Tree Sparrow

This tree sparrow was one of a small flock that flew into a tree, for once  not too far away. It's a Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) which is a distinctly  different species from the American Tree Sparrow  (Spizelloides arborea).


Today we drove all day, from Berat in the south to Valbone in the tip of the mountainous north of the country. We actually passed through Kosovo, where I took the blip (the map mark is approximate). Our hotel is fairly high in the mountains, without internet, and I am posting from the separate restaurant where we're having dinner. I don't know how things will work in the next days while we're here--so if you don't see a blip in that period, be patient. 

Since for the first couple of days I had no time in the evenings for a lengthy comment I took my laptop on the bus and typed the following.

Albania is the most unusual country I have ever experienced—here are the most obvious aspects of what struck my eye.   Everywhere there are buildings which are only partly constructed; their concrete skeletons litter the scene in many places. Some seem completed but are empty.  Many are in use on one or two floors but the higher floors are empty, and usually iron rebars stick up to provide a base for the next floor. There are no cranes, the highest buildings are about 8 stories                                                                                                                        
When the country was liberated there were no restrictions on economic activity, and as many as  a couple of dozen small companies sprung up to supply gasoline along the road—most of them seem to still exist.  Probably the largest, which one sees everywhere,  is Kastrati—founded by a family of that name (and thus not meaning what it might seem).

There is no public water supply in much of the flat part of the country in the south, where we have been. Therefore whoever can afford it sinks an artesian well, which supplies a tank above the building—most often with solar panels to heat the water.  In many areas those tanks crown the majority of buildings