A Birthday Walk

I never post without including photos. But having spent considerable time earlier this evening choosing and organising photos to post, I've given up. I just can't get them onto this post. Which is a shame as some of them actually show blue skies.




I had a birthday just after Christmas. If the weather was nice we thought we would go for a longer walk than usual. The weather was wet and grey. So no walk.




Again, we planned a longer walk on New Year's Day. But the weather was grey and damp. So once again, just the usual walk with the dogs.




Today is Mike's birthday, and at last there was sunshine. So we took ourselves off with the dogs for a walk through the woods. It stayed dry until the last bit of the walk when it had dulled over and started to spit with rain. But before that we had enjoyed some lovely views overlooking the River Mosel. Just a shame I can't show the walk in pictures.


Still, Mike says he enjoyed his birthday.

 

Frohes Neues Jahr

 

 

A New Year,

a new start with my blog.

 

 

 We took a longer walk today.

The other side of the river.

 

 

 Part way we sat on a bench

for a picnic of Christmas cake and cheese.

Paddy and Jess

were very interested.

 



 

We had views of the river,

rather grey,

but with some nice reflections. 

 



 

And a different viewpoint of the bridge that is being built.

 

 

Further on, we saw some bee honeycomb on the floor.

No idea how it got there.

 

Jess and Danny want to know what it is.

 

And a nice group of fungi.

 

A nice beginning to the New Year.

Let's hope it's a good one.

 

 

 



The Last of the Sunshine?

Thank you for your comments on my last post.

I was so heartened by them,

especially when I've been away so long.

Up to yesterday, we had been having some glorious weather.

Though the mornings would be very misty.

But once the mist had burnt off,

the day would be transformed into

the most glorious of days.

So I thought I had better

take advantage of the good weather,

and get my bicycle out.

So I went for a couple of rides at the weekend.

Cycling is very popular here.

Of course we are in the valley

which means that the cycle routes

alongside the river remain quite flat.

These photos were taken

on the Sunday, (I think).

We've been having trouble with the camera.

I've been a bit clumsy with it,

bumping it a bit too much,

and now the batteries keep falling out,

and the date needs correcting.

I cycled along the river to Traban-Trabach

a round route of about 20 miles.

I came back on the other side of the river for part of the way.

Most of these photos were taken

when I got to Traban-Trabach.

Traban is one side of the river,

a bridge spans the river

connecting it to Trabach.

That happens a lot here along the Mosel.

Villages have hyphenated names

and are usually separated by the river.

It has been a busy time here in the vineyards.

Everyone, it seems,

has been harvesting the grapes.

Only this morning whilst out with the boys,

I passed three separate vineyards being harvested.

I have been witnessing the little tractors coming by our house,

their trailers laden with grapes,

then passing a while later, empty,

on their way back up to the vineyards for more.

I just had to stop and get off my bicycle

on my way to Traban-Trabach

to take the photo below.

Whilst I was doing that,

a like minded lady coming the other way

did the same thing.

Except, she was with her husband,

and he went cycling on ahead not realising she had stopped.

There was a festival in the market place at Traban-Trabach.

I think it's main aim was to sell food and drink.

I had a wander round

before getting back on my bicycle to ride back.

I passed this pole,

a remnant from the springtime festivities.

I thought I would include the photo below

taken in the morning,

just to show the contrast.

Unfortunately,

I think we have seen the last of the good weather now.

Today it has been raining,

for the first time in about seven weeks.

So this picture is the same colour as it is here today, grey.

But I will leave you with a sunshine picture

taken at Traban-Trabach

from the weekend.

Grey to Blue in a Day

August already.

This year seems to be flying by.

Our walks with the hounds today

have taken us

above the vineyards,

through woods

and overlooking the river.

This morning we stayed on this side of the river.

It was rather grey.

But still beautiful.

In the afternoon,

we crossed the river,

and walked in the shade,

it was so hot.

The river has gone from grey to blue.

All in a day.

A Grey Day with a Silver Lining

Mike flew off to the UK

last Tuesday.

Just before he went

one of the crowns came off my tooth.

I went into a mild panic,

followed by denial.

I hate anything like that happening with my teeth.

But today I finally did something about it

and went off to find a dentist.

I took the camera with me

as before Mike left,

I told him to

check my blog daily,

that way,

he could see what I was up to

what the weather was like here.

I also thought it would

prompt me to update my blog regularly.

Unfortunately,

I haven't been doing such a good job

with that side of things.

Well I did have a very busy week last week.

I went to a village the other side of the river

a few miles down stream,

where I found the light airy dental surgery.

It has an elevated position

and the views from the windows are lovely.

A good way to take your mind off what's happening

in the dentist chair.

However the procedure was straight forward,

and I now have the crown

back in position.

I have to go back tomorrow

to have it checked.

Hopefully, that's it sorted!

On the way back

I stopped a couple of times

to take some photos.

The following photos are of a different village on the way back to ours.

I think today has been the greyest day yet since Mike left.

In fact there was some very heavy rain earlier,

so I hope we don't get anymore of that when I walk the hounds later.

This last photo shows how closely the road follows the river.

It does that pretty much all along the river.

It crosses over the river now and then.

It's very scenic.

I had some more photos to share with you,

but Blogger doesn't seem to want to accept them.

So I'll leave well alone

in case I end up losing them all!

I'll take the camera with me again tomorrow

and hope that there is a bit of sunshine

to brighten up the pictures.

 

Swan Update

Before Easter I had to have some emergency dental treatment,

I had toothache!

Yesterday I went to pay the bill.

I took my camera,

as I knew that before Easter they had this lovely little display outside the door.

I had taken my camera on an earlier visit, but the batteries had given up,

so I was hoping that it was still there.

It was!

On the way to the dentist

I stopped by to see how the swans are doing.

Obligingly she was rearranging her eggs when I arrived,

and I got a photo of them.

There's three at least.

They have their own little fan club.

This last photo shows one of the holiday cruise ships

that frequent the river.

Bernkastel seems to be one of their stops.

It's a lovely way to see the river.

I don't think the swan is very impressed with it though.

Enjoy your weekend.

River Reflections

These photos were taken on two separate occasions

just a couple of days apart.

Of course we were out with the hounds on both occasions.

Can you see the sundial on the far side of the river?

I liked the look of this truck

with it's reflection.

The river is so still.

Unlike here, where Jewel is doing her usual mad splashing in the water.

Here's a barge heading our way.

Jewel's keeping her eye on it.

The hounds aren't usually bothered about the barges,

except once they've passed,

and the bow wave comes

and splashes us if we don't move.

Either way, it often makes a lot of noise as it runs

along the banks.

Arthur gets excited when this happens.

Maybe he doesn't see what's happening so well.

I especially like to walk down by the river

when there's no wind.

That's when the reflections are at their best.

Blogtoberfest Day 9, Varied

What a gorgeous morning it was here.

Can you see the mist in the valley?

A few minutes later and it had almost gone.

Grapes were being harvested

and we stopped to talk to some of the people working in the vineyards.

We asked when the wine would be ready to drink from this years harvest.

And they asked about the hounds.

Apparently it's not expected to be such a good year for wine

due to all the rain we had in August and September.

Although I have read somewhere

that the wine is never poor from this area.

And the wine from this years harvest can be drunk in the Spring.

A little further along the road

and a group of walkers stopped to admire the hounds.

It's unusual to see Greyhounds here,

so people will often stop and ask about them.

In the afternoon

the good weather continued.

It must have been perfect for paragliding

as there were loads up in the sky above the village.

There's not usually so many.

I counted over 30, then stopped.

I drove up river to visit a wine festival.

Another pretty part of the Mosel.

And what a pretty dog.

Its owner was minding a stall displaying this yarn.

There were quite a few dogs around.

Waiting patiently,

as their owners

sampled the wine.

I think this fellow has maybe had a bit too much wine,

what do you think?

As I neared our village on the way back home,

quite a few emergency vehicles passed me.

Unfortunately,

one of the paragliders had landed in the trees.

Let's hope they were okay.

Pop on over to Tinnie Girl to see who else is taking part in Blogtoberfest.

Blogtoberfest Day 7, Crackers

Foraging.

It seems to be a popular pastime here.

This is just a selection of the fruits that can be found along side the Mosel.

I collected these few fruits at the end of our walk with the hounds this morning.

Though I must admit I collected the plums from our tree.

I think I may have missed making jam with them this year.

Shame.

Although it's October the Mosel is still a very popular place with the tourists.

Once again we were passing the landing stage as people waited for one of the boats.

One boat has already passed,

You can see another two boats here as people are boarding one of them.

A busy time.

We went down to the river again.

Remember the photo from yesterday

showing the splash of water where Jewel had been?

She loves the water,

and will take every opportunity to go in it.

This morning was no exception,

and I tried to be ready for her

with the camera.

As she splashed,

and turned in the water.

She is so quick.

Even when I try to be ready for her.

Holding onto her lead,

whilst holding on to the camera

and trying to take a photo,

whilst doing my utmost not to fall into the water.

It took a bit of doing.

I did get some water in my wellies though.

Back onto dry land,

and I could see Paddy was up for a run.

He's a big dog

and loves running.

Unfortunately this is out of focus.

But you can see how he is leaning in to turn.

After his run,

and he's back in focus.

Well there was another photo here,

but I've no idea where it's got to!

Must be Blogger up to it's tricks again.

Ah well!

Just before I go,

Jewel says she would just like to

thank everyone for the lovely comments she's been getting.

One of you lovely visitors called her a super model,

and another lovely person would like to paint her!

It hasn't gone to her head though,

she's just as crazy as ever,

crackers in fact!

Call over to Tinnie Girl to see who else is joining in with the Blogtoberfest.

                    

Blogtoberfest Day 6, Early Autumn,

It was quite a dull start to today.

But I took the camera on our morning walk with the hounds.

My sister had been asking whether the trees were changing colour here.

So what better way to show her?

As you can see, some of the leaves are changing,

but not so many as yet.

Can you see the profusion of yellow flowers?

There tend to be quite a few down by the river.

I think they are a type of sunflower.

Despite the dull start to the day,

there were a number of people

waiting to take a trip

on one of the pleasure boats.

Perhaps they knew it was going to turn into a sunny afternoon.

And what is this picture?

That is Jewel

having fun in the river.

But she is too quick for the camera.

Call on over to Tinnie Girl to see what every one else is doing for Blogtoberfest.