Vegetables out of season's disadvantages

During this first week of September the weather was still warm. Consequently, we haven't to forget to maintain good fluid balance in our body. Many fruit and vegetables that grow in late summer contain high percentage of water. They can contribute to our daily fluid intake, alongside drinking water. Obviously I'm talking about in-season fruit and vegetables that haven't been shipped from other continents.

Producing vegetables out of season presents several disadvantages, such as high up-front costs to build the structure an no natural pollination. 

Furthermore, production is limited to high-value crops and significant knowledge level is required.  Not to mention of awful landscape and visual impact , special permitting and expensive cost of production. 

Last week I was so glad to see young people enjoying donkeys.

 

Donkey remains useful in many parts of the world today. In some Italian villages, located in mountainous ares, those marvelous creatures are used for sheperding and for waste collection due to narrow ancient alleys, where motorized vehicle is impractical.

 

Have a nice weekend🌻☀🚴‍♂️  

Two grasshoppers

This post was inspired by our Scottish blogging friend Ananka, as she sometimes shows marvelous creatures on her blog. I've just taken two pictures in my Mother's garden. 

Have a nice 2nd weekend of August  🚴‍♂️ ☀  🌻

Blackbirds

 

It's nice too see blackbirds on old alleys' cobblestones.

Maybe they're looking for crumbs, due to the fact that some restaurants owners place their tables along the alley at night. 

Unfortunately, the air conditioners on the facade of this 19th century building are less beautiful that the blackbirds. Those awful machines alter the perspective of those old Italian windows with their typical wooden shutters. 

 

Have a nice weekend!

Pigeons on a sunny morning.

On a sunny morning last month I saw a group of pigeons gathering in Budapest's urban environment. 

I thought that flocking helps them to evade predators. 

I took the picture of the pigeons in Ferencvaros, a Budapest neighborhood located close to the Danube river. 

Cute small birds

 

There were many small cute birds inside the terminal building of Budapest international airport.

Some trees were placed inside the passengers hall at the Budapest international airport, thanks to a strock of genius of Zoltán Tima, the architect who designed the SkyCourt (that's the name of that steel, glass and concrete building).  

I noticed those trees were giving shelter to small birds, which were fed by the crumbs left by travellers. 

I have never seen before small birds living indoor with human beings.

Have a nice 2° weekend of May ☀

Day and night equilized

 

The spring equinox finally arrive this week, as from the 20th to the 21st of March day and night are equilized. From an astronomical poin of view the spring equinox Spring begins when the amount of sunshine is aproximately 12 hours. This happens when the sun crosses the equator from the southern emisphere to the northern emisphere. 

According to NASA, the equinox will occur at 4 a.m. on Thursday, 20th March, in the area located 6 hours behind the Greenwich Mean Time.

Many Judas-trees in the urban environment are already blooming. Those small deciduous trees show their beautiful pink flowers from late March to early May. In the language of flowers, the Judas-tree symbolizes betrayal.

Have a nice Spring season 🌺🌺🌺

Images of February

                                                        

Most trees are still without leaves, and the weather is cloudy in mid-February. In the meanwhile, the province North Rome was hit by a flood yesterday.

There was damage to crops.

The highway has now been reopened.

In this context, it seems people are more aware of flood hazards, as many small building located close to the rivers have been demolished. The photo below was taken before the flood. 

Have a nice Valentine's day!

Pigeons on a cold morning

 

This morning, on a cold Wednesday (2°C), many pigeons stood on the power line while they were enjoying the sun.

It seems that all electrons stay in power line and out of the birds body. 

Eating seasonally

 

I like eating seasonally in winter, as I think we haven't to lose the beauty of the nature. The problem is that some veggies available at the grocery are not in season, and this may disconnect us from the roots of local and sustainable eating. Unfortunately I saw such a reliance on convenience also outside my country. For example, while I was visiting Scotland, England and Ireland I saw tomatoes, aubergines and green grapes in February at the Tesco Superstore.🍅🍇 But why we, humans, force to grow when it is not its natural time to grow ❓

Not only are in-season veggies healthier but they taste better too. In addition to this, our body specifically need vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that we can't find in veggies and fruits out of season. For example, we need Vitamin C and antioxidants in winter. Furthermore, from an environmental point of view, fruits and veggies out of season are shipped from far away. And not to mention of premature harvesting.

Have a nice month of February  ... with in-season fruits and veggies 😃

Playgrounds

 

There is no doubt that we can do more to improve our neighborhoods. If I were a mayor or local authority administrator, I would build more playgrounds in the town. More and more people are aware of the importance of green areas and playgrounds in neighborhoods. 

According to the Higher Institute of Environmental Protection and Research, Italy records a worrying increase in land consumption. 

Actually Italy's biggest towns, like Rome and Milan, are the most affected by overbuildings of large infrastructures, such as car parks and other paved areas. 

The last picture below shows a Christmas decoration that hasn't been removed yet.

Those colorful railway carriages could be placed in a playground, as kids would enjoy getting on and off  🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃 My son saw those old railway carriages in the Milan's railway workshop.

Have a nice weekend :-)  ❄

The start of winter in the Northern emisphere.

This year astronomical winter will begin tomorrow, on the 21st of December. In the Northern emisphere this will be the shortest day and the longest night of the year.

Many trees haven't lost their brown leaves yet.

But some trees have already lost their leaves completely.

Olive trees don't lose their leaves in winter. The following photo shows a 150 year old olive tree.   

The average lifespan of an olive tree is around 500 years.

Have a great winter ⛄ 

Freeway, highway or motorway

Last summer, since early June to late September, I had been hosting some Anglo-Saxon people, who mainly came from Florida (US), Northern Ireland, England, Canada and Australia. They were coming here in my town for one or two days, as they would boarding the cruise ships at the Civitavecchia's port cruise terminal.

Civitavecchia is ranking as the 2nd busiest cruise port in the Mediterranean Sea, as most tourists who embark on a cruise in the Mediterranean come here to reach the docks for cruise ships.

Speaking with foreign tourists gave me the opportunity to learn that some words are different in American English, British English and Australian English. I have heard that some British English words come from French roots, while American English has occasionally replaced more traditional English words with their Spanish counterparts. For example one of my guests, Deanna Linney from Melburne, explained that the three words "freeway" (American English), "highway" (Australian English) and "motorway" (British English) have the same meaning in the three different Anglo-Saxon countries.

I speak once again about olive trees, which I've already mentioned in my previous post. The following photo shows the soft path through those  typical trees of the Medirreanean area where I sometimes go running/walking.  The olive trees in the photo are more than 150 years old.

Last week I enjoyed a beautiful rainbow while I was walking through the park.

The rainbow also stretched over the children playground. 

Rainy weather may sometimes shows such a beautiful optical phenomenon.

Olive trees need cold weather

 

During last week  I have noticed that the temperature was as cold as it should be. This is very good for olive trees, which need at least three months per year of cold weather to improve flower and fruit production.  

Olive trees can tolerate a wide range of temperatures. They will survive with no ill effects in temperatures as low as -15° Celsius.

As it is known, there is a great talk about climate change, and farmers involved in olive and olive oil export are afraid that a less cold winter may affect the production.  

Italy is capable of supplying a significant part of olive oil global demand, as olive trees are grown across the whole Italian peninsula.

The main destinations of Italy export on olive oil are South Korea, United States and Germany. With 36% of world export, Spain is the main exporter of olive oil worldwide.                                                                                                                                                                                         

Meanwhile, Autumn still continues to show its marvelous colours.

                      

I took the above pictures in Central Italy, 40 km North of Rome.

COP 29

On November 24 the UN climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, concluded with a not binding agreement to protect lives and livelihoods from the worsening impact of climate change. Unfortunately, the latter term is not interchangeable with term "global warming", although there are evidence that since 1800s human activities have been the main driver of the heating of earth's surface.  

Climatic variations can be regarded as the main cause of desertification. This factor is increasingly turning our world's drylands into deserts. 

Africa is the driest of the world continents with 45% of its landmass falling into dry mass. 

The two photos have been just took by my daughter, Laura, who is visiting the Eastern part of Morocco right now.