Sun and snow in Herastrau

In an empty park

Another kind of winter-gray

We were used to cold, snowy winters, with frosty and often sunny days (we call it "soare cu dinti"- sun that has teeth, biting), sparkling snow, icicles, icy roads, sharp wind-sometimes. The public transportation often got slow and if the snow was higher than half a meter or so, schools would close. Then, kids would stay outside all day playing in the snow, there was no flu danger and it was heaven for them.
I hate cold, but incredibly I regret those winters. Now, all we have is gray. It's wet and rather warm: 7 to 10, foggy and dull. We keep the lights on all day long, so the hours have almost no meaning. At 4pm it's already night. Kids are almost all sneezing and coughing, many have the flu, so no outdoors playing. An early vacation starts next week, I hope they will be able to enjoy it. We will only to some extent, because it will cost us. And then, we'll have to redo classes on our spare time.
I'm dreading the New Year- the worst moment in the year for me,when we are supposed to celebrate that we're only ephemeral. But, until then, let's cross the fingers for a snowy Christmas.

colours in autumn ( a fairytale)

Walking in a more than warm autumn morning is the best way to celebrate Students and Teachers' Day. Finding these taints of colour I like so much brings peace and relax to brain, soul and sight.
And although the storks' nests are empty there is joy in the landscape.

An Ordinary Afternoon

Autumn colours for autumn chasers

Have a sunny autumn day!

On the way back home

How slowly is autumn showing off this year! Nevertheless, here it is. The small trees in the avenues are changing colour. they look warmer, peaceful reds are making the new look.

might already getting closer

Starting here and going right, in a sunny warm day you can have one of the most beautiful walks in Ávila

Not fully golden, but already on the way. This solitary tree opposite the Walls is a good example of this slow path into autumn.

And although you don't like iron works these two constructions also show something of our heritage and something of the new season.

Autumn in the mirror

Green nevertheless

It is not easy to find traces of the new season at the moment. It is so warm still that the only fallen leaves are the ones that died because of the lack of rain. Nothing to od with the wonderful golden colours you see everywhere else. it's like a curse.

See what I mean, just a taint of autumn. But green nevertheless.
Bafta for Rome

Autumn in the Market

By this time of the year, a special kind of madness gets all of us: the winter preparations, the preserves. Maybe it's the hard winters we sometimes have, maybe the long years when food was so hard to find and a jar of pickles was pure gold, maybe tradition. Maybe we even enjoy it. But people behave like famine would start next week. The markets are full with everything that can make you get to work or get fat: bell-peppers, long peppers, tomatoes, cabbage, cauliflower, eggplant, cucumbers, horse radish, corn cobs, beans, zucchinis, apples, pears, grapes, melons, peaches....everything. And the fat king of the market: the pumpkin! Autumn's faithful companion. Then you buy jars and other recipients for the pickles or jam, lids and the rest. Then you roll up your sleeves.
And only the yellow leaves have time to rest on the bench, in the mild sun. And the autumn.

Leaves

Either it was already here and I hadn't realised or it was the storm yesterday. But I noticed this leaves carpet when coming back from school. Hundreds and hundreds of leaves quietly resting on the grass, waiting for the wind to take them away before the gardeners do it. I'm sure they would like to be caressed by a gentle breeze of air. But it's another warm day today. No use wishing for the twirling second today.

Footsteps

Definitely, the autumn is somewhere near- here are her footsteps in the grass.

Equinox

Another summer is ending today. A long way to go until the next one...
Autumn is still not very openly present: only its light and smell are here, and the cool mornings. It's only playing with us, throwing chestnuts and acorns at us, making us unsuspicious until it's strong enough to take over our lives. Still, it's not long before the colours will start changing and we'll look for a warm shelter for our dreams.
Here are the first and the last verses from a beautiful poem about autumn, belonging to a great contemporary woman writer, Ana Blandiana. Unfortunately, I found no translation and mine are usually terrible. I'm sorry for that.

Let me keep my green trees, fall
here, have my eyes instead;
in the yellow wind at dusk
trees were crying on their knees.
Let me keep the daytime, fall,
don't pour smoke into the sun,
turn me into nightfall-
I already am.

PS Remember the photo by any chance?

Summer in crisis time

Nothing escapes this money crisis time. However and perhaps with more intensity, the usual summer activities are being held in town.
Ávila en Tapas, the Pottery Fair and the Summer Festivals were born to get tourists when beaches start to attract most the people who travel.
Nevertheless, this year nothing has been the same. Ávila en Tapas is a very good opportunity for bars which enter the competition to get more customers. After the week end there were many complains because some bars had not presented any original tapa. They had entered the competition to be part of the list and make business, but they offered tapas they have everyday.
As a matter of fact, what you are looking for is creativity.
The Pottery Fair had less stands and there was not the Pottery workshop for children. The Town Hall usually opened this workshop paying each of the craftmen in the fair to teach people, especially children how to work. At the end, the craftmen complained that people had bought much less.
The Summer Festivals started yesterday in the evening. The chairman of the basketball club: Óbila, was in charge of giving the announcement speech. He said at the end of his words: "Abulenses, forget about money problems, rush into the streets and enjoy".
The concert after the beginning was good and free. But there were not many people. It was a cool summer night.
Not everybody is happy with the activities programme, although there are some curious moments, for example a Reading Workshop in el Rastro. But once again, citizens complain about the lack of variety and the problems with timetables and prices. There two best concerts are the same day the same time.
Even so, I think we will enjoy. I'm thinking about the Reading Workshop, and a Serrat concert, which is not very cheap by the way.

An exhibition

Beyond the tree in bloom, the publicity for a new exhibition about the origins of humankind.
Nature and men get twinned in a constant progress and transformation. Everything changes, nothing is lost. At least, nothing should be lost, not even history.
The exhibition will close on the 17th May. You might see it. Then, we could discuss the way we became what we are.

First spring colours

Although slowly and in a shy way, some purple is growing on trees in town. They give colour to the old mansions where long time ago knights and ladies lived. They may not have seen these leaves, but most probably they enjoyed the frangrance in the inner court.

New and Old

As the new life comes to meet the light, the remainders of the old must make room. Nature's laws.

Spring cleaning

Whenever you look in old town in Ávila there is a church, a convent with its bell tower. And this moment in the year, most of them get old inhabitants. Storks. By itself, like this one.

Or in a band as these other ones. Look at them, trying to figure out the best way to clean their old nest.

Do not think they are the symbol of the town. But they are much loved.

Waiting for the Spring