Nature’s glory or….

Watching a full moon rise.

I missed the almost-full-moon yesterday as it was well in the sky by the time I returned home and noticed it. I was more aware of its being the full moon today but had no idea that on my way back from visiting my grandson that the timing would be so good.

Truly one of life’s ongoing wonders – and often my best full moon photos are of the January one – not sure why, don’t care – just enjoy.

“Put a Twinkle in your Wrinkle”

How I wish that I had invented that particular phrase, but I had never heard it until a friend sent me an e-mail with that title. What followed was a lovely uplifting series of photos on aging, some of which have made the rounds many times, but precious if only for this new phrase.

It is an expression from “anonymous” unfortunately so I can’t even give credit where credit is due.

We can however all reflect on how to accomplish this.

And there are as many possible ways of achieving it as there are persons growing older.

My twinkles are often from nature:

Meillerie - lunch in a restaurant on the lake front yesterday

sunrise a few weeks ago

Aoste a couple weekends ago

sunrise a few weeks ago

A much photographed lone tree in Corsier

Yvorne, Switzerland

But they can also be from a good meal, a lively conversation, a book, a piece of music and although I love being on my own, many of my twinkles come from sharing time with friends and family.

risotto on the boat in April

Brunch at my older son's a few weeks back

I have always maintained that if one doesn’t want one’s wrinkles to show, one’s face needs to be mobile. Smiling at someone brings their eyes to your eyes with less attention given to the rest of the face. Laugh and they laugh as well, quite often shutting their eyes slightly, which serves quite well to reduce their vision of your wrinkles.

And hey, even if our‘s are noticed– wrinkles are the badges we wear proudly to prove that yes, we are still here, we have survived what life has thrown us and continue to observe, enjoy, take part in and love life!

There is still beauty…

Just as most people are good there is still beauty in the world:  often after sad events be they national or personal one tends to want to be outside, to somehow reassure oneself that nature still exists, that some things can’t be changed quite so easily.

Fortunately it was another in an exceptionally long line of lovely fall days here.

So the first walk I took out by the natural preserve looking towards the alps.

Mont Blanc was hiding

a couple of leaves still refuse to change colors

Sign on both side of the woods below: private but authorized for hikers and friends of nature.

The woods

Inside the woods

unusual berries

never seen the like

A manor house with a still growing field

out the other end of the woods, Mont Blanc still in hiding

a few of the very rare red leaves still on the vine

one of the cannels of the natural preserve

A gray heron

The second shorter one was simply up to the village for coffee and back down through the vineyards.

the remains of a vineyard

through the trees close to sunset

 

Jet d'Eau in the distance beneath layers of the golden setting sun

Nature’s water bowls

After a rainy night I was walking up to the village for my morning coffee, admiring the rain drops still on the Irises.

Upon my return trip I noticed the small pools of water along every leaf of another bush and could easily imagine the small rodents drinking from these as well as the insects, birds and some would have been even enough water for a cat or dog, fox, hare or any other wild animals. Yet another purpose of some leaves.

The Shutdown hasn’t affected the deer.

My brother got off on his hike to Half Dome at 6 a.m.: his wife and I took a more leisurely path.

 

A day of wandering, taking pictures of the local grey squirrels, a lovely red-headed woodpecker, a family of deer, then two “teenagers” who seemed to be wandering on their own – no mom in sight – the weather was perfect with the air clearer than yesterday.

Park employees are mostly very upset – we, as the lucky few – are enjoying the peace and quiet. Yes, many roads are closed, but there is sufficient food and restaurants in three areas to keep us fed and watered. As the park empties enjoying it with only the deer and other animals, sprinkled with a few humans here and there, makes for an extraordinary trip: one of my best to the park.

Half Dome as seen upon entering the park from the western end.

WW

WW is an acronym that has most people thinking that there should be a roman numeral behind it, as in WWI or WWII, but I have a new meaning for WW: Wonderful Weekend!

It didn’t start out all that well: the kids were late meeting me, however, as it was due to the little kids (4-8) graduation ceremony – a huge parade along the main tram line through the center of town – they were more than forgiven, especially as I met them at my older son’s address so was able to call and see him briefly as well.

My younger son brought with him his girlfriend and goat’s cheeses that he had just purchased on the local famer’s market: two-days old, five-days old and eight-days old. Needless to say our evening’s meal of salad, fresh cheeses and bread, was sumptuous!

First though we had to get to the chalet: this involved a leisurely drive through France; a lunch stop once back in Switzerland; a couple of hours at Roche - they were visiting a church, I parked the car in the shade and proceeded to catch up on 7 different newspapers; then “needing” an ice cream led to stopping at one of my favorite places: The Grand St-Bernard relay.

Then it was on up the mountains arriving at 19:00 to a major downpour, which lasted the whole ten minutes of unloading (of course).

We never did catch up on our timing and it was 23:00 before we dragged ourselves away from the table and conversation – I going off to the guest bedroom next door (I have a landlady with a golden heart: when she saw us arriving – three – she rushed down to propose that I stay with them leaving the “young couple” on their own – I didn’t hestitate a nano-second before accepting).

Sunday stayed leisurely: the weather was perfect and we had reservations at the Auberge du Vallon de Van www.vallondevan.ch/‎ for a late lunch.   

Our table was the first one on the grass

Flowers given to me by two cute kids - not my own!

The kids hiked there: I took the car as had unfortunately sprained my ankle just two days earlier. Lunch out on the lawn, under an umbrella – light breeze, not a cloud in the sky – was yet again unbelievably good: mixed salad with a gathered-in-the-wild herb pesto, a plate of the Valaisan dried meats, followed by goat cheese fondue for one and our Swiss rösti (hash browns) with a beef/mushroom concoction more than filling.  We did however reserve the local dessert for later that afternoon: blueberry pie with a thin layer of chocolate in between the crust and the fruit.  Naps all around, followed by dessert and coffee. 

Then they hiked back and I again drove.   

We were not hungry that evening.

Much more water than usual due to the very wet and long winter.

So, although A took the train back to Geneva yesterday morning and S travelled on to Sierre to meet a friend and manufacture some more weapons for his job as camp counselor in July, the memory of our wonderful weekend lives on – a treasure to take out when the weather is bad or the conversation lacking.

Reconnecting with nature

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First walk of the season: only the short round as having not regularly walked in 6 weeks thought that I had best be reasonable; read lazy. Drizzle, fog, snow-powdered trees slightly higher, nothing could diminish the pleasure of being out and about in the fresh mountain air.
Even the dandelions looked beautiful!

Welcome to the mountains

Leaving my various roommates to watch the house, I took my youngest son, my new car, way-more-than-possible-luggage and myself off to my summer rental in the Swiss Alps.

Even the skies pulled out all the stops – offering us a rainbow visible on both mountain and clouds! 

Near Martigny, Switzerland