Tattoodave

Thanks Suze, he's fine, you can barely see where they opened him up, he's back to his normal self now, belligerent, disobedient and wilful.

I told you they were on the way Steve, the Hoopoes are calling here frequently and the Thekla's and Crested Larks are in abundance. Hope to have some orchid photos later this week, once the dog gets the cone of shame off and his staples out.

Thanks, his staples come out next Monday, then he'll be wearing a muzzle on the beach, but he'll be getting lots of treats.

He's on medication Peter, but typical dog he hates having to take tablets, soft food and no treats at the moment, but is soldiering on. He has to go to the veterinary hospital on Wednesday for a check up and then has the staples out next Monday, hopefully. It's been a traumatic weekend. Not to mention the cost, but he's worth it.

My poor sad dog after having surgery last Thursday because he swallowed a discarded fishhook on the beach.

I don't put the heating on here Kev, it's not needed, I don't wear socks, and am in tee shirts all year. Happy probably feels the cold more than me.

I can only guess as to how cold it is, it's 15C here at the moment and my dog doesn't seem to mind that at all.

Leucojum tricophyllum in abundance near Lepe, Andalucia.

The Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma, more commonly referred to as La Seu (a title also used by many other churches), is a Gothic Roman Catholic cathedral located in Palma, Majorca, Spain, built on the site of a pre-existing Arab mosque. It is 121 metres long, 55 metres wide and its nave is 44 metres tall. By way of comparison, the height of the central nave reaches 33m in Notre Dame de Paris, 38m in Reims, 42m in Notre-Dame d'Amiens and 48m in Saint-Pierre de Beauvais, the highest of all Gothic cathedrals. Designed in the Catalan Gothic style but with Northern European influences, it was begun by King James I of Aragon in 1229 but finished only in 1601. It sits within the old city of Palma atop the former citadel of the Roman city, between the Royal Palace of La Almudaina and the episcopal palace. It also overlooks the Parc de la Mar and the Mediterranean Sea. In 1901, fifty years after a restoration of the cathedral had started, Antoni Gaudí was invited to take over the project. While some of his ideas were adopted – moving the choir stalls from the middle nave to be closer to the altar, as well as a large canopy – Gaudí abandoned his work in 1914 after an argument with the contractor. The planned changes were essentially cosmetic rather than structural, and the project was cancelled soon after. You weren't that far out in your 50 year bit, although it was 50 years after the restoration was started, rather than the cathedral completed, as that would have been 1651. All this courtesy of Wikipedia.

Is this you talking to yourself, as surely a bet with yourself means you owe the money to yourself, and maybe even the essay, though I'm sure you'd be better off giving the money to a well deserving charity rather than just swapping pockets, and I for one wouldn't read the essay as I'm a chin stroker with a rather large beard at presentsadly emoticon comes beardless!!

This is a modern cathedral at El Palmar de Troya, with a high wall around it, possibly because they are a small schismatic church that has split away from the mainstream Catholic church and have their own pontiff. A pretty place, but not very welcoming.

Happy, the dog, in the dunes at Conil

This swallowtail butterfly obliged yesterday, first time I've got close to one.

Just back from Huelva, plenty of swallows and swifts heading north, you can expect them within a week.

It wasn't until the 70's that flights to the USA became cheap enough to entice vinyl collectors over to look for the hidden gems that we refer to as Northern Soul, if you'd asked for Northern Soul then in the record shops, warehouses or anywhere else you'd have been given a blank look even deeper than the ones given when asking for specific titles. You have to remember that this is a subculture made prevalent by working class individuals, so not your frequent flying elite. Maybe some folks called it Northern Soul when they sang at informal gatherings of their brethren, but it cuts no ice in a country where people were ignorant of that "fact".

But, the older African American community's Northern Soul is not our Northern Soul, ours is the rare, forgotten, often "B" sides to commercial flops that America discarded.

Supposedly now a couple of YouTube files of it, from LP's presumably as there's no spinning 45

and I complain when I have to put socks on

Sad news indeed, several years ago he spilt a pint down my trousers and every time I saw him after that he apologised, a real gentleman. RIP Toby

Used to hear them a lot on the fens, easier than spotting them, camouflage is amazing in the natural world

It's taken me over a year to name this, eventually tracked it down to Narcissus cuatrecasasii, supposedly endangered, only endanged by being eaten by goats as I've seen plenty in various locations. This one is the hoop petticoat narcissus, Narcissus bulbocodium, far easier to name, but a beast to find.

Recently renamed in honour of a hero of a Mexican battle, Roldana petasitis, flowering it's head off now.

Iris planifolia flowering near Gracelema

I think the butterfly is a small copper, I know what the shrub is though, Lygos monosperma.

It takes a few plays to get used to, and is one that should be heard more. Good luck with finding the Witches.