Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Wild mushrooms season. Biniac.


There are 400 or more kinds of wild mushrooms in Menorca. Some are poisonous and some are edible and delicious when properly prepared. The edibility of the majority is either not known or they are not considered for food because of their small size or poor flavor or texture.

 Biniac

Megalithic chamber tomb, where collective burials were made in the late PreTalayotic and talaiotic initial (from 1750 BCE)
 
The structure of this circular building is halfway between the shuttles and Megalithic tombs elongated as more evolved. No cover localized corridor that leads to a chamber with a perforated slab recess fit on the door.


It is a bit trashed, the roof has gone and its chamber is open. Still well worth a look.




Sunday, November 24, 2013

Es Vergeret. 1926, and Smilax Aspera

This year November has been particullarly wet. It's our 11th. consecutive rainy day at looks like it could be some more. However I walked to Es Vergeret, in Llucmasanes this morning.

 Es Vergeret. Built in 1926.



Smilax aspera is a perennial evergreen shrub with a flexible and delicate stem, with sharp thorns. The climbing stem is 1–4 metres (3 ft 3 in–13 ft 1 in) long.The leaves are 8–10 centimetres (3.1–3.9 in) long,petiolated, alternate, tough and leathery, heart-shaped, with toothed and spiny margins. Also the midrib of the underside of the leaves are provided with spines. The flowers, very fragrant, are small, yellowish or greenish, gathered in axillary racemes. The flowering period in Mediterranean regions extends from September to November. The fruits are globose berries, gathered in clusters, which ripen in Autumn. They are initially red, later turn black. They have a diameter of 8–10 millimetres (0.31–0.39 in)and contain one to three tiny and round seeds. Insipid and unpalatable to humans, they are a source of nourishment for many species of birds.

Friday, November 22, 2013

Es Pla Gran

An old farmhouse in the North of Mahon.

  
The wasteland of summer seem fertile six weeks later.


Saturday, November 16, 2013

Mussel farming at Port Mahon

Mussel farming has been developed for centuries in the harbour of Mahon and still continues using traditional methods, such as rafts made ​​of reeds and planks.

Formerly mussels were only consumed by the more modest classes, but today are highly prized and many establishments have included in their menus.