In the woods

In between those historical walks I managed to walk through the woods, too. Ž likes mushrooms, so we searched for them a couple of times. I like picking them but eating… no, thank you.

My favorites are toadstools. Wonderful mushrooms but uneatable. Though, for sure very photogenic. No wonder that all sorts of creatures live in them in fairytales. I would too.

Austrian mountains

I caught a terrible cold after this trip to the source of the river Mura in the Austrian Alps. It was beautiful, so different from our Alps, but also too cold for me to fully enjoy the trip.

We (a group of eight people) slept in a cozy hut with hot tap water and prices just a little bit higher than in our mountain huts. The wheat beer was excellent (so the guys claimed), as well as tea, beds were cozy but I hardly slept during the night because I couldn’t warm myself. The next day we walked up to the source of the Mura and later decided to go further up to the mountain pass from where we could see two lakes. It must be beautiful here during the summer when mountains are not covered by snow. But this time also inside of a bivouac was only 1 degree C.

On our way down we picked blueberries and cranberries, enjoyed in the scenery, spotted some Golden Eagles, a rare sight for most of us. The landscape was getting the colors of the autumn, in three weeks larches will get their yellow color, too.

It was also great to see the places that I haven’t seen for more than ten years and it was amazing to sing Slovenian songs with Austrians (I believe that not all like us very much; after all, Slovenians fought for centuries to get rid of their supremacy and German language in our institutions). And I still don’t know what happened with Slovenian taste for beauty after the II. WW because it is so obvious where the border line stands – just by looking at the houses which are in Austria so neat and cozy while Slovenian are nothing but a huge mess of all possible styles. I wonder if we really don’t have any city planning in this country?!

Driving back home we were listening to this music which seemed as an appropriate ending of our excursion.

Complaining about the weather

The wind started to blow this morning, and in spite the temperature was the same as yesterday (-1 degrees C), the windshield on my car was not frozen. Hooray for the change of weather! I looked through the window this morning and realized that I haven't seen the stars for about two (or is it already three or even four?) weeks. Later, when I was drinking coffee with my colleagues, guys started to complain about the chilly and foggy weather we've been having for absolutely too long here in Ljubljana. Guys complaining over the weather? This doesn't happen often... They too are getting cold.

I left home on Thursday, and drove to the other part of Slovenia only to face another gray landscape and meet more people who complained about the fog. I had no other choice because I had to be there. I promised. I was cold most of the time, all four days in a row. The thought of going home on Sunday made me smile because I knew that it was warm there. It always is. Home sweet home, no matter how chaotic it looks like.

When we came back home Ž said that it was really nice to be in a warm and cozy place. It was good to hear that. And on Monday after work I drove up the nearby hill to see the sun after more than a week. I was getting crazy and depressed from this gray, piercing cold fog blanket over our heads.

I am glad that holidays are approaching. At least something that gives a little bit of light to everyday grayness. I don't like this time of a year, wet and damp and foggy and dark, leafless and soundless. Leafless? Well, not really. I was tripping over the rocks and roots covered by fallen leaves all the time these days...

P.s.: Those white storks on a picture above are made of socks; young girls and boys made them to raise money for their future projects.

Snowflakes

Snow, snow, let it snow. - it started snowing today, quite early this season. Snowflakes melt almost immediately.

- it is time to be creative again, it is time to make something new (lace not included; I will be able to show you my first real lace next week).

- I keep noticing that shops are beginning to stack shelves with Christmas products.

- I make herbal teas with lemon juice and honey every evening.

- I use gloves in the mornings while driving to work. Sometimes also when I drive back home.

It is getting cold and dark outdoors, it is getting cozy and warm indoors. Though, life still hasn't slowed down. Not yet. There's still lots to be done before winter truly knocks on our doors.

New things

Sometimes when I go to the bookstore, I just browse through the books and don't buy anything. We would need new bookshelves first, I guess, but I couldn't resist yesterday, and I bought three new books. One is about mushrooms, the other one about alpine plants and the third one is Natural History by Pliny the Elder. Actually there are only selected chapters published in this book and half of it is in Latin (a pity, I would rather have more translated chapters instead). I first read about Pliny in a book about eruption of Mount Vesuvius. I wouldn't mind visiting Pompeii one day. So, I had lots of fun reading the chapter about the birds yesterday. In that time it was believed that cuckoos become birds of prey in autumn (when they migrate to Africa)...So, I also took some photos of Ž's collection of seeds. Some of them are by trees that are not native to Europe, like Dawn Redwood or Canadian Hemlock.Well, I also have to admit that I spent some money on rubber stamps yesterday. :) Love them!

Have a great weekend! (I though all day long that it was Wednesday yesterday...)

Colors

I took some photos this Sunday for an article I wrote, and one of them was also this one:Colors are coming back into our land, after kind of a boring month of plain dark green and brown scenery. And it stopped raining! It's still quite warm during the day, which makes life much better. Nothing is edible in my garden anymore, the vegetables are soaked with all sorts of dirt (not just mud, but also oil, manure, just name it...). Life is getting back to normal, if I can call it so. I hope that by Christmas my home will be home (again?), as now it is just a pit stop for the night. Events like this recent flood clearly show me, how much my home means to me. Home, sweet home.

Karma for today: Touch without grasping.

Leafless

I went for a walk yesterday after dinner, it was getting dark already and it was only 4pm. Clouds were covering the sky, and in a distance a huge disc of the sun was seen through them. The cold pierced me to the bone; I do need a new winter jacket and gloves. :)

When I was almost back among the houses, I noticed that trees were already almost all leafless. When did this happen?

I am looking forward to spring (leaves will grow again in April, so for six months we will be looking at this dull brown and gray landscape), though there's lots do be done until then. Life to be lived.

I baked bread in new baking tins in the evening, but the light was too bad to take any photos. It is this time of a year when we should actually rest and prepare ourselves for the time after Easter, time of growth. It is time to make plans and it is time for learning. I should probably not complain over fog which we have every day now, should I? ;)

Snow

Today it snows in some parts of Slovenia; we had a short snow shower about an hour ago in Ljubljana, too. It was quite unusual to see a car, covered by snow this morning when I was driving to work. I promised myself to go out more often this winter. My wish is to ski again, and to buy myself new sledges, as the ones I have are too big for me. I should have some fun in the months that are yet to come.

This morning we had a chat with my colleagues, and it felt so cozy talking about all sorts of things, laughing, enjoying ourselves. Of course, we had coffee and tea while chatting. This is what we drink sometimes:Overpriced; shops earn lots of money by selling that. I was checking the prices yesterday in the shop, prices of cocoa, hot chocolate and coffee. All are very expensive if they are imported. Though sometimes we should indulge in such (expensive) things, as we have only one life to live.

Enjoy yourself today!

Festival of colors

I have to admit that I have never before noticed that the colors of autumn were so beautiful like they are this year. Every year when when my life is almost unbearable, nature shows its most beautiful colors. Not only colors, but the weather in such years is always excellent.
I have taken less than twenty photos in October, but I did take 220 of them this weekend. Fog in the lowlands brought me to the places where trees don't grow anymore, to where my heart always rejoices, and where you can always see me with a broad smile on my face. Always.

Let me share with you some photos from there, from my favorite places on the Earth.My favorite spots, some of them still not visited, like the highest mountain in Slovenia (the one covered by snow):Yesterday I took a path not far from my home (well, I had to drive up the hill first), through the woods which are still showing their most beautiful colors. I was completely alone, if I don't count numerous birds and probably some bears and foxes near by. :) It is amazing how a beautiful blue sky can bring warmth to someone's soul, in spite of a shattered life. I hope you had a nice weekend, too.

Keep fingers crossed...

... that doctors did a good job 14 days ago, so that I won't have to go to a hospital again tomorrow.
If luck is not on my side, then I will be back in a week. If I am lucky then you will be reading my new post here tomorrow.Let me laugh again, I can't cry anymore.

P.s.: Autumn has showed its colors this week, so I am sharing some of this beauty with you. Enjoy!

Welcome autumn!

Yesterday at 23:18 autumn has started here. This is what's been hanging on my door for a week: The wire I used is not strong enough, so a circle has become an ellipse. It looks good anyway.

Escape

The fog is here, again, and it will follow our days until spring. That's why I keep going to some higher places whenever this is possible. Two bright sunny days awaited those who were not in Ljubljana, a foggy place. Right, it clears by midday but then the half of a day is already over. I didn't sew, I just cleaned around the house a bit. It is still warm outside when the sun comes through the clouds and fog. I baked bread but it came out pretty sticky as if it wasn't baked long enough. I have forgotten that today passed five years since I've been working for this organization, so I didn't bake anything sweet for my colleagues. I enjoyed in walking yesterday, through the woods and pastures. Five hours of stretching legs. And rest in one of the most frequently visited cottages. On Ratitovec. Not a mountain but anyway there is abundance of alpine flowers on that hill in spring and summer. Hot tea was good. The view was excellent. I won't be one of those who come up there about 300 times in one year but I will come again. At least I hope so.

They have arrived!

Colors have arrived to this part of the world. Exactly on Friday. No sooner, no later than that. I was just wondering at the beginning of last week if the whole autumn will be as dull as it was in September. The color of the plants was faded dark green, with some dull brown (don't get me wrong, I like brown color!) in between.

And on Friday they were there - colors! Chrysanthemums and Asters have started to bloom, and the maple trees were covered in reds and yellows and lime greens. Beautiful. October is a nice month, I like its name and also number 10. The last month of a year with leaves on trees.
I am decorating my home a bit, slowly adding colors to it. Soon flowers in the pots outside will perish; it is freezing cold already in the mornings. Peaks are covered with snow, so there will be no mountain hikes this year again (unless I get a good guide to go with me). Today we will have first chestnuts - they are very small this year. There are no acorns on the trees (or below them) this year. It is sunnier now than it was in September, so I suppose it is time to gather the rest of the fruit from the garden and plant some tulips and other beauties that will flower in the next year. It is time when I will be more creative than I was during the long and hot summer days. I like warmth and I definitely prefer cozy room and my armchair during these long cold months. I hope I won't spend too much time reading again!