
“Are you asking me? …is that some kind of existential ‘look-in-the-mirror’ trick?”
“Are you going to take the trip or not?”

“Are you asking me? …is that some kind of existential ‘look-in-the-mirror’ trick?”
“Are you going to take the trip or not?”

Stop pushing me!

Oooooopps—more than a pair!

Corylus avellana, 600 meters above sea level, 12June2010, North facing slope, Bernese Highlands, Swiss Alps.
Hazelnut or filbert. At the risk of sounding too much like an oldtimer…
Once upon a time, before European mass produced chocolate became common in the United States, if you wanted chocolate with nuts, you had primarily chocolate with peanuts. Then if you took the big voyage to Europe and tried to find chocolate and peanuts…impossible. Chocolate and nuts in Europe meant chocolate and hazelnuts. Need I say mouth watering?

Sambucus nigra, 11June2010, 600meters above sea level, North facing slope, Berner Oberland, Switzerland.
Dig into this one. Elderberry ice cream. Elderberry cordial. Elderberry jam. And on it goes. Wait until ripe, if you haven’t already harvested the flowers. So light. Heavenly.

I love to see an agricultural community in transition. Everything counts. Nothing is wasted.

People still remember that everything counts and, for security, nothing is wasted.

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, mid 1980s, tourist export
Silver, Gold, or? Death or date palms? Take your pick.

Found at approx 1600 meters above sea level in the
Swiss Alps, Bernese Highlands, Jungfrau Region

Gentiana acaulis
22May2018

Found in Swiss Alps, Bernese Highlands, Jungfrau Region

Gentiana verna
22May2018

Prunus laurocerasus has become very popular as a hedge to secure privacy for people in the small gardens around the houses of the Bernese Highlands.
This plant is evergreen, takes to trimming, makes a nice tall, thick hedge, and has a light but pleasant fragrance in flower. Bees like it and birds like it.

But I have observed a huge amount of pollen gather on Lake Brienz while this plant is at and past its peak flowering.
Interesting no? Comments please?