After The Rain

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Today I spotted a field near the back of La Oliva (behind Casa de Los Coroneles) with clumps of poppies:

 

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They think it's all over ……….



another prickly pear/cactus plant that has looked totally dead for at least the 3 years that I have walked past it suddenly pushed out new growth.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Not so much 'after the rain' but after yet another burst water pipe alongside the road, flowers coming back into bloom again.



the birds have also been enjoying all the little puddles, and surprisingly to me, I have seen several lizards taking a drink.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

First time spot for me today, a plant with flowers like a thistle although the general shape/style of the plant is not thistle like in my experience. This was near the cheese factory in Tindaya.

 

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A day of drizzle and a very heavy shower a couple of weeks ago and the wild plants are starting to bloom:

 

 

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After the showers (or after a water leak  ) some African/French marigolds are making a nice splash of colour along the roadside:

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Well, we've still only had odd showers rather than a heavy downpour that is usual at this time of year, but already the plant life is reacting. The problem will be that the seeds are germinating with no depth of moisture at their roots so they may not thrive. Existing dormant plants will hopefully be a bit tougher as they put out new growth.

the sides of the lanes are flushed pale green with the grass and weed seedlings racing into life.

  the mimosas are starting to bloom.

   the 'ugly' bushes are waking up, can never remember their name!

  some tuno (prickly pear) is ready for picking whilst the fruit on other bushes is weeks behind. Don't try PYO unless you know what you are doing! Leather gauntlets or specialist long handled tongs needed to pick them and then agitate repeatedly in a colander/sieve under running water to remove the fine hair like prickles that you can hardly see with the naked eye. You only handle once without care - never again!

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A pretty mound of vetch

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Now we've had a bit more substantial rain the wild plants are bound to react quickly - they know they need to grow, bloom and set seed in the short timeframe while the moisture remains in the ground.

  the 'shin shredder' has put out leaves and flowers in  the space of a week.

as has the 'barbed wire' plant.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

This strange plant which smothers whatever it grows over has started growing again. The new growth is pink/red with tendrils that wrap around the host twigs and their are loads of tiny pink flowers like little pompoms.