Next time you’re out for a stroll, try a form of “conscious walking”: to play detective, hunting for insights into the plants and animals that share our beautiful landscape.
A winter Tramontane might make your eyes run and your nose stream, and even freeze the oranges and lemons on your trees – but what’s not to like about snow-capped Canigou, cloudless blue skies and crystal clear views? And even if the towns and villages go a little quiet over the winter months, there’s still loads going on in the P-O…naturally! Possibly right outside your window.
If you’re wondering why the P-O is graced with fewer palms than a decade ago or why many remaining trees look sick or dead, pests in the form of a moth and weevil are to blame.
One of the greatest things about winter is that the life of the animals and birds of the mountains is much easier to see and understand thanks to the snow.
In the P-O we are usually blessed with a fabulous autumn – for many people here it’s their favourite season. Mountain and vineyard vistas have turned yellow, orange, red. Rains have refreshed the parched land and refilled our rivers, sometimes to over flowing!
This time we’re exploring the weird, the wonderful & one or two myths about creatures both common & rare that live alongside us in the PO.
Not All Black Olives Are Black! We’ve all plucked an olive off a tree, popped it into our mouths and quickly popped it back out again – haven’t we? And beurk (French for yuk!). But do you know why?
Test Your French with a French Joke. Un canard entre dans une épicerie et demande au patron: “Vous avez de la nourriture pour canards ?” Le patron répond «Nous n’en avons pas. Ici nous vendons de la nourriture pour les gens. »
Ants aren’t loved by many, especially when they invade the house. However, one of the most common and arguably fascinating species in Mediterranean areas like ours is the Harvester (Messor barbarus), which won’t be remotely interested in heading for your kitchen in search of meaty or sugary tidbits.
Contact details and info here if you know of any of these massive nests needing destroying. Now I’d the time…and it’s free.
