterfly to smell and to balance..

The adult butterfly has two compound eyes,

each with lots of little

eyeballs grouped together....

The proboscis is coiled just below the head of a butterfly.

It is used like a straw to drink nectar.

The proboscis or tongue is tubular and hollow and allows a butterfly to suck

and feed the nectar from flowers.

When blood is pumped into the proboscis it uncurls

and behaves like a drinking straw...

All butterflies have four wings, a pair of large fore wings at the top

and a pair of hind wings below which are attached to the thorax

A Butterfly's body is covered with millions of soft

sensory hairs...

Their wings have veins running through them for support and for nourishment.

The wings are made up of thousands of tiny colorful scales

The uppersides and undersides of their wings

are usually entirely different colors...

Turn your garden into a butterfly paradise by trying some of the following suggestions:

Butterflies need warmth, shelter and nectar. There are several things you can do

to attract butterflies into your garden.

Different species of butterflies prefer different types of nectar.

The food plants that you choose will determine the types of butterflies

that will come to your garden...

Mmmhhhh....this "Drink" must be soo sweet....

Leave dandelions to grow in your garden as butterflies like dandelions.

Plant wild flowers for butterflies to visit...

Sunny spots are good for the plants as well as for the Butterflies...

Most butterflies have a short life (about a month)

so it must find a mate quickly to start the life cycle

of a butterfly all over again...

...spectacular view this morning from my window....

a little rain.....over there......and bright sun here....

Where are you...?

There are several butterflies that have longer lives (up to nine months).

For these butterflies, when winter arrives,

they will hibernate by finding a safe shelter in a shed,

in a house or behind a plant

(and go to sleep).....

Have a good look around your garden this summer

to see how many different butterflies you can spot....

Enjoy their beauty and remember to be very gentle

if you handle any as they are very fragile..!

*****

***

*

THINKING OF TUSCANY....

A house in Tuscany in splendid isolation,

bathed in glorious sunshine,

surrounded by

cypress trees

and with

green,

rolling countryside as far as the eye

can see, unbroken save for an

olive grove here or a

vineyard there...

....Can You see the little grey road on the left side....?

That's the road which leads to "our"

beach......

a five minute walk through a wood....

a pick-nick basket...

a swim suit....

When thinking of Italy, and particularly Tuscany,

….overlooking beautiful pastures with Tuscan fragrances wafting on the warm breeze.

Perhaps preceded by a gentle bicycle or horse ride

through vineyards and olive orchards,

ending with a slow meander

along a cypress-lined lane

to a rustic home

set on a hill…

Rustic natural stone wall..

.....Green Vineyards and the close Etruscan Coast...

Donoratico........."downtown"...!!

...a little shopping and a lot of
beach later on....!!!!!!!

..Have a happy and sunny Weekend!..

*******

****

**

*

HOT AIR FROM THE SAHARA DESERT......

Red-golden finest Sahara powder in the hot, humid air.......

The SCIROCCO arrived from the Sahara...!!!

The term Sirocco (sometimes also spelled Scirocco)

is an all-inclusive name given to hot and subsequently

humid southeast to southwest winds originating as hot,

dry desert-air over Northern Africa,

flowing northward into the southern Mediterranean basin.

Siroccos occur in advance of surface and upper level depressions

moving eastward across the southern Mediterranean Sea or northern Africa.

Rock Pigeon......on the village's fountain......drinking thirst-quenching fresh water....

...even the Rock Pigeons seem a little "lazy" to fly in this dusty air....

....enjoying the view....

Depending on where you are, the Sirocco is inhibiting substantially

different characteristics and has many different local names, too.

Along the northern African coast the hot air originates directly from the Sahara desert, producing hot, dry and dusty conditions.

As the air travels northward across the Mediterranean Sea,

the « Sirocco » picks up much moisture because of its high temperature,

and reaches southern Italy as Scirocco…

The hot humid wind causes overnight temperatures of 30°C and above,

while thermometer may well reach 40°C during daytime.

Let's take it easy though and enjoy a fun weekend on the beach......!!

Are you coming along....? Just grab the swimsuit...!

*****

***

*

...NOBILITY WITHOUT PRIDE...

Sheylah

Where in this wide world can man find nobility without pride,
Friendship without envy,
Or beauty without vanity?
Here, where grace is served with muscle
And strength by gentleness confined
He serves without servility; he has fought without enmity.
There is nothing so powerful, nothing less violent.
There is nothing so quick, nothing more patient.

Ronald Duncan, "The Horse," 1954

.....Wild white "Lilac"

The essential joy of being with horses is

that it brings us in contact with the rare elements of

grace, beauty, spirit, and fire.

Sharon Ralls Lemon

Ginestro

During the months of may and june, this deciduous scrub announces

the arrival of summer by producing

golden, almond-scented spikes of

peaflowers on wiry branches

all over.....

I wish You a golden, sunny and happy Sunday...!

***

*

COLOURS AND PERFUMES...........

Passing the little wrought iron gate.......

Throghout the area, a mild climate gentled by the sea

brings out the brilliant colours and aromas

of the lush Mediterranean vegetation

and confers character upon

the wines.....

Gentle coastal breezes mitigate the hot temperatures typical of the Mediterranean coast,

while the neighbouring hills protect the vines

from the cold inland winds that sometimes blow....

The mild maritime climate highlights

both the colours and the perfumes

of the luxuriant

Mediterranean vegetation

giving character to

its wines....

Magic Via Bolgherese......

...Driving from Castagneto Carducci to Bolgheri.....

Nature often places its elements at the

service of man.

man works with them like a painter works

with the colours on his palette,

brushing them onto the canvas

to create a work

of art....

******

***

*

MAGIC SUMMER READING......

In reading, a lonely quiet concert is given to our minds; all our mental faculties will be present in this symphonic exaltation.

Stéphane Mallarmé

Reading can provide our children with endless hours of fun and entertainment.

Stories can free up imaginations and open up exciting new worlds of fantasy or reality.

They allow children to dream and may give them a good start on the road

to viewing reading as a lifelong source of pleasure;

so we should enjoy reading

to our young children ...

"This was my sunday-book; fun book of Tuscan's famous Artists like Puccini..."

Let’s inspire our older children to read,

giving them access to plenty of reading material that they'll enjoy and discuss with us…... Sampling everything - traditional printed books ,

classic children's novels and fairy tales,

as well as more modern stories...

If our child wants to hear the same story over and over again,

we shouldn’t worry about it.

Children take comfort from the familiarity

and predictability of a beloved story that they know by heart.

There's no harm in that.

Rereading old favorites and, at the same time,

introducing our children to new stories.

Our children's mind and heart have room for both....

Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind.

~

James Russell Lowell

(......The second hammok was occupied too......!!!!)

There are so many ways in which reading continues to be both

a vital skill for children to master, and an important source of knowledge

and pleasure that can last a lifetime....!

We could encourage follow-up activities involving creative writing skills and the arts,

as well, so that our children can reflect upon or expand on what they've absorbed

and at the same time, develop their own creativity.

As we help your kids appreciate the magic of reading,

we'll find that there's a whole wonderful world

full of children's literature out there that WE can enjoy too....!!!

There is a temperate zone in the mind, between luxurious indolence and exacting work;

and it is to this region, just between laziness and labor, that summer reading belongs.

Henry Ward Beecher

*****

***

*

I AM THE KEY TO ALL THE LANDS.....

My favourite place with the view on Elba Island.....

The sea, washing the equator and the poles, offers its perilous aid,

and the power and the empire that follow it.....

"Beware of me," it says, " but if you can hold me, I am the key

to all the lands."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am so happy to be back after this long break; busy and happy times.......!!!!!

I wish You a wonderful, sunny weekend!!!!!

*****

***

*

A VERY PRECIOUS GUEST.....

The wonderful view from the little medieval town

Castagneto Carducci on the

Castle of Segalari

The Sunrays are so rare in these mild may days.....

which is a very unusual occurrence..

The sun doesn't look out; but I'd love to present you

my little precious guest in my mediterranean wildflower garden;

in the first warm days of Spring you may see the large Bumblebees queens

flying busily about the early bulbs and flowers. These large slow bees are searching

for nectar and pollen to turn into honey and food for their newly hatching brood...

Castello Segalari in Castagneto Carducci

Bumblebees are one of the most endearing insect visitors to any garden.

Their furry, colourful bodies and clumsy flight always raise a smile,

but they also do an essential job.

Without their pollination services many flowers would produce no seeds,

and fruit and vegetable yields would suffer....

( ...not very sharp; the Nikkor lens 18-200mm was not ideal... but there was no time to change..)

This little delicate butterfly joined the Bumblebee......

To help bees we all need to find room for bee-friendly plants,

many of which are extremely beautiful and look great in the garden...

Like the Lavandula stoechas on these pics; named also Spanish Lavenders...

They have beautiful blossoms, unusual blooms

which are tufted and pineapple shaped in appearance

with dark purple flower bracts accompanied by dark green leaves...

Unlike the honey bee the humble bumble is gentle and slow.

As she trundles around the garden collecting pollen and nectar

she is quite different to her streamlined relative who dashes about everywhere...

(This is an absolutely great "athlete bee" (!!)
mentioned my little boy...: with the backlegs on a flower and

with the little head on the flower next to it...!)

The bumble is round and furry and not at all like her more wasp shaped cousin, the honey bee...

Bumble bees do not produce enough honey for commercial use,

just a few grams at a time to feed their young..

Not all bumble bees have a sting.

Drones (smaller male bees that hatch in mid summer ) have no sting at all..!

Bumble bees are much less aggressive than honey bees.

Generally they will not attack a human at all, unless their life is under threat.

Don't wave your arms wildly in their presence,

stand quietly and once they smell you are not a flower with pollen they will move gently away....!!

If you want to help the bees let the lawn grow a little longer

and cut it a little higher so the clover remains to feed the bees with nectar...

Encourage the bumble bee in your garden or farm

and she will repay your kindness by pollinating your flowers,

fruit and vegetables and giving you an excellent set on your blossom....!!!

.....my precious little guest turns around....shows me his furry back and

flies to another wildflower bush....

******

****

*