Dry Stone Wall

Prickly pear plants, stones and wild daisies on a country lane.

Weeds

This photo was taken from the same spot as yesterday's, but looking to the left of the road that winds down to the sea. You can see the remains of an old dry-stone wall to the right and in the background an abandoned stone house.

Fall Crocuses

To make up for the lack of autumn color these bright yellow crocuses grow at the base of the dry stone walls along the sides of the country lanes around Molfetta. I have always associated crocuses with spring, but it seems there are some species that bloom in the fall.

The name "crocus" is derived from the Latin crocatus, meaning saffron yellow. The spice saffron is obtained from the stamens of Crocus sativus, a fall-blooming species, but this flower is not that type...too bad! It would be nice to have a cheap source of saffron just growing along the side of the road!

Under the Burning Sun

This is my first attempt at this kind of nature photography. I didn't quite get the distinction betwen the flowers and the wall in the background that I would have liked...I'll have to keep working on it!
These are what's left of the wild garlic flowers that grow along the coast. The hot sun has baked them brown, like the grass behind them. The wall is a falling down example of the dry stone walls (dry meaning no mortar is used, just one stone piled up on top of the next) that you find throughout the countryside.