El Perro Negro

Grumpy old mountain man living in Spain

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Since Dec 2022 we have been running our own Mastodon & GoToSocial servers. What a breath of fresh air the Fediverse has been. We have made many hundreds of new friends from around the world, mostly related to our mountain, tech and nature interests.

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It's a long time since I went up Mulhacén, in fact pre heart problem in 2019. First time to 3482m altitude on the highest mountain in mainland Spain. Of course, today we went up the finest way to the summit ... where the west ridge abuts against the north face. It's a hard pull from the Collado de Ciervo but worth it for the views to the left down to the diminutive Laguna de la Mosca

A person with a yellow rucksack stands looking over a drop towards a distant lake. To the right almost vertical cliffs

A man in a blue shirt stands perched above an enormous drop to the left down to a small blue lake

After a night in the hills I came back home to Lanjarón to be met by the towns annual week-long fiesta. A celebration of colour and noise. Senses a bit blown. Enjoyed it, but think I prefer the quiet of the hills.

A group of people dressed in red and yellow attire dance through the streets

people dressed in multi colored outfits dance their way through streets of a spanish town

Some ladies dressed as cowgirls dance during a spanish carnival

After debating with myself for 30 mins about whether to venture out into the cold to answer the call of nature I eventually left my tent. The sky was amazing. I guess then was not the time to start learning astrophotography but I put the camera on a tripod and a 20 second timer and pressed the shutter. I took a lot of blurry ones but this is the best I managed. Might have to learn how to do it properly 🤣

The night sky is full of stars. There is an orange glow lower down and the reflections in a mountain lake

Images from the last 2 days trip to visit "Lake with No Name" at 2900m altitude! A magical, serene place where nature ruled. Humans don't often visit here, if ever.

My head is filled with images and experiences from this trip, the stars overhead, the tumbling waters, the stillness, the Ibex and even the mid-morning break to make a cup of tea! Here are just a few digital ones from a mind blowing overnight camp.

Some bright yellow broom dominates the foreground. Behind are the indications of high mountains, blue sky and white cloud

A beautiful bright blue mountain lake

My tent set up. Good weather so a bug tent was all that was needed.

A yellow rucksack sits by the serene waters of the Laguna del Peñon Negro lake

We arrived at the "lake with no name" yesterday afternoon. At the exit of the lake a delightful stream fell out of the hidden valley. I don't normally take a tripod, yesterday I did. Meant I could slow the shot down and close the aperture. Came as a complete surprise when I saw the subsequent image and the path made by water droplets seemingly jumping out of the stream. I guess I will take my mini tripod wherever I go from now on 😀

A stream, slowed down in the image tumbles down between some rocks. Water droplets from the stream leap in the air. Either side of the stream are lush green shrubs

My first overnight trip into the Sierra Nevada mountains since the Pacemaker implant starts tomorrow. Just one night camping by a remote lake. Haven't packed yet but target base weight is 5kg, water and food taking the overall backpack weight to under 8kg🤞 Looking forward to a night in the mountains

Mixed weather over the Sierra Nevada meant we opted for a quiet mid week hike to an old favourite, Pico Lopera in the Sierra de Almijara. A relatively easy circular walk to a superb viewpoint in all directions. Suitable for a half day excursion.

A group of hikers walk along a wide dirt track. Above is a small peak, their objective. Green field are in the middle distance

A group of hikers with a white dog in front of them pass along a track. behind then are bigger mountains with blue sky above

Hikers are approaching a summit of a peak which is marked by a white fire lookout post

A view from the summit southwards. There is a complicated landscape of green forests and deep valleys. Some dirt tracks cross this terrain. In the distance is the Mediterranean Sea.

I am really enjoying my experience on the and my interest in and has been renewed. I don't expect this for free. I think it important that we continue this active development and so would encourage support for our developers as best we are able.

Found this dragonfly in our greenhouse earlier today. I'm no expert but I think it's an adult female Green Darner, unless anybody can correct me.

An adult Green Darner dragonfly clings to a metal bar in the roof of a greenhouse

The way to do it 😀

Two pencil cartoon characters with one pushing a shopping trolly

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Not often I go to the beach. 1st time in 3 years and its only 45 minutes away. Family lunch out in Nerja. Paella, what else? Was invited and very tempted to stay for the cocktail "happy hour" but common sense prevailed. I must be getting old. Returned home to plant strawberries🤣

A group of people sit around a table in a busy restaurant in Nerja, Spain

Newly planted strawberries enjoying the afternoon sun

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Few have said it as well as Bob Dylan: "Come you masters of war. You that build all the guns. You that build the death planes. You that build the big bombs. You that hide behind walls. You that hide behind desks. I just want you to know I can see through your masks...Let me ask you one question. Is your money that good? Will it buy you forgiveness, do you think that it could? I think you will find, when your death takes its toll, all the money you made will never buy back your soul."

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These beautiful bougainvillea seem to have attached themselves to one of our olive trees, in fact they are taking it over. But they do look stunning in the morning sunlight

Some bright red/purple bougainvillea plants are in the near left foreground. To the right a green path winds its way down to a sunlit area

Good morning all! A clear day here and you can see the sea from 30 km away. Too hazy to see Morocco, will have to wait for the colder air of autumn.

A view over green fields and trees towards a blue reservoir. To the left are high mountains and to the right the blue of sea and sky