Bentornato, Martin! (Welcome back!) It looks peaceful and relaxing. Is that snow or rockface I see on the mountains?

Edited to add: I'm guessing rockface, as now I notice it pretty far down as well, almost into the town.

It is rock, Mags. You'll have to wait a while until I get to the snowy ones!

Lovely pictures, as always, everyone

I'll add another comment about Chicky, awww he's so cute, Tredici! Can I cuddle him after szabs and MadMags are done?

And beautiful picture of lake Garda, Martin. I would love to visit Italy one day.

I'd like to join the line to cuddle Chicky, please What a doll!

Szabs, I know just what you mean about no autumn colours in the south of Spain. When I was thinking about moving back to Canada (after 19 years in Almeria province), seeing a Canadian friend's photos of all the fall colours was one of the deciding factors!

Here are a couple of "sea dogs" that I spotted in Kingston (Ontario), when I was there a couple of months ago.

'

Chicky is a real snuggler so I'm sure she would welcome all the cuddles. She is an Isabella and Tan Longhaired Miniature Dachshund. We had two others and lost the older,sweet girl a couple of months ago quite unexpectedly. Our remaining dog was as lost without her as we were so this little pup has really brightened up everyone's lives.

awww too cute!

I hope you're all behaving - my net has been slowed so to see any pics it takes forever to download. I remember when we thought these speeds were fast! LOL

anyway. Here is my offering for today. As you can see in the background there isn't a lot of grass around. We feed our goats (the three on the right) but other feral ones are coming in to eat (those three on the left). Last night we went down there and there was a mob of pigs on the feed (that tin tub is full of grain)! I wish it would rain! Oh someone asked if we can eat the feral pigs .. I have known people to catch and eat them but everyone seems to feed them on grains for a month or so before killing them - we had a bloke here do it one time and honestly the amount of food he bought for it and the hassle of the kill it just seems easier to go and buy a bit of pork!

I cannot recommend Lake Garda highly enough to anyone wanting to visit Italy for a break, especially in the northern end where the mountains and the lake combine to give spectacular views. Such as this:

A couple new additions to the menagerie.

One of my favorite areas of San Francisco. Taken from Russian Hill, looking past North Beach to Telegraph Hill and Coit Tower. But for the quantity and models of the cars, this view would have been pretty much the same 50, even 75 years ago. This part of the city still retains the classic San Francisco Mediterranean pastel color scheme and is free of the cold, dark, glass and steel buildings that have taken over downtown. Full disclosure: I did some Photoshop tweaking in an experiment to try to get something of a vintage Kodachrome look to this digital shot I took a couple years ago. Hope that's not considered cheating!

Martin, that is a stunning photo!

Here's a hardy flower, still blooming in November!

This is a small grave next door to my Grandparents grave, there is no large headstone, someone has left this doll on the flower holder,a solemn little thing.

Back after no cable for a few days, this is the Brent Cross flyover in Hendon. Good to see you back Tryst, it must be ages!

Good to see you in the photos Tryst

here is one of the lambs looking cute.

My trip to Italy included several coach excursions. The first was a day-long trip around Lake Garda during which we stopped at 3 of the towns on the lake. This is the castle which guards the entrance to the town of Sirmione.

I'm grooving on these Italy pics, Martin, and not just because I'm half-Italian. My father was born there.

This is the clock at the northern entrance to London Court in Perth. It is one of the most photographed tourist spots in town. London Court is a Tudor-style pedestrian arcade built in 1937. This clock tower is apparently modeled on London's Big Ben; above the clock are four mechanical knights who come into action every quarter of an hour (known as the "Tournament of Armoured Knights"). You can always pick the tourists - they are the ones with cameras standing around patiently waiting for the quarter hour so they can film the tournament.

Edited to add: Ooops! I meant to post this in the Time thread!

Copago, that's a great capture!
Sliz, love that hollyhock, I've never seen one with those deep raspberry streaks before.
*ohs and ahs at Martin's holiday pics*
I'm really enjoying the architecture from around the world. MG that is a gorgeous building and a great shot.

I burnt this egg tray yesterday; after burning with a regular orange flame, it gave off this eerie neon pink afterburn.

Stretch! Being a kitten is such hard work...



Great building MG, and sweet lamb I quite like the burning egg tray, at least the neon pink effect.

The Gothic Revival, or Victorian Gothic style Boyd Gate House (1879) in San Rafael, California. Now the home of the Marin (County) History Museum.

That is a great house! I think I could die happy there LOL. I love that first floor verandah - just lovely.

I'm glad my photos are being so well received. I took about 500 so they'll keep me going for a while! lol (There's a lot of competition from all the other fabuloUs pictures on here.)

We also went to Verona, the setting for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet & this is a shot of Juliet's Balcony.

my son did some archery at a school sporty day a couple weeks ago.

Oooooo ... archery and sons. Reminds me of the time my son thought he'd practise in his bedroom. He had no idea an arrow could get stuck in a window. *rolls eyes*

Nice museum there Paul.

Hey, Copago - here's a trivia question for you: what's the connection between your target photo and the film "The Red Shoes"?

Paul

Coffee beans

It's harvesting time, and the workers pick every day from 5am to 1pm. You need dexterous fingers and a nimble body to be a good picker, as only the red ones must end up in the basket. The coffee bushes are planted on the mountainsides with zigzag paths to work the bushes from. Hard work for little pay, the workers get paid $4 to $6 per basket, 11.5 kilos or 25lbs worth. A family picking including the kids, will earn $40-$45/day. Most Costa Rican coffee gets sold to the highpriced Starbucks.

edited to correct wages earned

Spotted this fellow when I was out walking yesterday, and he posed for me