Micro Blog

El Perro Negro's Day to Day Ramblings

Notes – 2026 (128)

Came across this wonderful image from Arctic photographer, Martin Hartley, which shows me skiing up from base camp on Klyutchevskoy Sopka. The mountain had started erupting before we arrived and the volcanic ash on the snow gave the terrain an almost lunar look.

A figure in green and yellow is skiing up a white snowfield. Above and to the right are areas of bare rock, snow and volcanic ash

A rough, windy morning here in Spain's Alpujarra hills. Plenty of heavy showers heading our way too. Bring it on, the more precipitation the better for all, even though it will undoubtedly lead to more leaky roof repairs 🤣

A green valley with the town of Lanjarón sat on the hillside above to the right. Behind are dark cloud and a dark mountain shape to the left (Giralda)

Bruce Springsteen

'I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Stay free"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWKSoxG1K7w

View

I'm really enjoying reading "The Secret History of Gold" by Dominic Frisby

If you enjoy learning how a single metal has shaped civilization and want a fresh, entertaining take on money and power this is a solid pick. Frisby’s background as a comedian makes the material engaging and immensely readable

🎶 "Somewhere ..... 🌈"

Have a great Monday fediverse folk!

A rainbow over a Spanish town and hillside

View

Doesn't look very far from the snows of the Sierra Nevada to the Mediterranean coast at Salobreña. Ships seen on the sunlit Mediterranean but too hazy to see Morocco, which is only 230km away from my viewpoint

Snows in the foreground lead to grass slopes and a reservoir and a white coastline (town of Salobreña). Clouds over the sea

Over a small pass in the hills ships are seen on a sunlit sea. Clouds beyond

Never, ever thought I'd get excited by baking! Today, soft bread rolls. Tonight, some veggie burgers.

A mix of soft bread rolls sitting cooling on a wire frame

View

Walking with a few friends in the back garden yesterday. Best winter we have had in years. Another world up there and so beautiful.

Severe wind chill (-8C) & strong winds but perfect snow conditions

A group of hikers drop down a shallow snow gully towards the base of the mountain

A group of colorfully dressed hikers descend a snow slope. To the right are the long shadows cast by the sun

2 people pass along a snow path with iced up rocks to the right. In the background is a snow covered mountain (Sierra de Lujar) and the Mediterranean Sea

Two people descend a snow slope with wind blown spindrift

Cant believe they made me do this again at my age!

I am climbing on front point swinging an ice axe. Predominantly dressed in blue

View

A beautiful evening sunset tonight on a sad day of tragedy for Andalucia

Un hermoso atardecer esta noche en un día triste y trágico para Andalucía

A sunset sky over some hills. The foreground has. Spanish town in the dusk

View

We had come to Kamchatka to make a ski descent of Klyuchevskaya Sopka, at 4750 metres in height, the highest volcano in the northern hemisphere. But the weather had not been kind. For two weeks we were beset by high winds and storms. Then we made an attempt to reach base camp by snowmobiles. The savage scenery blew my mind

Two snowmobiles and sleds in the bottom left navigate a show covered terrain. Outline of higher mountains in the background

Annual service today of my Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD). Still amazes me how a consultant can bluetooth into this, tweak settings, give me info about it's performance. Only 4 small interventions in the past year (down from 10). Still 12 years battery left too before they need to recharge me! 🤣

Me sat in a chair holding a Bluetooth pad whilst a medical consultant in white coat examines a computer screen

View

Down in the dumps. Life is so fickle at times. Last weekend I lost a friend, hiking pal and all round nice guy. Can't comprehend him producing his weekly YouTube video one minute and succumbing in just two days to a sudden and severe infection, pericarditis, possibly leading to sepsis/septic shock. Mid 60s. You just never know quite what's round the corner. So sad for him and his family

View