Binixems to Subaida.

It was a beautiful morning. Sunny and warm. The route outlined below is about six miles and runs along rural tracks through meadows and woods.

 

The road here is quite narrow, so the cars should be left at the shrine of Binixems. From here, leaving the little church on the right and keep walking until you find on the right hand side a track with the name "Cami den Rossi". From this point up to Subaida the route passes through an area with very diverse wildlife.

Asparagus acutifolius, common name Wild Asparagus, is an evergreen perennial plant belonging to the genus Asparagus of the Liliaceae family. The Latin name acutifolius of this species, meaning "thorny leaves", derives from the characteristics shape of the leaves, a quite common feature in the typical plants of the Mediterranean.

Each spring many people in the island collect them on tracks and sidewalks. The next step is a homemade quiche with wild asparagus.

A new chapter in my (photographic) Menorcan Orchid Hunting.

 

Ophrys tenthredinifera is a species of orchid native to the Mediterranean.  This orchid has rose coloured sepals that contrast with the exterior labellum, which is yellow in colour and trapezoidal in form. This labellum is necked with a small raised protuberance.

 Scarlet pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis; also known as red pimpernel, red chickweed, poorman's barometer, poor man's weather-glass, shepherd's weather glass or shepherd's clock) is a low-growing annual plant. The native range of the species is Europe and Western and North Africa. The species has been distributed widely by humans, either deliberately as an ornamental flower or accidentally.

 Blue-flowered plants (A. arvensis Forma azurea) are common in Menorca.

 Subaida. One of the most extensive farming estates of the island and well known for the quality of the cheese they make, very appreciated by restaurants and cheesemongers.

The Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) is a butterfly found in the borders of woodland throughout much of the Paleartic ecozone. In North Europe, Central Europe, Asia Minor, Syria, Russia and Central Asia.

The speckled wood occupies a diversity of grassy, flowery habitats in forest, meadow steppe, forest, woods, glades, alongside hedges and and in wooded urban parks. It is found up to 1500 m. above sea level.