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The Grazalema Guide
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Last Friday Claire & I took our 8 month old daughter, Sophie, out on her very first bike ride! I had prepared 2 hybrid bikes one with a child seat, which I ride, and the other with panniers for Claire to carry the baby kit….drinks, food, nappies and an assortment of lotions and potions. For Sophie's first bike ride we rode from Coripe to the Peñon Zaframagon, along the Via Verde, just 12kms in case Sophie didn't like cycling.
Today we drove out to Zahara de la Sierra, one of the most beautiful white villages (pueblos blancos) in western Andalucia, where we started our bike ride to Prado del Rey. The road we ride undulates through rolling farmland with breathtaking views of the 
Growing vegetable plants in bulk can have its problems, with various bugs and beasties wanting to eat the bounty before you. A trip to almost any garden centre or agricultural wholesaler will
undoubtedly offer an arsenal of chemicals to make your plants grow bigger, better and healthier...But.... there is always an alternative and in many cases the organic treatments have been tried and tested for centuries. Garlic for example has more uses than just pan Andaluz (olive oil garlic toast..mmm) so here is an organic recipe that keeps the greenfly population down and also controls other basic plant afflictions.
The top 5 essential books in our house that spend more time off the bookshelf than on it are all wildlife identification guides Although a lot of research can be done on the internet it is always a pleasure to identify and learn more about a plant or animal from a real book. In Andalucia, and for us, the priority research subjects are Plants, insects in general, butterflies, reptiles, amphibians and birds. Here is my top 5 essential field guide list with direct links for you to buy them from the safe and secure Amazon.co.uk website.