Well, if you noticed I have been a little bit quiet over the past week or so. Reason being? I was on holiday. I did have vague plans to write a typical ‘I’m off on holiday post!’ but I just didn’t get round to it! I don’t think I’ve ever been as disorganised, or perhaps, completely lax, before heading off on holiday. Heck, I hadn’t even packed until about midday on the day of my flight. The cab was picking me up to get to the airport 2 hours after that.
So how was the holiday? Great. Just what I needed. I left my laptop at home to ensure I’d have a proper no-working whatsoever holiday. Pretty much worked. I couldn’t help but answer some work emails while away.
What did I do while I was gone? Well, I watched the sunrise and the sunset:

Watching the sunrise from the hills not far from my little home away from home. It was a ridiculously windy morning.
Took photos of bugs:

What the eff is this! From my perspective, a humongous and crazy scary wasp of some sort. I was just grateful it was dead.

I don’t know where these buggers came from, but they were then en masse. Giant ants all over where I want to sit!

They weren’t alive for too much longer. My mum came out with a can of inspect repellent and did what mums do. Protect me from swarms of bugs.
Went out for a few evenings:

Silves by night. Probably one of the bigger towns near us. It’s got a beautiful Moorish castle and church right in the middle of it. Looks stunning at night. I know this photo doesn’t do it justice.
Spent some time looking up at the stars. You just don’t see this many stars here.

I was trying to figure out which stars I was looking at using Google Sky Map, but I couldn’t see anything of note. But there were lots of stars!

And some more stars. If anyone can spot any constellations, please let me know. I am coming up all blank.
I took weird macro-esque photos and photos of anything that was around me:

I think these were drops of nectar on a spider web on some bushes in the garden. Tiny, tiny little droplets.
Did some pool lounging:

She’ll sit on the edge but will no way in hell go in. After all the progress we made earlier when she went for a swim in Virginia Water Lake. Ah well… maybe she’s contemplating it here.
And I took plenty of photos of Cody.
I’m not joking here, but I think she loves it. She’s such a poser when I’ve got my camera on me! She loves the attention. Though was sad to see that her back legs/hip problem is still there. She can’t do all that many stairs, get into the car or jump. Poor pup. She’s only young!

Her favourite toy. After a ball. No jokes. It’s tied up on a banister and she loves nothing more than playing tug of war with someone with it.

Oh and she likes sticks. They are strewn around all over the place. She’s not allowed to bring them on the patio but has snuck a few on. This is a bit of an upgrade. A good long bit of piping.
And that was my holiday.
I’m going to attempt to play catch up on the blogs of the world, but let me ask you something. What have I missed in the last week? Make it easy for me! Someone fill me in. I always feel like I need filling in while I’ve been away.
😀
THERE’S the pictures I’d been asking for! 😀
Always fun to see your work Jaina. Love that bead of dew shot. Incredible!!
Thank you Dan! What have I missed? I haven’t been to the cinema in nearly 3 weeks! CRAZY! I have lots of catching up to do.
🙁 I Dont know what you’ve missed. That damn international release schedule difference, you know?
I’m gonna err on the side of caution and say that since you were on vacation, you didnt miss anything. 😀
Damn that schedule indeed! Just getting Brave here. Hoping to check it out on the weekend. And Expendables 2 this week 😀
Woo to not missing anything! Time does stand still while I’m away 😉
My knees hurt just looking at that last photo
😀
My dad stole the pipe and cut it in half not long after that photo was taken. Cody was not best pleased.
Welcome back home!!! Cody…omg, I’m in love. I’ve never went on holiday with a pet before. Hawai’i has such strict rules on pets leaving the island. It’s a pain.
Oh macro setting…how much I love you, too. What would the world look like without macro setting?
Great photos. I was thinking about buy a new camera. I have my heart set with a Canon T3i or T4i. What camera are you using?
Cody lives in Portugal with my parents, the only time I get to see her really. Travelling in Europe with animals is relatively easy. Though going into the UK there are some restrictions, have to make sure they have rabies jabs a certain amount of time, etc. But it’s good that it’s relatively easy. Though, I would never fly with a dog again. Did it once with our first German shepherd – it’s a bit stressful for the pups. Not to mention expensive!
I use a Nikon D5000. Love it. Though I’m sure if you get a Canon, you’ll get a similar experience.
Oh my God, these pictures are amazing! Loved the second to last – she is crazy cute! And she loves to pose, my Yorkie is too jumpy takes forever to took good picture.
Cody is a photogenic dog who loves to pose. That’s the only reason I can think of as to how she just stays put when I tell her to!
Great pics Jaina! Glad you had a great holiday…where did you go (you might have mentioned but I seemed to have missed that).
I went off to Portugal to see my parents. They live out there – its nice to have a place to getaway every now and then.
Looks like you had a super holiday. I will turn a blind eye to the buggicide. 😉
Damn those ants!
Welcome back, Jaina! So glad to hear you had a lovely holiday, and one free of work. Definitely the right decision to leave the laptop at home 🙂 I absolutely loved looking at these shots. So much wonderfulness in one post 😀
To which I might add; 1) God bless mums, 2) Wasp from another planet perhaps? and 3) Who could refuse a dog playtime when they’re looking at you like *that*!
Yes, mums are awesome!
That wasp? Not even the biggest wasp I’ve seen over there. They’re all from another universe!
It’s very hard to refuse Cody when she pulls that face. I do challenge someone to try though. See how long they last.
Welcome Back Jaina!!
I am pleased you had a nice time, amazing photos btw!! Apart from the bugs… ewww
Yeah, the bugs were out in force this time. My mum showed me a dead rhino beetle (Looks like this – http://www.naturephoto-cz.com/photos/others/european-rhinoceros-beetle-61819.jpg) … massive!!!
Welcome back, Jaina! Awesome batch of photos, too. Silves looks beautiful.
Silves is a lovely little town. Well, not so little anymore. I’ve been going there so many years I remember when it was just a one dust-road town!
I LOVE the photos! The macros are so clear, especially water droplet on the web. And how cute is Cody with the orange rope and stick. So so cute! Glad you had a great time and again, lovely photos. Oh, the sunrise one is pretty cool with the light shining through!
Sunrises are gorgeous there but I think sunrises and sunsets in autumn/winter are so much more dramatic and beautiful.
This was a sunrise a couple years back – http://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/cropped-sunrise.jpg
– it was absolutely stunning.