News & Updates from Carol Dunne · Page 14
Not far from my house is a corner of land which was donated a long time ago to the local residents on the understanding that it was never to be built on.
It is a really nice conservation area that changes with the seasons and is looked after by local volunteers. The sun was shining when I drove past today and all the snowdrops had started to open. Absolutely beautiful- a blanket of such pretty little white flowers with a message that spring is on its way.
I have just returned from a holiday in Gran Canaria. We have been many times before this time of year and the weather has been beautiful.
The hotel was fantastic, this photo is just one of the swimming pools and yes ! the sky is blue when I took the photo but as you can see there is no-one in the pool.
The pool was heated but it was too cold when you got out again. One of the locals said that he was 50 years old and never known the weather so bad. The wind was so bad two trees were uprooted in the hotel grounds.
At other times it was mostly showers and very cold. Never mind the food was great as was the hotel. Just unlucky with the weather I guess.
We have a Camellia bush in our garden, its about 8ft high and I have always considered it an early flowering variety because it normally flowers in early February.
Very occasionally we have a year when it flowers last week in January but this year (or should I say last year) it started flowering before Christmas just gone.
I thought the cold weather would have made the flowers go brown but so far they are still a beautiful pink.
On a recent cruise to the Caribbean island of Martinique I had the good fortune to visit Jardin De Balata which are beautiful botanical gardens up in the hills.
The views are spectacular as are the botanical specimens planted in the fantastic gardens.
They also hang up special bird feeders filled with a honey type liquid for the little humming birds which live there.
I must have taken about fifty photographs trying to get just one decent photo. I am afraid this is the best of my many attempts.
On our recent Caribbean cruise we called at the beautiful island of Gaudaloupe which is where they film the TV program Death in Paradise.
We went to visit the Botanical Gardens and came across these pretty little parrots. They were crafty little fellows.
They all waited by a machine in the bird enclosure, sitting along the fence in a row waiting for people to come and put 5 cents in the slot machine.
A notice near the machine said, When you put your money in the birds will come! Sure enough as you can see my husband put in his 5 cents to get a small cup of creamy coloured fluid.
Which the little parrots love, and next minute they landed on him all trying to get whatever it was in the little cup.
I think you can see 8 little parrots in the photo and there were a few more out of view waiting their turn.