Sky, water…

…I'm here now…or was…

…earth…

…and humans.

Please remind me–the humans are powerful enough to have done what to this earth?

Fear, uncertainty and dread…all built upon imagined human hubris.

Just take care of your stuff. That should be what humans do. That’s what I see in the above photo where humans have been living for at least a millennium.

People and Plants Caption?

Caption?

This is a bit of a change. But most of my posts are about real life, so I guess this fits in.

All I see in this photo is an attempt at ‘cross-cultural integration’. Is that sad or is that just a practical fact of life?

Do any of you have experience with signs like this?

If so, in public or in your home?

Do any of you wonder why this sign was put up?

Do any of you wonder what happens if this sign isn’t put up?

Caption?

Oh heck, forget it. I’ve been living in foreign countries too long. I’ve forgotten what is culturally right or culturally wrong.

Happy holidays to all. I’m going out for a walk, maybe an adventure.

An adventure in the making…going my way?

Stuck on a metaphor

Is this a living landscape where the sun, the earth and moisture combine in a joyous dance? Or am I reading too much into it? I see a dance hall.

 

Is this the invitation to dance? I think the moisture emerging from the earth in that cloud is wanting to dance in the sun. This cloud wants its dance card signed.

Dancing clouds—I’m stuck on that metaphor.

I’ve lived on many continents, in many climates but only in this region have I felt—joyous, dancing clouds. Only here have I seen the clouds emerge from the earth.

Yesterday I watched clouds emerge from the earth, become dancing players in the sky and then dissolve before my eyes. Over and over. Great pleasure indeed I had.

For dedicated cloud watchers, I have, in this region, learned to distinguish between watching the dance and participating in the dance. Yesterday I watched.

Here are some of the players arriving for the dance–look carefully–each has its own style:

I’m stuck in that metaphor; and I don’t mind. It is a simple pleasure.

Cheesed

I was born in and grew up in large cities–Detroit, Chicago and Cleveland. With that big-city-supermarket-only detachment, I still look at farm life as a Disneyland attraction. City soft hands vs farm rough hands–same mentality.

But last week I, by chance, attended an Alpabzug held in a village in the Berner Oberland, Jungfrau Region, Switzerland.

Alpabzug und Chästeilet! says with exclamatory enthusiasm, we are having a party to celebrate our cows’ return home from the Alpine summer pastures and their cheese distribution.

The Alpabzug is a village festival where the people in the village come out on the main street to a parade of cows that welcomes the cows back home after their season up in the mountains. It is a jolly time.

The parade, led by trychlers (bell-ringers) finishes on the edge of town for a day long festival where people take photos of the cows’ head-dresses, enjoy each others’ company, jodelers, traditional music, eat chäsbraetli (raclette on bread) and buy the cheese made that year on the mountain.

The parade through the village reached the festival ground where the residents gathered to appreciate the cows with a party.

Village families make close relationships with the cows.

Farmers make decorative head dresses for the cows.

Decorative craftsmanship demonstrates human respect paid to the cows.

Open-faced raclette cheese sandwiches enjoyed by more than a hundred people.

The cheese from this summer has been brought for distribution to the village residents.

Each farmer has summer cheese displayed and ready for taste testing.

This season’s cheese, muetschli, for sale at 22CHF/kg is sold alongside jellies and jams made from local fruits and berries.

I like how the production and consumption of food is an intimate part of village life. I am amazed that it is still occurring as a village event—not a tourist event.

In my idealistic interpretation, I see the people thanking the cows for the milk given to produce the cheese that will be eaten throughout the wintertime.

What is the way it is said—local food by and for local people. 🙂