Sprouting again. It feels rewarding to see the seeds grow.
Photographs
Shadows in the night.
I received this electronic sticker by email today. My first vote in a US Presidential Election since becoming a US citizen in 2022. The Hawaii Primaries.
Young puppy, Mochi, my step-daughter’s little French Bulldog getting curious about the sheep next door. What is not shown is the other sheep and cow looking on. How wet it was that afternoon. How I had to push my way through a hedge to get to Mochi, and go back through it once I had Mochi. How Mochi was in no hurry to be picked up, and by the time that I did get to him, he was covered in mud…and then ran straight back down to the animals once I had cleaned him off.
Oh the mischievousness of youth…whatever the breed.
This jigsaw puzzle was very satisfying to do, and the collage of images looks better in the completed puzzle than the image on the box. Some fun, whimsical pieces in there as well. 🧩
Playing around again with Cinemin by Tinrocket, a couple of evenings ago.
I’m in the middle of doing this jigsaw puzzle showing a collage of various traditional British pub exteriors and signage. A puzzle that my mother gave to me. I love doing puzzles. The process relaxes me. Doing this one I’m finding is also making me homesick. There is nothing like a British pub and I am no longer around them. I miss them. 🧩
This morning’s rainbow 🌈
I’ve been playing around with Tinrocket’s relatively new app Cinemin. While admiring what they can do, I do not normally choose to use apps that give photographs a artistic look, this one I am enjoying though. The images that Cinemin produces is,
Inspired by traditional animation art and films
Here are a couple of my first dabbles with the app, conjoined by Tinrocket’s collage app, Photo Tape.
This evening’s sunset view from home.
Between the rainbow this morning and this sunset, the day has felt oddly discombobulated. Slowly productive, but sort of disjointed along the way.
This morning’s rainbow, accompanied by the moon 🌈
A part of the ruin of the old Sugar Mill in Paia, Maui.
I was out last night searching for slugs and snails who might be eating our young lettuces, and instead I found this spider standing guard.
The moon casts ghostly shadows over the landscape last night. The images were taken through the windows of our house.
A boat moored on the River Sado. The photo was taken while out on the River Sado in a more modern boat, powered by solar power and completely quiet.
The weather cleared this morning and the fire burning on the side of Haleakala is clearly visible. The good news is that forward progress of the fire has been halted, it is 50% contained, the size of the fire has been downgraded to 355 acres, and there have been no evacuation orders.
Grilling two evenings ago.
A large egg has appeared outside of our front door.
Cadaqués, Spain by day and by night.
Nautical scene, Cadaqués, north eastern Spain.
The Bullring in Alcácer do Sal. I believe that there are very few bullfights there, maybe two or three a year. One was due to take place just after we left Alcácer mid-June.
Bullring, Alcácer do Sal
I find myself disagreeing with the idea of a bullfight. I don’t know what the majority feeling is in Portugal and specifically in Alcácer, though I have heard that one of the best bullfighters in the country comes from/came from the town? We were told by a friend in Alcácer that the bull is not killed in bullfighting in Portugal, though I don’t know when a fight is deemed to be over?
My wife and I discussed whether we would have attended if we had still been in Alcácer when the fight took place. I went from not at all to only if I could sit on a seat near to an exit should I choose to leave early. I started to feel that if I lived in Alcácer I had to understand the people and the culture better before offering my opinion.
My repulsion towards bullfighting comes from my sense that it is simply cruel to bulls and in this day and age does not have a place. I have a similar feeling towards fox hunting in the UK which is now outlawed. However, while I come from the UK and use to have fox hunts pass where I lived in South Wales and so had some experiential sense of that activity, I hesitate to call it a ‘sport’, I have not seen a bullfight. Could I critique that which I have not seen - yes, no, maybe? I felt better that I see it. That time will have to wait though.
Back in the land of the rainbows. Here is this morning’s. If you look closely, it is possible to make out a faint second one above the first. 🌈
The air, the landscape was so still and quiet this morning. You’ll probably have to turn up the volume to hear the bird song in the recording below.
Out walking, pounding the streets of Barcelona.
Moon rise this evening near to Cadaqués.
Outdoor spaces at Salvador Dali’s house in Portlligat, Spain.
This morning’s view.
The Caixa Forum, Madrid.
When I was younger and my grandfather came to visit he use to give me the empty end of an ice cream cone. I never knew the reason why, and asking my mother she does not know why either? My wife and I were eating at this very good Gelato place in Possanco, Comporta called Gulato, and I was reminded of my grandfather’s gifts as I bit down towards the end of my cone.
By the way, I can’t say enough good things about Gulato. It is a bit off the beaten track but still not far away from everything else in the area. Hunt it down. Lovely staff, the owner trained in making Gelato in Italy. Delicious gelato all made on the property. A beautiful location.
Some friends in Alcácer very kindly arranged a sunset boat ride for us along the Sado River yesterday evening. This was completely unexpected and a lovely gift. The boat was solar powered and so there was no noise of an engine or exhaust fumes. There was just the sound of water lapping against the boat as we sailed forward along the river, of fish jumping, of the wind blowing through the grasses at the river’s edge. This made for a very relaxing trip.
Drinks and snacks were provided for the ride. The boat’s captain, Manual, shared with us the history of the Sado River, once a busy trade route through the Alentejo area of Portugal and further afield. Earlier that day a new Alcácer acquaintance shared the trade that use to take place between Alcácer do Sal and Cornwall, England. Cornwall had tin and this was used for making steel in Portugal. With the history of human settlement in the Alcácer do Sal area going back 40,000 years, the river has been an important trade route for a long time.
Chatting, eating, drinking, watching, listening, laughing.
If you find yourself in Alcácer do Sal, look up Sunrice boat trips. A good host, great company. We had a wonderful evening.
Views along the Sado River at sunset.