If you have lived in Mallorca for a number of years, say ten or even longer, you will not fail to have noticed that there are certain patterns, be that cycles in the weather or a certain rhythm in bird sightings or the blooming of flowers or trees. But now and then you will find that suddenly everything is upside down, or out of synch.

This year, for instance, we had much less than the usual amount of rainfall during February and March. Perhaps the rain will come in May. Wildflowers are usually out in massive appearance during April, as they are indeed this year, but the amapolas (red poppies) usually don’t come out in force until May. Well, this year May is April, or so it seems, at least as far as the poppies (Papaver rhoeas) are concerned. And I can’t say that I’ll complain.

The weather pattern is another thing. It was unusually cold over the last few days with even a hint of snow above 1300 metres. Yesterday, the sun came through again with temperatures rising ever so slightly. The outlook is quite good for the next few days with temperatures rising further from today to hit 20º C by the weekend. I won’t complain about that either.

The photo was taken near Palma, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: April 17th, 2012. The time was 14:33:58.