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algarving

science walkabouts

feels like summer has passed in the blink of an eye in this atypical year. the wariness of leaving the house from early spring slowly faded and made us look for safe outdoor activities. when we noticed the local science center was organizing a few themed walks around town for people to learn more about the environment, we eagerly joined a few.

the one about intertidal biodiversity was one of our favorites, because it was brilliant to see things from a biologist’s perspective — we spotted and learned about sea cucumbers, small fishes, crabs, molluscs and other plants and animals that live in the tide pools.

there were other walks, about the salt making process, the microplastics in the sand, the geometry in tavira’s façades and one about the fishes from our coast. some were more interesting than others, but we’ve learned a bit more about tavira in each of them. i really appreciated the time the center put into these, and hope they’ll continue for many years!

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algarving analogue wednesdays

analogue wednesday #238

fragile dunes.

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algarving photography

little owl

since we seem to be on an animal streak (see the grasshopper and the chameleon), here’s another one that paulo spotted in our backyard last week:

little owl

you can barely see it in this crappy super-zoomed-in photo from my phone, but that silhouette is so different from any other bird out there that it really stands out. while we were squinting at it, friends with good lenses arrived and took these amazing photos instead:

little owl

what a beauty it is, even as it bestows its disapproving frown at our antics! :D the little owl (mocho galego, in portuguese) is a nocturnal owl that is usually found in farm or woodlands in the south of europe. it nests in holes, where the female takes care of the baby owls, while the male protects the territory and hunts for insects, worms and small vertebrate like mice.

little owl

we’ve seen it a couple of times since, hanging around our backyard, doing its surveillance and hunting gig, and it’s always exciting to spot it in the distance. such cool neighbors we have!

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algarving analogue wednesdays

analogue wednesday #216


walking around tavira on a blue sky day, stumbled on the igreja de são francisco.

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algarving

analogue wednesday #198

everywhere we look, there’s tall, dry grass that rustles in the wind. it’s beautiful, especially as the evening light shines through its empty shells.