pre-Fourth Strawberries

Quick story to share:
Today I was in the local German grocery store picking up some stuff, since I had told a friend I would make a Strawberry Cream Topped cake for her, for which I needed some strawberries, of course.
So I am by the strawberries picking up the one 500 gram packet I needed for this recipe, think normal size plastic container, and there is a man grabbing one flat, than a second and then a third flat of strawberries, and I'm thinking what is up with this guy? Then I heard him humming the "Star Spangled Banner"...At first I was going to ask him if he was American and preparing for the 4th of July, but had to stop, since upon hearing that tune, my voice caught in my throat and I thought I might break into tears, so instead I reached down to pick up my flat of eight containers of strawberries. After all, what is the American Fourth of July without RED Strawberries and fresh whipped cream!

Approaching the Fourth

We are approaching the Fourth of July. Not a big holiday in Germany. No fireworks. No parades. No, well, anything. Life goes on. So it was with a great deal of surprise and joy that I found a friends post on my FB about Thomas Jefferson. This Virginian was the Renaissance Man of Renaissance Men, and I wish I could be more like him in many ways ... here is the link to the article, from the New York Times.

And the pursit of happiness ...

Happy (early) Birthday, America.

“Jefferson still survives”
– John Adams, July 4, 1826 (Adam’s last spoken words - delivered only hours after Jefferson had, himself, departed this life).

Never underestimate: Bonjour!

Never underestimate the value of a simple "hell-o" or in my case a "bonjour".

I was riding my bike from home into the kids' school today to serve as a substitute for a sport class; riding along and really enjoying the fact that I am using my bike as transportation and not just an exercise machine; and also noticing the fact that there are two types of cyclist on the paths: one is dressed in their spandex and whishing along and the other are dressed in their normal everyday clothes coming home or going to the market. While I was pondering this observation an older gentleman riding toward me said " Bonjour, Madame" . Well, it was such a quick exchange as we are riding in opposite directions, that you hardly have time to catch it, but the effect was grand, it just melted my heart and put a big smile on my face.

Die Ernte

Literally translated - the harvest - die Ernte is also the root of the English word “earn”. We earn a living, earn praise, earn, earn, earn. But looking at the root word, we literally reap what we sow. Die Ernte is the harvest of the grain, the harvest of fruit, of berries, the gathering-in part of gardening or farming is all part of die Ernte.

Last year, the harvest from our garden was in the area of “not very much”. The cherry trees did not produce as in the previous year, the Johannesbeeren (red currants) were only enough for some small jars of jam, and raspberries were barely there. So we cut back some, pruned here and there, watched the weather and learned from our neighbours ... we have a few more red currants this year ...


Sorry, I could not frame this very well to get everything in ... and there are a couple of containers that would not fit on the table ...


MMMMM, raspberries. Not tons, but enough to pick and enjoy with our breakfast ... and we only have a couple of vines.

Close ups of currants ...

These are “white” currants, very sweet and like little pearls on the vine. We have enough this year to set them aside separately in their own jelly.


The red currants. Big, tart, and tasty. Enough this year for a lot of juice (Saft) or to make jelly.

I’m waiting for the black currants to come in a little more before I collect my earnings there.

on top, part II

Along a mountain path...

Stopping for a pose... future mountaineer...

SAM and Wils with Dana, our friend visiting from North Carolina.

A look down the valley over a Seeli...(Swiss for a little sea...which we would call a "pond") Beautiful by what ever you call it.

Mountain Laural?...

You can hear the cow bells echoing all over the mountains, and they never stop ringing or clanging.

Up and up....

..and now we rest....

but, I'm still taking pictures and going up.....

Watch out for mother Cows! the sign warns...and the yellow plastic tape somehow keeps them just like regular fencing.

A snowball someone brought down and left.....

Wow! speechless!

My friend, Xian and I enjoying the beautiful sights and time together.

Here we are at 1850 meters! getting ready to take the car back down the mountain, it had turn cool all of a sudden and the clouds started to roll in, so we were ready to go.

up the Alp at Engelberg, part I - Getting There

Last Sunday we took a trip to Engelberg, Switzerland to climb an Alp, and we were not disappointed! Below is a picture story of our trip up:

Our adventure began by an hour long warm up walk up the valley from Engelberg to Fürenalp.

The sound of cowbells fill the air!

Do you see that tip of rock...that is where we are going!

Thank Goodness it is 2009 or I don't think I'd be doing this.

Here comes our ride....

there goes the lift house...

..and more up....

Almost there....

.... this is what greets us! And who says we were not in church!?

buying local

Along with trying to bike on nearby errands, we are also trying to buy as much locally as we can. Items on our local buy list range from fruit/ veggies to bread and eggs and fresh pressed Apple juice. I can probably find my milk almost direct from the cow, but we do buy regional Schwarzwald Co-oped milk to support the local dairy industry that is having a hard time in Europe as well as in the US. I must say it is easier to buy locally in our area than in some others. Although I am sure that larger cities have their farmer's markets and bring in the local produce from the surrounding area.

One of my fears upon reentering the US is that much of my buying from local farmers will stop, since I have gathered the impression that there are no local farmers to support and/or that the existing Farmer's Markets are more of a sporadic novelty and tourist addition instead of a real wage supporting endeavor. I am hoping that I am very wrong in this assumption.

There is something comfortable and satisfying about knowing the people who grow your food. For all of our mass communications and mass production, food is still a personal issue. Food is a basis concern, just like building relationships; we can have our online email buddies for a quick snack and a feel good "how ya doin" conversation, but when it comes to real nutrition and feeding the soul, we all need that personal contact, that relationship that is local and real; one that you know where is comes from and how it is grown since you can see the soil that it is grown from.

So buy local as much as you can...it is good for your farmers and good for your soul.

Something Old Something New...biking in my Life....

I am trying my hardest to make my Bicycle my mode of transportation. It is proving not to be easy, with three kids to haul around. Seriously, I would very much like to do this for my health and for the environment's health. The last two weeks while the kids have been out of school, I have been able to accomplish more of my goal, since they did not have to be run from point "A" to point "Q".

I have enjoyed this time and have made a couple long treks and then several trips to the grocery store and into town, Lörrach. It has been a joy to discover how relaxing it can be to go by bike. The discovery of a slower mode of transportation, but at the same time getting there faster than walking, has been a great revelation to body and spirit. Yea it may seem like a "duh, bikes are faster than walking and slower than cars" but what I have found is that I have time to think. I have time to listen. I have time to look around. With my walking I was always "exercising", trying to get from here to there for the sole purpose of getting my heart rate up, and walking off calories and finishing the workout. With biking as transportation, I move from here to there because I must be here or there to visit a friend, get food, or make an appointment; and along the way I get the added benefits of stopping to smell the roses, or picking that four leaf clover, or having the chance visit with a friend along the way.

My thinking is trying to look this way: that if I am going anyway, just how much longer would it be by bike than auto?, do I need to pick up anybody?, can I carry what I need home in a bike basket?, is it raining too hard?. If the answers are: less than 30 minutes, no, yes and no... then my decision is made that I will ride , if any no's, then most likely I will drive. However for the last two weeks, it has been mostly "yeses". With school starting up, it will be a bit more difficult, but maybe this is the start to a new mind set.

Here is an intersting link about biking.
www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/en/05__Culture/01/01/02/Feature__2.html

A wisdom glimpse

Found this off of Andrew Zuckerman's website:

www.wisdombook.org/

Very thought provoking; I hope my life can become and reflect the fullness of wisdom and action as these folks.

Diggin' Day, May 19, '09

While we can do may things in Germany that we can do in the States...what is the one Absolute activity that we CANNOT do?

If you answered DIG for ROMAN RUINS, than you are correct!

On May 19th, Stryker-Ann's class took a trip to Augusta Raurica, a large Roman settlement and city dating from 50 year Before Christ, and just over the Rhine from Germany into Switzerland. Here is the website, most in English if you click on subjects: www.augustaraurica.ch/e/menu/index.php

The kids did actual real digging. It was not for play and just for educational purposes. The man running the program said that although school groups and families dig slow the findings are real. A professional group would have dug in three days the same amount that the school groups dig in two weeks. All finds become property of the Swiss government.

SAM found a nail!

How cool to find a 2,000 year old nail!

"So is this a rock or something else, like a piece of pottery?", Paul and Frau Schwartz ask the head archeologist at the site.

More finds....

And then learning how to map a site....

Next the class learns how to classify items from a dig and just how difficult it is to but together all of the pieces of a find.

Back to the dig site and the sun!

A boy in the class found something of import...a button or a toggle from a piece of clothing. This piece might make it to the museum. It was tagged with his name as the finder!

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