Flower of the season - The Common Foxglove

The Digitalis purpurea is a common presence in Madeira, during Spring and Summer seasons, blooming in the laurel forest and also in the mountains, particularly near springs or in ground areas with high percentage of water.

In spite of its beauty, this plant is highly poisonous to humans, if ingested.

However, its toxins, digitoxin and digoxin, properly processed are used as medication for heart failure for more than two centuries.

Nikon D300, Sigma 300mm f2.8, Manfrotto tripod and ball-head

Sunset over Pico das Torres

Yesterday's sunset over the second highest peak of Madeira: Pico das Torres (1851 mts above sea level). On the background, looking so close due to a highly compressed telephoto framing, stands the third highest: Pico do Arieiro, with its military radar.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR, Manfrotto tripod and ball-head

An invulgar point of view

Several years ago I've made a solo hike, on a  May's late afternoon, to Pico Grande (1654mts). Right below the peak there's a grassy small high plateau where you can drop your pack for awhile and just enjoy a moment of peacefulness.

Here, on clear, cloudless days, we also have a breathtaking and not-so-common vista of Madeira's central massif.

On the horizon, along the ridge line, we can see, from left to right, Pico Ruívo, the needles of Pico das Torres and Pico do Arieiro, with its Portuguese Air Force radar dome.

On the lower left of the picture it's visible, near the shadow line, the suspended valley of Curral Jangão, rewarding us, depending of the season, with its wild chestnut and cherry trees if we fancy a hike down there.

Picture taken with Nikon P7100 and post-processing in Nikon View and Adobe Photoshop CS6.

First Summer evening

The Summer Solstice happened in Portugal on the past Saturday, around 2244 LT. Marking the longest daytime of the year, short of fifteen hours by less than six minutes, this auspicious date encloses in itself the nostalgic sentiment that, from now on, we are heading, on the Northern Hemisphere, inexorably towards the Winter season, with the day length decreasing at a steady pace up to the next Winter Solstice, on the 21st of December.

Up here, surrounded by the warmth and peace of the late afternoon breeze, among the highest peaks of Madeira, we feel the solitude of a telluric connection to the Earth as if we were in Stonehenge.

For me the monolithic presence of the distant peaks and the green meadow on the foreground is as close as I can imagine my own very personal druidic temple.

Nikon D300, with the usual 18-55mm kit lens. Manfrotto tripod and Junior Geared Head.

After the storm...

...comes a calm.

After clearing the stormy skies of these past couple of days, a rainbow appears on the late evening over the Pico Ruívo Trig Point. A strong reminder of nature's endless capacity for rejuvenation and restoration of equilibrium. Likewise, during my past seafaring life, I've seen countless tempestuous days evolving into the most peaceful ones. In these present days, during which both our common human destiny and willpower are, somehow, being put to the test it would do us good to remember that it's scientifically proven that all the storms, past or future, eventually end someday.

Picture taken with Nikon D610 and old sixty bucks second-hand Vivitar manual focus 24mm f.2.8. Post-processing (if we can call it that) in Photoshop CS6.

Spring in Madeira

Canary island geraniums and ferns near Pico das Pedras, on the Northern coast of Madeira. Late evening of a rainy June day.

Picture taken with Nikon D300 and Nikkor DX 18-55mm AF-S G VR kit lens. Post-processing in Adobe Photoshop CS6.

Spring in Serra da Estrela

Amanita muscaria mushroom and silver birches grove in Covão da Ametade, Serra da Estrela. Mid-Spring of 2015.

As dangerous as it is beautiful, it's probably one of the most famous mushrooms in the world, often depicted in works of art, from literature, to painting, to cinema (Disney's Fantasia). The ingestion of the Amanita muscaria, often mistaken for the edible Amanita caesarea, generates hallucionogenic experiences and, in extreme dosis, death may occur.

In Portugal their fruiting happens in Spring and Autumn seasons.

Picture taken with Nikon Coolpix 7100 and post-processed in Adobe Photoshop CS6