Bath time in Barcelona

It is important to appreciate the wildlife that we come across when we are doing other things. Never ignore an opportunity to appreciate the activities and behaviours that another species is carrying out in front of you. It may teach you something or, at the very least, it will make you live in the moment as you stop thinking about other things and simply enjoy the small insight into another being's life. With this in mind, I would like to share with you a short video of a house sparrow (Passer domesticus), which is called a "pardal" in Catalan, cooling off in a pool at the Cosmocaixa science museum in Barcelona. 

Banyoles

This weekend the children and I went to cool off in the lake at Banyoles. It is such a beautiful place to spend time. My son and I particularly enjoyed looking for fish as we swam underwater. On the surface there is plenty of life too; large red dragonflies zip around, and we saw ducks, coots and moorhens. The lake provides the perfect place for people to have some contact with nature whilst relaxing and enjoying themselves.

Evening at Banyoles Lake

A night-time walk

Last night I went on a "caminada nocturna" or night-time walk organised by the walking association Les Guilles. We set off at about 8.30pm from Figarò and were soon up in the hills feeling hot and sweaty but enjoying the shady path which took us up through the trees to an impressive viewpoint. The light was starting to fade a bit and so the photos I took are not great but they give you an idea of how impressive the scenery is in this part of Catalonia. As the day drew to a close the air was filled with the sounds of chirruping insects. I suppose they were cicadas and, for me, it is the sound of the Mediterranean summer. When the darkness had fully descended I regretted leaving my head torch at home (oops!) but felt grateful to the kind woman who had lent me a small torch. At the halfway point we had a break where we were served watermelon and orange slices which was very refreshing and spurred us on for the rest of the walk. The downhill path was rather treacherous with loose stones and sand but, luckily, I managed to stay on my feet and to not fall over. Soon we were back on a tarmac road next to the river listening to the loud croaking of the frogs whose vocalisations accompanied us for the last section of the walk. When we arrived back in Figarò I went for a swim in the pool and felt happy to have had this experience of being out in the countryside at night.

Sun on the river

Yesterday morning I tried to escape the heat by walking along the shady path by the river. The sun was strong and it bounced off the slightly murky brown water and made the leaves of the plants and trees on the riverbank shimmer and sparkle with dancing reflections. It was truly beautiful. The birds sang loudly. I was able to watch a robin for several minutes as he sat on a low branch singing. I also saw a couple of extremely small birds hopping around amongst the branches. They were not shy of me and, in fact, one of them seemed to look at me and stayed close by allowing me to look at him/her for a while. I am not sure what species it was. From the size I wonder if it was a wren (Troglodytes troglodytes). In this extreme heat I wonder how the animals cope but at least by the river there are cool places for them to seek refuge.