Springtime In Switzerland

A Spring stroll in the park... Geneva, Switzerland

"It was such a spring day as breathes into a man an ineffable yearning, a painful sweetness, a longing that makes him stand motionless, looking at the leaves or grass, and fling out his arms to embrace he knows not what." ~ John Galsworthy, The Forsyte Saga

Springtime in Switzerland, another place I have never been except through the eyes of my brother and his little camera. This shot shows what I love the most about spring... the pale green tiny leaves on the huge trees with dark branching trunks and lacy intertwining limbs. Around here we don't see it so much. There are many maples and these seem to produce their seeds before the leaves come out... they are usually red or orange or even a slight golden color and in some places near our house, the maples all alined almost give the look of fall with their "Spring" colors. The pear and plum trees show up with millions of small white flowers before the leaves and by the time these petals have been blown by the wind into a fine Spring snow on the ground around their feet and covered cars that drive by, the leaves emerge at almost full size. The oaks have yet to push off last years brown dead leaves. No, here we don't have a boulevard to walk under an arch of tiny fresh green leaves.

I remember one tree near the lab where I worked in Mississippi. While I don't know what type of tree it was, it always fascinated me. It was old with a thick dark trunk... almost black, the trunk and limbs. Deep, dark green ivy had spread from the disc around the base, upward, covering the trunk in green year around. In the winter, short as it is there, the black empty limbs gave an architectural look to the corner lot... always with that green ivy showing. But it was most magnificent in Spring, when the light lime green leaves began to emerge. The lime green made the black limbs and branches pop and it blended so finely with the dark green ivy. It was a wonderful collage of greens and black for almost a month, until the leaves were too large and the skeleton of limbs could no longer be seen.. and by then the color of the leaves and the ivy were almost indistinguishable. As summer approached, it was just another tree with its individualistic character now hidden from view until Fall once again came.

Carmi has chosen the theme "land, sea or air" for this week.... whether travel by each or the beauty of each. I chose this for land... spring land... a land I have never walked, but may do so some day. And I thought this was most scenic as well for Scenic Sunday.
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Carmi's Theme ~ Land, Sea or Air
Scenic Sunday

The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same

Lake Tahoe, California. Winter, 1984.

"At last the lake burst upon us--a noble sheet of blue water lifted six thousand three hundred feet above the level of the sea, and walled in by a rim of snow-clad mountain peaks that towered aloft three thousand feet higher still! As it lay there with the shadows of the mountains brilliantly photographed upon its still surface, I thought it must surely be the fairest picture the whole world affords." ~ Mark Twain, 1861

Nyssa lives, at least for the next three years, not far from Lake Tahoe. Her father and I were there once for one of his conferences and that is where we took beginner ski lessons. Skiing is much like ice skating, in that the blades and the skis have two edges and the tasks of turning and stopping require use of the edges rather than the flat of the ski or blade. The ski is just a lot longer than the skate and more cumbersome. It is much easier to get up with skates than with skis attached.

The lake is beautiful and the pine trees surrounding it produce some of the largest pine cones I have ever seen, up to six inches in diameter and eight to ten inches long. It is a rugged landscape with sharp mountains and only a small strip of land at the base between the mountains and the lake. Big collections of boulders extend out into the water in some areas and snow was scattered everywhere. We were there in February and huge piles of plowed snow were prominent.

Currently, they are experiencing the first big storm of the season and as I understand, two more are right behind. The mountain passes are difficult going and mandatory chain use is in effect. Nyssa tells me that she and her roommate may take the dog to Seattle to stay with her roommate's mom over Christmas. By my calculations, there is NO way to get from Reno to Seattle WITHOUT having to go through at least one of the high mountain passes. She is ignoring my advice not to do this. Even if she had chains, she probably couldn't get them on or they would be the wrong size and it is going to be a slow go of it. In the bad areas, they often have to close the passes with the wind and blowing snow. This is a Mississippi person.... a Virginia person.... minimal contact with driving in snow... even on flat areas. Hopefully, someone will talk her out of this. By what the Weather Channel is saying today, I don't think she would even be able to get up to Tahoe today!

Lake Tahoe picture from 1899

This was a picture I found on the net of Lake Tahoe from 1899. It really hasn't changed configuration that much has it.

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Scenic Sunday

A Place To Play And Pray

A place to play and pray...in sunlight and shadow.
Norfolk Botanical Garden.. Colonial Garden
(Click picture to enlarge)

"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul." ~ John Muir

It is cloudy and warm but with a north breeze... so the heat index is not prohibitive. Now, if that radar will just cooperate, I will be off to the botanical garden for the afternoon. A perfect "light" day for the new butterfly garden. Perhaps a visit to this venue too. The Colonial garden has a quiet stream that wanders by with herbs, flowers and bushes that were found in Colonial Virginia. The paths here are covered with white broken shells, just like those in private gardens of Williamsburg. A white gazebo with comfortable benches affords a place to read, relax, contemplate and rest. On the day I took this picture, the sunshine behind the garden threw long shadows over the gazebo and lawn. Come and join me.

An entry for Scenic Sunday and Shadow Shot Sunday.

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