Category Cyprus colour

Jun 12 2020

Tripping to Trozena…

Cyprus, May 2020…how I felt on my first “BIG” nature day out and what I stumbled across…

Whilst we are encouraged to follow the new norm of social distancing, masks and regulations in all aspects of life where you mix with other people, now our quarantine is lifted, we can just go out now.

“Go Out”…after you haven’t been able to just go out without following a raft of procedures, it actually feels quite odd to get your freedom back.

Strangely I’ve had a reluctance to just go out over the last few days. Even more strange is the fact that my going out is to places where I am unlikely to meet anyone in a social context. I’m sure the reluctance will pass, we are just taking steps out into a world where there are new norms…

If you read my blog, you probably get that I like to just go out, not to party and have a wild time, but just to be outside amidst nature.

If I’m travelling in the Middle East and beyond, I’m usually walking miles down empty beaches searching for shells, but in Cyprus, I head to the hills and if there’s the chance to head off down a lonely track, I turn onto the track…

One of my favorite round trips that is a half-day trip, is to head up the Diarizos valley, visit the abandoned village of Trozena and head back to the coast via the village of Dora.

That’s the route I took today, but as the OH is here with me, trapped in Cyprus until UAE lifts restrictions for him to return, I decided to take an alternate route back. I hadn’t wanted to do it alone, as many years ago I got into trouble on the track and have always thought since that it wouldn’t be a wise drive on my own.

It was just a lovely day, the weather is glorious here at the moment and we ended up quite high in the hills, so some lovely views, but I’m very conscious that whilst we have been locked down, I missed the transition from spring to summer, the heat is starting to dry the vegetation out and soon the hills will be brown.

I hope you enjoy my nature diary for today…

At the first stop by the Diarizos river, butterfly heaven and a surprise sighting of a black snake on the lonely road…

Colias crocea, Clouded Yellow…
Large Whip snake
Thymelius action, Lulworth Skipper
Thymelius action, Lulworth Skipper
Thymelius action, Lulworth Skipper
Pieris rapper, Small White
Papilio machaon, Swallowtail.

Trozena is an old abandoned village in the foothills leading to the Troodos mountain range. There is a small river below the village that feeds the magnificent waterfall into the valley which contains a small pool in a shaded area which is a haven for dragonflies…

Epallage fatime, Odalisque
Calopteryx splendens
Calopteryx splendens
Orthetrum species
Pelophylas cypress, Cyprus Water Frog
Arbutus Andrachne, Greek Strawberry tree
Hipparchia cypriensis, Cyprus Grayling
Onychogomphus forcipatus, Small Pincertail
Ridolfia segetum with bugs
Ridolfia segetum with a massive Hornet
Possibly Pimpinella peregrine
Onychogomphus forcipatus, Small Pincertail
Onychogomphus forcipatus, Small Pincertail
Thymelius action, Lulworth Skipper
Calopteryx splendens
Calopteryx splendens
Pieris rapae , small WhitePi
Orthetrum species
Papaver rhoeas
Papaver rhoeas
Ancient tree
Calopteryx splendens

 

Wild honeysuckle and views to the Troodos mountains, beautiful plant bugs, a huge lizard, and a random catch of one of the smallest butterflies in Cyprus…

Lonicera etrusca, Honeysuckle
Lonicera etrusca, Honeysuckle
View to Mount Olmpus, Troodos mountains
Laudakia stellia, Starred Agama
Views towards the coast
Dolycoris baccarum
Dolycoris baccarum
Glaucopsyche Paphos, Paphos Blue

 

On the track to the abandoned village of Maronas, a special butterfly, wonderful old olive trees, landscape views up and down the valley and views of the abandoned village…

Olive trees parting the road…
A special butterfly, I’ve only seen this twice…Chazara briseis, The Hermit…
Ancient but elegant olive trees…
Check out this double Olive tree trunk…
Towards Troodos, spot the listening station atop…
View over Maronas…
The mosque at Maronas…
These abandoned villages are quite poignant…
Decayed…
but beautiful views…
Window view to the hills…
The Mosque door, open and welcoming, but its an empty building…
Ruins and the view beyond…

 

 

May 25 2020

May 2020: End of quarantine restrictions, heading back out to nature in Cyprus….

In Cyprus, some freedom now, after staying safe at home…

May 21st, 2020 was quite a landmark day in this strange and apocalyptic year.

In Cyprus, like many other countries, we have been quarantined in our homes under curfew and government restrictions that have only allowed one exit per day for one of 8 reasons.

It was managed by sending a text to obtain approval, the phone had to be carried plus any passport or registration documents. Police checks were everywhere and anyone found without permission or documents was fined from 300 euro up, depending on the severity of the offense.

On the 12th of May, Phase 1 of the lockdown lift was introduced. That was to allow the population to leave their homes three times a day for up to three hours at a time, as a gradual re-introduction of more population movement…a little test of the infectious waters, so to speak.

Then on 21st May our quarantine restrictions were lifted under Phase 2 of society re-entering the world, where the unseen threat of COVID-19 lurks in your consciousness and the population of the Republic of Cyprus were free to leave their homes.

The nightly curfew was lifted, and we no longer have to send a text to obtain approval to leave our homes for the 8 reasons initially allowed.

I have no criticism of the actions our government took to protect this small island.

New cases have been decreasing recently and today, 23rd May, was the first day we had no new cases, so, in my view, a successful operation and it’s up to us, as the population, to continue to follow the new norms that will dominate our lives for the foreseeable future.

Normally I am out in the hills with my camera a couple of times a week, especially March, April, and May when nature in Cyprus is at its glorious best.

The hills are green, wildflowers are rampantly growing, there is a constant buzz of bees, the dragonflies start to emerge, butterflies are taking wing and the whole island is awash with pollinators and vibrant color.

It’s the time to tramp the hills before the summer heat burns out the foliage, but, like everyone else, we missed it this year.

So when we got to the 12th, after 5 supermarket visits since March and no other exits from home, I had to escape.

The nearest get close-to-nature valley to my home, is the Esouza river valley, with its wealth of dragonflies, butterflies, and flora.

We headed to the water pools at Ayia Varvara, a small village along the Esouza river, which is also a magnet to our local bird watchers, but I missed out on the bird photos, sadly!

I wasn’t disappointed, having only spent time in my garden, to be walking in nature was utter bliss…

Some of the finds in the 3-hour escape…

Bugs and flowers…

Chafer beetle, possibly Oxythyrea noemi
Plant bug, Calocoris nemoralis (Fabricius, 1787)

Butterflies…

Lulworth Skipper ,Thymelicus action (Rottenburg, 1775)
Pygmy Skipper, Gegenes pumilio (Hoffmannsegg,1804)
Lulworth Skipper ,Thymelicus action (Rottenburg, 1775)
Lulworth Skipper ,Thymelicus action (Rottenburg, 1775)
Lulworth Skipper ,Thymelicus action (Rottenburg, 1775)
Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus (Rottenburg,1775)
Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus (Rottenburg,1775)
Small White, Pieris rapper (Linnaeus ,1758)
Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus (Rottenburg,1775)

Damselflies…

Common Winter Damsel, Sympecma fascia (Vander Linden, 1820)
Common Bluetail, Ischnura elegant ssp.ebneri (Schmidt, 1938)
Common Bluetail, Ischnura elegant ssp.ebneri (Schmidt, 1938)
Common Bluetail, Ischnura elegant ssp.ebneri (Schmidt, 1938)
Common Winter Damsel, Sympecma fascia (Vander Linden, 1820)

Dragonflies…

Violet Dropwing, Trithemis annular (Pallsot de Beauvois, 1807)
Broad Scarlet, Crocothemis erythraea (Brullé, 1832)
Southern Skimmer, Ortheterum brunneum (Fonscolombe, 1837)
Violet Dropwing, Trithemis annular (Pallsot de Beauvois, 1807)
Common Darter, Sympetrum striatum ( Charpentier,1840)
Common Darter, Sympetrum striatum ( Charpentier,1840)
Common Darter, Sympetrum striatum ( Charpentier,1840)
Broad Scarlet, Crocothemis erythraea (Brullé, 1832)

A little disclaimer: Some of my identifications could be incorrect. Dragonflies are hard to identify, I’ve had a year of accompanying a dragonfly recorder and I’m still learning. If any mistakes are spotted, please correct me in the comments…Bug and Flower ID is ongoing, to be updated when I have a positive ID…

Apr 6 2020

It’s time for a splash of colour in these dark times…let’s go with red!

April is Poppy time in Cyprus.

This year, they will be growing gloriously undisturbed, outside our walls the flora and fauna are free to blossom and roam, but we humans are behind our doors, locked down….who would have thought this would have come to pass in our high tech world?

An unseen virus, devasting the world, movement restricted, leaving us in fear of our lives with no end in sight today… time to remember a carefree day last year when I stumbled into poppy heaven…

Last April, I had to take the OH back to Larnaca airport for an 8pm flight and we had fallen into a habit of taking a day trip to explore places at the other end of the island to make a day out, instead of an urgent 4-hour return journey for me.

This time we dropped down from Lefkara on a mountain road towards Nicosia, heading for the village of Agia Varvara, where I had seen, in other local photographer’s posts, that a poppy profusion would greet me.

I wasn’t disappointed, but sadly the weather wasn’t the best for photographs.

We had driven through a terrific hail storm, terrific to the extent of having to pull over and stop on the side of the road until the blinding hail passed over, so I did wonder whether there would be any petals left on the poppies…

I was lucky, the hail had missed Agia Varvara and the expectation I had of poppy profusion was fulfilled…

The Poppies in this area are mainly Papaver rhoeas, an annual, from 10-30cm high, flowering from March until June.

Mar 25 2020

The hills are alive…

In Cyprus, during mid-Februry, for around two weeks, the hills are alive with Almond blossom.

It was fairly wet and windy at that time, so I took the opportunity to head up the road to a local village, Episkopi, where the hills surrounding the village and river valley take on an ethereal beauty.

Swathes of Almond blossom cover the hillsides. It is a glorious time to walk amongst the groves, small spring flowers popping through the undergrowth. 

As we are now under curfew on our small island, like many all over the world, it’s time to review my walks.

I hope you enjoy my Almond blossom photographs… stay safe, my friends… 

Dec 10 2019

I’ve been spammed….

It’s been a long time, too long a time since I logged into my WordPress account…

It’s time to put 2019 ( butterflies, dragonflies, strange insects, shells, fossils, travel) into posts, but I have been busy with being supportive and stern with Younger Child over his degree ambitions and the continuous saga of maintenance required on my old and crumbling, but well-loved home.

(Younger child, previously referred to as Darling boy in earlier posts, but I think during the year of being stern, we all had to become more adult, well, not me, I’m nearly past being adult, but DB had to grow up, so, YC is now a more appropriate, anonymous name for my blog references to said child)

Crumbling home is a feeling a bit better now. It has required much TLC throughout the year, a lifetime project that my partner has done wonders with so far… thank god for Google, his skill set is now such that I will be advertising his skills when times are hard… building skills, that is!

With my mind on other worries, to organise the blog, decide on and edit the photos, plan, write, well… along the 2019 way, I lost my blogging mojo.

But, Younger child now has his degree, Yay!

I no longer need to be a good mummy… well, I do, I know I will be, but I can start to step back now and let him flee my nest (again) and in my adult mind, I’ve earned some me-time now….time to return to my WordPress world…

So I took the first step back in tonight, the familiar side menus, the “Add new post”… all within reach, but then my eye caught sight of the spam folder.

Good grief! Azimet has done a fine job and stopped over 3,000 spam messages, but there were still over 1,000 slipped through.

Viagra appeared to be the dominant message….

I have resisted all offers and didn’t bother to look after page 1, but now I am exhausted by the thought that somewhere out there, there are people-bots or whatever does it nowadays, generating random messages, sending them all over the world to flog pharmaceuticals and does anyone actually look at these messages and think…Oh, yeah, I’ll just pop in an order for a drug to that genuine looking worldwide site ?

Instead of being creative with words and photos, I’m now feeling a bit like Victor(ia) Meldrew (of a certain age and you’ll get that one) after the spam-fest, so I’ll restart my mojo briefly with a picture I took two days ago of the beautiful, tiny and fragile Narcissus obsoletus , currently flowering in Cyprus at the moment and come back soon!

Narcissus obsoletus is a species of the genus Narcissus (daffodils) in the family Amaryllidaceae. It is native to the Mediterranean littoral from north Africa and the Iberian peninsula, east to Israel.

 

Mar 2 2019

Almond blossom on a grey day….

According to the news, it has so far been the wettest five months since 1901 in Cyprus. I can vouch for the fact it has been very wet!

A planned day out today was deemed prudent to cancel, as the little cloud with raindrops on the weather app seemed to be rain-dropping all day at the destination.

But the rain was intermittent and I needed bread so went out, with my camera (just in case). I decided to turn right up the hill as there was a hint of blue between the clouds.

Bread be damned, but the grey clouds closed over the bit of blue just as I turned the corner to find an almond field in full blossom.

Oh well, too beautiful to be missed, even on a grey day.

I did buy bread, by the way. A handy little kiosk on the way down the hill had some. Not too sure it was fresh today, but it did well for toast with blue cheese snacks…

Feb 5 2019

Finding anemones…

Cyprus has had a wet winter this year, but the island needs the water and the dams have reached record levels so I hope there will no water shortages during the summer.

Amidst all the rain, nature has been taking its course and one of my great pleasures is to head off to the hillsides and search for wildflowers that start to pop up in late January.

One of these is Anemone Coronaria  (Crown Anemone), family: Ranunculaceae, native to the Mediterranean region.

I’ve always seen them over the years, but now I’m actively looking, the profusion of these beautiful flowers amazes me. Popping up in moist meadows, in a range of colours, it’s a delight to find them.

Oct 9 2018

So what did I do during my free time in the Summer of 2018…?

Well, I wasn’t blogging!

This year, after an India and Oman trip during April, I headed back to Cyprus for the summer.

Now I’m not working in the UAE, visiting the region during the summer months isn’t appealing but my home in Cyprus is.

Sorting the years of never sorted clutter (still an ongoing and tedious project) and fixing the house ( Luckily the OH does D-I-Y extremely well) were my priorities and working on the garden is my ultimate pleasure.

I was happy to be here enjoying my home at long last, but I want to learn new skills, my background has been leaning towards the arts forever and last year I started Mosaic classes with a local Mosaic artist, Sharen Taylor ( interesting links below) who is extremely talented and has her own unique take on the ancient art and is an established face within the Arts scene in Paphos.

This year I moved onto the intermediate level and joined a course where we were to make a table.

My choice was to make one for outside, I have a lovely seating area in the shade, but, no table for the morning frappe or glass of vino that perfects a Cyprus summer’s eve.

Measurements taken, 60cm x 120cm, 50cm high, a perfect fit.

Then I drew a blank on the design, vague notions of vine leaves, grapes, olives, and pomegranates swirled around in my head but wouldn’t flow on paper. So, I left the designing, feeling inspiration would eventually arrive.

Teacher messaged to advise to have our design expanded to the actual size.

Hmm, panic, this was my project, I had to do something, I only had a head vision which wasn’t coming together.

I spent the evening cobbling together a little design ( you will note this has nothing to do with the aforementioned head plan of grapes, vines or pomegranates, but leans towards lemons, oranges and almond blossom, such are the vagaries of head art, but it’s all relevant to Cyprus life).

Scrabbling around in cupboards for pencils, crayons, old geometry sets, observant folks will note the ruler in the pictures and understand just how old that is!

I like precision and it started to take shape. Enlarged the next day with some blank parts (To be decided), working on the principle that the design would flow as it evolved.

Head thoughts, to be worked on in progress…

This was quite a big project and I was going to be living with the end result, so I needed to do what I wanted to do, break a few rules if there are any and go with my art heart!

Once it started, it became my nightly pleasure. “Darling” son who lives with me, is working in the hospitality industry, late nights are the norm, there was no one who needed my cooking skills and I can live quite happily on cheese and biscuits, bread and cheese, biscuits and cheese, cheese and… well, you get the picture!

Work in progress…

July mosaiced into August, my daughter arrived for three weeks holiday so I put my tile nippers and glue away and became social again, but there was a deadline to the final session ticking away so whilst she was out clubbing away some evenings, I was snipping, cutting and gluing, racing towards completion day.

Grouting day appeared, a messy time, plus apprehension as to whether I’d done it right, had I used the right amount  of water and grout, had I stood on the tiles hard enough to make it level ( Yes, one way of ensuring a big piece is glued down evenly, I didn’t think of that either! Thank you, Teacher!)

Finished-pre-grout…

Luckily the OH had appeared for a D-I-Y visit, he helped me and we brought it home. Horror, there were cracks appearing, panic built, but Teacher passed by on her way home and taught me the grout fixes.

The mosaic panel was inserted into the table frame.

The result for me was the pleasure of the whole project.

I’d enjoyed the creation and the finished table was something I’d completed, finally!

A very satisfying summer and a new table!

Finished, post-grout…

I did mention I’d only be doing this once, but, well, I’ve now joined into another glass and mosaic workshop and guess what, I’m doing another table! The table journey to be continued…

And I need to catch up on rather a lot blog-wise. Hmmm…

My excellent teacher:

http://www.sharentaylor.com

www.facebook.com/SharenTaylorMosaics

Mar 12 2018

Weekly Photo Challenge: Story…

It’s early Spring in Cyprus at the moment.

20/3/18 is the official date for the start of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere, ( I checked, just to make sure) but the hillsides in Cyprus are already in full Spring bloom.

The trees are bursting out into blossom, the ground is full of wild iris, orchids, and field gladioli, not to mention the numerous other small flowers that pop up through the undergrowth and the weather is glorious.

It’s a time for walks in the hills with a camera in hand…

My story starts with an Almond tree, in full blossom…

 

and then I spot a bee…

 

Let’s follow the bee…

 

Oh, that nectar is so worth a deep dive…

 

And it’s so good I’m going in for more…

 

Finished! Time to go home…

 

Now, where’s my hive?

 

 

Story

Jan 22 2018

Weekly Photo Challenge, Silence…

The Daily Post photo challenge this week asks us what Silence looks like in a photo.

This was the one for me.

A January trip up to the Troodos mountains in Cyprus, choosing a little used road, we came across a view point high up in the mountains with a perfectly placed bench looking across this view.

No sounds, remote from anyone else, this is my take on Silence.

The view from my seat was totally silent……

Silence