Personal Favourites (2)

Apricot tree laden with ripe fruit. Better on large to see the fruit more clearly. It has a wonderful warm colour, unlike the uniformly yellow, hairy to the tongue and sharp ones we see here and in the UK in the shops (although to be fair those ones do make the most perfect of all jams, imho!).

(The needles of Cancho Gordo). La Sierra de La Cabrera granite. I don't think I've posted this on ipernity: certainly on Panoramio. I'm looking forward to getting up there again after a l o o o n g five year absence (for a whole variety of reasons).

One of many rock pool shots I took in the years 2011 - 2015. Low tide. Better on large.

Another good old granite extravaganza! Maybe on large and then on large again for the detail in the granite features. It's conceivable that I've posted this before but more likely back on Panoramio.

I never know if these into the sun shots will ever work with my phone as I used to be able to have some control in my days of SLRs and filters. (but I'm talking 1970s and 80s here!) Sight and sound. Always liked the Winter brothers version of authentic blues. www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzhgmJtKNZw

One of today's many storm clouds that led to the flooding of large areas of Madrid but left us high and dry! (BTW, I'm pleased I didn't go to La Sierra de La Cabrera today as it would have been a total washout. Here, it is sited directly under the cloud and you don't want to be caught in the mountains in any kind of storm, especially an electrical one!) Sight and Sound, to lighten the gloom Victor Borge; www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LG9M3m5txA

Another shot from this local park and its ancient olive trees.

I couldn't help but trample them, there were so many - but I reckoned they were tough little buggers so I soon stopped worrying about my foot placement! La Sierra de La Cabrera, granite. Better on large to see this hardy plant en masse.

My mother's garden. This time a summer shot for a change! Sight and sound: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTj1LpG2SM0 Another from War. I just like their version of blues and funk and soul.

An oldie and a winter shot. Bitterly cold. This shows much of the taller western end of the Sierra. I hope to return here before too long. Better on large for granite detail.

Low sun evening light, and I reckon we've had an average of two storms a day in the past 2.5 weeks. Highly unusual, especially in late Spring / early Summer. And yet they don't bring much, if any, of the prayed-for sustained heavy rain. Perhaps better on large for countryside detail, even though the mountains are obscured by cloud.

Algete street scene no. 18. Calle de Paloma - one of the three main streets in Algete, looking down to the main square and parish church., caught in the last of today's sunlight. Maybe worth a look on large.

Where I live for the time being. Algete street scene no. 19. Not strictly a street but it is still named as the old road to Fuente El Saz and the return route is, not surprisingly, referred to as the old road to Algete and as this lies within Algete parish (just), I think it counts. Poppies seen here. Better perhaps on large!

The sun went behind a cloud briefly, giving a differently nuanced timbre to the colour scheme of this poppy field. Not too bad on large and then large again. Sight and Sound: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsJ_N5tBgVM

Where I had planned to walk today and catch the last of the spring flowers. But today was just about the wettest June day on record so I ventured nowhere near! But I hope to get up there fairly soon, and before the relentless summer heat kicks in, which it will do in a week or two! This shot was a taken at midsummer but here, high up, it is still showing Spring wildflowers so I still have some hope!

I got it wrong! I thought the cloud might dissipate during the day. Instead it got progressively wetter and duller. Completely weird for June in Spain. It was cold too! The cupola of San Lorenzo de El Escorial can be seen almost in cloud. Luckily it was open so I had a good look around. Sadly, no photos were allowed inside :o( To cheer me up, if nobody else, a touch of Jimi at his funkiest! www.youtube.com/watch?v=Elitg1mB5C8

Algete has a surprisingly large number of agreeable green spaces such as this, seen on a walk to the shops. Nothing special but it's all grist to the mill!

I have maybe a couple more to post in the fullness of time. The map puts me in the neighbouring parish of Fuente El Saz. I checked and they're right - by about 5 centimeters!