Stunning white Early Purple Orchid on Cleeve Common Gloucestershire this morning @ukorchids.bsky.social @europeanorchids.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social
Stunning white Early Purple Orchid on Cleeve Common Gloucestershire this morning @ukorchids.bsky.social @europeanorchids.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social
Frampton on Severn Gloucester to Sharpness canal tow path sign at Splatt Bridge for #FingerPostFriday #Gloucestershire
Happy #BreadDay to all who celebrate!
#OnThisDay - 19 April - someone in #Pompeii felt so excited that they just had to record that:
"XIII K(alendas) Maias panem feci" (CIL IV 8972)
'On April 19, I made bread'
Image: National Archaeological Museum, Naples (84596)
A wall-box in lovely Ragusa Iblea, oddly the only post box I spotted on my travels in #Sicily. For #PostboxSaturday ๐ฎ๐น๐ฎ
Primula tardiflora, April, Sichuan
For #FingerpostFriday, a rural sign in deepest #Sicily. An area of dazzling #orchids, ancient history and plunging gorges.
Sadly our #Sicily sojourn has come to an end. I leave you with the beautifully preserved old olive press and a giant arancino starter from our lovely agriturismo, Masseria Santa Catrini.
A day of two halves: orchids then Ragusa Iblea, a little gem. Plus gelato of course. #Sicily
On our last full day on #Sicily, pleased to catch up with the eponymous Ophrys Laurensis on Monte Lauro
Seen some impressive #Orobanche here in #Sicily, locally common. Hereโs todayโs: Orobanche Variegata on Broom.
Ophrys calliantha, endemic #orchid of #Sicily
#AncientBluesky #MosaicMonday
#AncientBluesky #MosaicMonday
The archaeological museum at Agrigento is well worth a visit. Here are some lion-head waterspouts from the area, a fancy way to finish your guttering. #Sicily #AncientBluesky
No day out in the Mediterranean in April would be complete without a few orchids among some classical ruins. Here a lovely cluster of Bumblebee Orchids at Agrigento #Sicily #Orchids
Modern bronze statue of fallen Icarus and Temple of Concordia, Agrigento #Sicily #AncientBluesky
Goat with very curly horns near Agrigento #Sicily and pot, 6th century B.C., in the townโs archaeological museum, featuring the goatโs ancestor #AncientBluesky
Former tuna fishery at Vendicari #Sicily historically also the site of garum manufacture
Lots of these little โegagropiliโ (balls of sea vegetation) on the beach at Vendicari #Sicily. Intriguing little things, like shipwrecked kiwi fruit.
Ortigia #Sicily. Sparking blue water and sky.
Doric columns of the ancient Temple of Athena still visible even though the building was converted into a cathedral #Ortigia #Sicily
Quiet atmospheric back streets of Ortigia #Sicily
Dyerโs alkanet (I think) and Ophrys Biancae on #Sicily today
Turtle dove at Noto Antica #Sicily
Ancient tracks in the limestone pavement in #Sicily filled with orchids and wildflowers
Another colour-filled day in #Sicily with the common Lathyrus Clymenum
Allegedly the owner of the luxurious Villa Romana del Casale #Sicily - on the left is Marcus Aurelius Maximianus, co-emperor with Diocletian, looking on as another tour group rattles through #Roman #mosaic
On a bird hunt at the Villa Romana del Casale #Sicily. A hunter has one in the hand, definitely better for him than the two in the bush #Roman #mosaic
After yesterdayโs Mirror Orchid, more reflective delights from #Sicily today at the overwhelming Villa Romana del Casale
Beautiful Pantalica in #Sicilia, rock tombs carved into the gorge