Wednesday 12 August 2015

WOYWW 323 – black sheep and agaves

Good morning deskers,

It’s Wednesday again. Yes, I know… it comes around so fast! If you don’t know what I’m talking about, visit Julia, our chief 'desker' at Stamping Ground.

My desk is a bit of a mess, but that’s good, because it means I’ve been crafting. I’m card making as there are three birthdays coming up that I want to send cards for. You can see the gate fold card I'm doing there on my mat.

Also on my desk are some fine liner pens that I bought at Lidl (European supermarket) yesterday for my doodling. They are different widths (0.4, 0.5 and 0.6) as well as some scrapbooking papers (7 sheets in a booklet).

Andalucia is very hot and humid at the moment. When it’s nice weather in UK we normally get the cloudy weather. The temperatures are still high but there is little or no sun. It feels very ‘close’ if you know what I mean. But I’m not complaining.

I’d like to show you the agave that is flowering near our house. I photographed it this morning (no sun, as normally it would not be possible to photograph against the full sun.) 

Agaves are large succulents also called century plants. Well, they don’t usually grow for a century but 20 or 30 years is no exception. Then eventually they flower (only once) and then they die! (This is called monocarpic). Well, the one down the road is dying as you can see and has a stem as thick as a telegraph pole and the flower is about that tall too. Very impressive. We drive past it almost every day and I decided to show you all. It’s a beauty!

We have a little property in the country where we escape to one day a week. Last week, I was sitting outside the house and a flock of black sheep came wandering past! I have never seen sheep like that (I assume they are sheep….)

 I could see a lot of udders bobbing about and the flock seemed to be mainly females (but not all). They looked healthy and well looked after, not like some poor things we see trotting past on occasion.

I’m going to pack some clothes as we’re going away for 2 or 3 days to the mountains (as soon as I’ve posted this). I found a campsite with a pool and I’m looking forward to cooling down. There is no Wifi so I won’t be able to visit anyone today or tomorrow but I will later in the week if you don’t mind.

Have a super week all of you,

Bless you,

Lisca



25 comments:

Bridget Larsen said...

That where all the black sheep come from or go to, I thought you got one in every family-at least that is what I get told hahahhaha. Wonder if anyone got any agave nector from that tree before it died?
Bridget #1

Julia Dunnit said...

Those are goats Lisca..a milking herd! The agave plant is spectacular in flower isn't it, they are so strange looking, I do like it.
I like the collection of pens...I was in Lidl yesterday and couldn't be tempted by the non foods this time, nothing as exciting as stationery!

Jill said...

Good morning, those pens look great, I might have to visit Lidl. Your lifestyle sounds like bliss you are very lucky. I used to live between 2 places and it was a lot of hassle at times but I do miss the excitement of seeing new places. Enjoy your crafting
Jill #21

MrsC.x said...

i think they are goats for milking :) have a great trip it is cloudy and grey and raining in our part of the UK today some heat would be nice
happy woyww
Charlie #8
or find me here
https://craftroomdiary.wordpress.com/2015/08/12/woyww-august-12th-2015/

Annie said...

Hi Lisca. I love seeing photos of where all my blogging friends live around the world so thank you for sharing yours....are the sheep going for milking maybe? What fun.
Hugs,
Annie x # 23

Artatag said...

That sounds like a wonderful idea, Lisca, going to the mountains. Have a wonderful time!
The agave is a dream and your sheep are goats, that is why they look strange to you. Maybe there is a place for goat cheese nearby?
Hugs
Gabriele 6

Lynette Jacobs said...

I love to see photos of your region...we also have those succulents in South Africa and here it is called "spekbome"

Lynette Jacobs said...

I mean "Garingboom".

Sue Jones said...

i have pen envy and a trip to lidl i think! fab photos. enjoy your break :) Soojay 22

Annie Claxton said...

Wow! I have never seen an agave plant before, that's amazing! Serious pen envy going on here too - I have a real thing for stationery, didn't know LIDL did stuff like that, mus tcheck it out. Have a love break and see you soon :o) Annie C #34

Unknown said...

Hello Lisca.... thihi.... sorry for a little laugh but the sheep aren't sheep.. they are goats all of them :) - Oh I have to be nice.. I love your story and your photos and it is so exciting to see new places especially that place as I haven't been able to visit it myself. wow... and your desk is looking good - Can I come??... we have a Lidl too here in Denmark so a great friend of mine is going to check it out to see if there is something there for me to get. Thank you EVER so much for sharing your life with us... I love it..
Kind regards
Mariane
http://cordes.re/blg/wind/?p=2258

shazsilverwolf said...

Hi Lisca, those agaves are spectacular, aren't they. None over here that size, but we did see them in Greece. As you say, as tall as telegraph poles! We have an Aldi, and a Lidl in town, often pop into Aldi, rarely Lidl. That has to change, I can see I'm missing out on stuff! Have a great week, Hugs, Shaz #14 xxx

Lunch Lady Jan said...

Wow,that agave is spectacular!! I always enjoy the pics of the local area around you, it's so interesting. Hope you have a fab couple of days camping!!
Hugs, LLJ 4 xxx

Helen said...

what great photos!! Hope you have a lovely time escaping the heat (we're getting heavy rain tomorrow apparently, not sure what that will mean for you!) hope you share some photos next time we see you. Helen 5

Anne said...

Hello and thanks for popping by. Was going to say I think they are goats. Amazing plant. Must pop to Lidl then!!!! :-) Hope you have a 'cool' time in the mountains :-) Anne x #32

Christine said...

I had a bit of a spend up in lidl this week as well, bought a couple of books of card ..... must admit I did look at those pens .......
What a fantastic plant! Thank you so much for sharing with us.
Hope you have a great cooling break in the mountains.
have a good week
Christine

Bishopsmate #44

Art Joy of Sharing with Peg and Shel said...

I love all the amazing pictures you share. The plants and animals are very interesting. Peg R 53

Neet said...

Enjoy your trip to the cooler parts. We are back in Nerja early September, hope it is not humid then.
Loved the black sheep photo - what a lot there were.
The agave is amazing, thanks for sharing.
Hugs, Neet 19 xx

Felix the Crafty Cat said...

Hi Lisca, they are goats, you can tell by those little things that hang below their neck.
They are called Wattles I think though not all goats have them but sheep don't.
Blimey! she's full of useless information. Have a great week and happy crafty WOYWW, Angela x 24

Twiglet said...

Lovely photos - the agave is amazing and so are the goats!! x Jo

Marit said...

Goats it are, indeed... and how wonderful that they came pass your doorstep! It looks very 'foreign' and 'vacation' to me (but I am in old familiar Holland right now, LOL) Happy woyww and a warm hug (high temperatures and very humid too right now - not very comfortable but it seems you know all about that...) from Holland, Marit #36

Diana Taylor said...

Wow, that agave is amazing - I've never seen one before - what a stunner. I love your sheepy looking goats!! I hope you have a great trip to the mountains - it might be less humid up there.
Diana #17

Anonymous said...

Thank for showing us the interesting agave plant. I was trying to puzzle out whether the animals were goats or shorn sheep, but now I see in the comments it has been all sorted out. Hope you enjoyed your time away. Happy WOYWW (a couple of days late) from Laura #48

Kyla said...

Love the flowering agave, that is a seriously tall flower!
Hope you have a lovely few days away
kyla #9

Ohhh Snap said...

I think it's difficult to have too many liner pens! I love doodling. The agave is stunning. Talk about going out with a bang! I'm a spinster (spin yarn). We have an adage, tail up goat, tail down sheep. #51