March, the last !

The last blog ! I've finished my tour and I thank the Golden Ladies for having been with me during these last 15 months. I'll take advantage of the sketchbook of G. L. Debbie for drawing a true beauty of the natur : the cat !

Micia on a mulberry tree

Illustration of a song about cats that my mother sang when I was a child

 

Micia and the Christmas tree

(Not a my drawing)

Micia on the sketchbook of G. L. Debbie

 Good Bye everyone and good luck from the G. B.

 

THE FEBRUARY BUDS

Buds and mosses in Campomigliaio

Where Campomigliaio is ? It is in Tuscany and it is a small village near Florence :

It is my nature reserve :

 In the past :

Every season and month I can find interesting specimen :

Just in February I found near the wood this nice tree, starting its budding :

... and at the end of the month the first blossom in the cherry plum tree (Prunus cerasifera) near the parking of the village :

 

 January. Lemons

The tree of lemons entered Europe near southern Italy no later than the first century AD, during the time of Ancient Rome. However, they were not widely cultivated. They were later introduced to Persia and then to Iraq and Egypt around 700 AD. The lemon was first recorded in literature in a 10th-century Arabic treatise on farming, and was also used as an ornamental plant in early Islamic gardens. It was distributed widely throughout the Arab world and the Mediterranean region between 1000 and 1150. The first substantial cultivation of lemons in Europe began in Genoa in the middle of the 15th century. The lemon was later introduced to the Americas in 1493 when Christopher Columbus brought lemon seeds to Hispaniola on his voyages. Spanish conquest throughout the New World helped spread lemon seeds. It was mainly used as an ornamental plant and for medicine. In the 19th century, lemons were increasingly planted in Florida and California. (from Wikipeda)

(in the sketchbook)

Lemon juice, rind, and zest are used in a wide variety of foods and drinks. Lemon juice is used to make lemonade, soft drinks, and cocktails. It is used in marinades for fish and meat.

Lemon juice is also used as a short-term preservative on certain foods that tend to oxidize and turn brown after being sliced (enzymatic browning), such as apples, bananas, and avocados, where its acid denatures the enzymes.

Lemon juice and rind are used to make marmalade and lemon liqueur. Lemon slices and lemon rind are used as a garnish for food and drinks. Lemon zest, the grated outer rind of the fruit, is used to add flavor to baked goods, puddings, rice, and other dishes. (from Wikipeda)

(in the sketchbook)

December. Winter

What can a botanical artist do in winter ?

... he can draw winter plants ...

Ruscus aculeatus (2014)

Ruscus aculeatus and a died Chrysochus auratus (2005)

... or he can study better the shapes of the trees

Robinia pseudoacacia

Populus nigra

Quercus robur

November : Gekkos

Tarentola mauritanica is a species of gecko (Gekkonidae) native to the Western Mediterranean region of Europe and North Africa and widely introduced to America and Asia. It is commonly observed on walls in urban environments, mainly in warm coastal areas, though it can spread inland - especially in Spain. A robust species, up to 150 millimetres long, its tubercules are enlarged and give the species a spiny armoured appearance.

The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Its widespread introduction has attracted many common names, including variants on common or Moorish wall gecko and Salamanquesa, Crocodile gecko, European common gecko, and Maurita naca gecko.
(by Wikipedia)

Adults can measure up to 15 cm, tail included. Robust body and flat head. Back, legs and tail with prominent conic tubercles. Its regenerated tail is smoother and doesn't have tubercles. Obtuse mouth, big eyes with no eyelids and vertical pupil. Fingers with big lateral growths and adherent division less laminae in the bottom face. Only the third and fourth fingers end in union. Brownish grey or brown coloration with darker or lighter spots. These colours change in intensity according to the light. When they are active by day their colour is darker than during the night. It can be found on many construction sites, ruins, rock fields, tree trunks, etc. (by Wikipedia)

 In Apulia we have this saurus as a common friendly companion, present in almost all the houses and expecially in every old walls. It is from the family "Phyllodactilae" and its species is "Tarentola mauritanica". I've drawn it in the past for a friend of mine, who, as many people, is terrified of them ! Expecially in the evenings they wait on the walls, motionless, for their food that is insects and mosquitos. With a quick movement, you can see easily, they jump on the pray that is attracted from the light and catch it in their big mouths  !

Years ago I drew this small gekko on a plant of Arbutus unedo

 

 

 

 

 

Kokko and Gekko, two brothers not from the same mother, hunting a mosquito

OCTOBER AND OLIVES

Spontaneous olive tree in my garden. No one planted these trees. For some time I wondered why these trees were growing well and quickly without beeing planted by someone. The answer is obvious and it is in the following drawing I did years ago. 

The nice is that the trees (that should be wild) produce olives : many, good and of different sorts !

I drew on pen the trunk of this strong, alive, useful and dedicated plant