Sunrises, shrubs and scrap along the Salt Lake trail...

It has been a pretty dry Autumn and early Winter in Cyprus. So although I do continue to walk about 5km with my friend Sheila three mornings per week, including the usual 4km along the Salt Lake trail, I wasn't taking many photos. The skies were clear and cloud-free, the sunrises unremarkable. The Salt Lake gathered a little water, but not much, and there was no sign of any flamingoes.

That is, until we had some very heavy rain a few days ago.

I took this early morning shot a couple of days ago; not the most stunning of the sunrises I have seen in the past couple of years, but prettier than in recent weeks. And showing rather more water in the Salt Lake than we had seen for a while:

A few minutes later I caught this, as the sun rose: 

Then, as we rounded a bend towards the end of the walk, we saw some flamingoes flying low over the Lake. I have no idea how they can tell that there's now sufficient water for them, or where they have been for the past month or so - but apparently they are back:

This morning was quite pretty too:

If, instead of looking into the sky and at the lake, we take note of the foliage, there are some quite pretty plants along the trail, like this: 

Or this:

Actually, I took those photos in November, but didn't get around to writing much then. 

Less attractive is the rubbish, abandoned, such as this child's toy:

I took that photo six weeks ago, too, but it's still there. Damaged by sun and rain, somewhat overgrown with new foliage... but still just lying there. 

Here's another example of the scrapheap side of the Salt Lake trail:

And this: 

And this:

Not that I really notice them most of the time. Sheila and I are usually deep in conversation about a wide range of topics; sometimes I don't really notice anything at all of our surroundings. The walk has become auto-pilot, the scenery no longer so stunning. And I don't notice the rubbish either, unless there's something new that stands out. Or unless I decide, specifically, to take photos! 

But I'm glad we're seeing pretty sunrises again.