THE rains have arrived turning the Guadiaro Valley into the land of a thousand waterfalls. The old fallen tree that once hung across the weir was washed further on down river, a demonstration of the strength and quantity of recent rainfall.

SUMMER is moving on. Tourists and visitors are migrating back to various countries and so are the Bee-eaters, which l see passing through the fields at the back of the house on their journey back to Africa. This year we had a colony rearing young just down the track in a bank, created by years of excavation for earth used for the local tile factory.

EVERY morning we are woken by the noisy lodgers up stairs doing their house work ready for the spring season new arrivals. I am referring to the House Sparrows who are clearing out old material from the nests used last year.

AUTUMN is upon us with cooler nights and shorter days. Woodpeckers can be heard tapping on the trees across the river and Cormorants which normally hunt on the shore, patrol up and down the Guadiaro to poach on the fish that haunt stretches of the river where the Heron and Kingfishers normally feed. They flock in groups of twenty or so and can take quite a lot of fish in the winter periods.

AT this time of the year, when the date of All Saints or Halloween is approaching, all things night time and spooky come to mind.

While sitting in the garden with a glass of blood red wine waiting for friends to arrive for dinner, a low humming sound was heard coming from the flowers of the blue plumbago bush to my left.

LYING in my pool looking up at the three Griffon Vultures gliding in a circle above me, I was waiting for the end… of summer that is!

As the days get shorter and migrant birds, like the Bee-eaters make their way back to Africa, I think back to some moments of interest.