It happened last night.
Woke up this morning and winter had snuck in. Winter! And I had not yet even finished the requisite autumnal post.
Snow down to 3,000 meters. Above image shows in the foreground two valleys at 600 meters. The valleys drain the north side of the Jungfrau Massif, part of the Berner Oberland in the Swiss Alps. If you magnify, you can see Jungfrau, Monch and Eiger in the left center background.
If I could…and then the fairy appeared before me. Yeah, in my dreams!
If I could write with the emotion and mystery of these clouds moving ever so slowly but always with magnificent beauty, incredible balance.
And challenges. These clouds offer visual, emotional and intellectual challenges that encourage science to escape Pandora’s box, something I’ve never done.
The name says it all.
End of summer;
But, a last breath of spring-like beauty.
Did I discover the end of summer or the last remnant of spring?
The beauty overwhelms the labels.
You don’t think so? Where is the singing if there are no flowers?
Right here! Can you hear the music? Spring is here.
I suppose this image is about design. But it is also about people who have lived for generations with the forest. Wood takes on many important facets of their lives.
What do you do with wood? On this window sill is a painted wooden model of a village in the woods.
The village in the woods.
My heart’s in the forest.
…want to hear about this stroke update. That’s ok because you don’t have to read it. I want to put words to what I felt today.
About 18 months ago I was in bed, a vegetable in a windowless and clockless emergency ward. Tubes everywhere. Nothing that worked before was working.
Gradually things sank in, internal clouds started lifting and I started thinking. Still unable to get out of bed. If only I could speak again. If only I could clean myself again. I dreamed if only I could walk in the country…oh such a dream. Then the rehab began. Then the hard discipline became essential. Little step by little step.
Below is where I walked today. I almost melted with joy and happiness. Wish fulfilled. So many to thank.
Who wouldn’t want to take this walk?
Can’t tell the forest from the trees. Or is it the other way around–can’t tell the trees from the forest. Can’t tell.
Can’t tell the trees from the trunk and branches.
Can’t tell the trunk and branches from the leaves.
Can’t tell the leaves from the needles and cones.
Can’t tell anything…I’m lost…and happy…don’t tell.
I like to share things about plants, gardens and landscape. Things that can enliven and inspire.
But this set of photos is only about sharing perception in what I think of as teaching.
Every day I have mountains in my face. These photos how some of them. In particular, these photos tell a story that is quite visually apparent in early spring.
Here are the stories or rather the lessons learned:
Notice the green grasses in the lower elevations. Compare it to the brown yellow grasses at the higher elevations.
Darker green forest trees are conifers. Spring green forests are deciduous.
Electric lime green spring foliage on a mixture of deciduous trees.
Just another day, but…
Winter does have some beauty.
Just when we may think winter does us in…
Spring shares hope.
Everything to see, smell, hear and feel.
3 of 3
2 of 3
1 of 3
May Snow
A week ago I posted Wisteria photo taken the same day, so enamoured I was of its floriferous and fragrant presence. I called it a mature spring dream.
Today, just one week later I had the opportunity to observe a unique scientific reality—that is—higher elevations have cooler temperatures. And that dramatically affects the visual coming of spring.
I live in essentially the same easting and northing for the Wisteria photo and these weather photos below. All have been taken within a 5 mile by 5 mile square on a map. I can observe the weather at 500 meters above sea level—the Wisteria–no snow fall at all–only a cold spring rain.
And I can observe the weather at 1,500 meters above sea level which I did today. My easy access to these very different elevations is possible due to the well developed cog-wheel train system in operation year round in all weather conditions.
Today, at 1,500 meters and higher, I saw no crocus, no dandelion, no green. But I did have the joyous fun of a snowfall in mid Spring—large flakes in blizzard-like conditions up to 12” deep and sticking to all coniferous and deciduous trees and shrubs.
Good fun.
800 meters above sea level–at this elevation there was no snowfall but you can see the dynamic cloud activity–up the faces of the cliffs–along the valley floor–and the entire valley is covered and darkened by the low overcast.
1,500 meters above sea level–at this elevation I have entered the low overcast layer that caused the reduced light at 800 meters. Inside the overcast layer was snowing.
2,300 meters above sea level–at this level I have risen above the first overcast snowing and am now in snowfall from a higher overcast. This is where 12″ of snow had already fallen and the snow was still falling. A cog-wheel train at left.
