Signs of change

The clouds start to cover the island from the north side of the harbour and the water acquires a dull metal gray colour.

A Ladybird beetle takes the best of the day alien to the weather change coming.

Coccinellids are small insects, ranging from 1 mm to 10 mm (0.04 to 0.4 inches), and are commonly yellow, orange, or scarlet with small black spots on their wing covers. They are found worldwide, with over 5,000 species described. There are a few species in Menorca, Coccinella Septempunctata is  the one in the picture. 

Es Castell Council has purchased the old mill next to the entrance of the village

A group of neighbours from Es Castell have volunteered to work on the restoration and clean up the surrounding area. The aim of the Council is recovering and restoring this old building for cultural purposes.

The Sant Lluis fully restored, traditional windmill which is now a museum open to the public, and the role model for other interesting buildings.

The first day of beach season

La Vall - Algaiarens

Spring Colours

And the beauty of the day: Cacyreus Marshalli. (Geranium Bronze) is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. Presumed to have arrived from South Africa on imported Pelargonium plants. Frequently found around habitations. Rarely opens its wings when taking nectar, but will show its uppersides when basking in sunshine, usually on leaves or grasses.

Agustín & Satur. New lamps at the conservatory

It's been a hard and long day for both them. But the lamps look beautiful there.

Spring splendour at "Mussuptá de s'Escola"

San Climent.

An octopus at Calas Fons

Despite the chilly north wind, the small port of Es Castell, Calas Fons showed today its warmest face. The bars and restaurants are beginning to prepare the summer season and most are already open. The few walkers there have been surprised to see one of the waiters at a popular restaurant capturing an octopus over six kilos.

Mediterranean octopus Octopus vulgaris grows to 25 cm in mantle length with arms up to 1 m long. 

O. vulgaris is caught by bottom trawls on a huge scale off the northwestern coast of Africa. More than 20,000 tonnes are harvested annually.

The octopus hunts at dusk. Crabs, crayfish, and bivalve molluscs (two-shelled molluscs such as cockles) are preferred, although the octopus will eat almost anything it can catch.

Humans eat octopus in many cultures. The arms and sometimes other body parts are prepared in various ways, often varying by species.

 The most popular in Spain. "Pulpo a feira" Galician Style.

Regarding Mahon harbour.

The local authorities say the Port of Mahon need to be dredged in order to be more accessible to deep-draft cruisers. It may be true, but the issue has aroused much controversy among citizens in Mahon who are already a little tired of seing that the decisions taken on several issues affect them and somehow often damage what we call the "Menorcan way of living".

The main protest of citizens has not been for the dredging itself, but because it is intended to drop the mud extracted from the seabed in an area near the coast, in front of Cala Rafalet.

Fortunately the local ecologist group (GOB) has lobbied the Environment Prosecution and has managed to paralyze the process until some tests on the sludge have been made.

The port of Mahon, showed a grey solitary aspect, this afternoon, ignoring the controversy that has arisen over the past weeks.

Once a British arsenal, today a Naval Base on the harbour's north shore.

 Cargo ships in the commercial dock

Sheila and Bryce Lyons from Menorca Britannia will take care again this summer of the guided visits to the Golden Farm. 

 

Menorca Britannia Association

Hoopoes!

The number of hoopoes in Menorca, that had been declining in recent years, seems to be recovering, and that is good news for bird lovers. We do seem to have quite a number of such birds in the fields and woods of the island and we love to hear them calling in the spring and summer

The Hoopoe (Upupa epops) is a colourful bird that is named for its call, “hoo-poo.” The common hoopoe is about 12 inches (30 cm) long. It has a showy, semicircular crest and mixed reddish-brown, black, and white plumage. The bill is long and curved, the legs short.

A regular guests, who is a keen stamp collector told me once that  he had a very complete collection of stamps of hoopoes. I could not imagine there were so many, and from so many countries.