More lazy summer days, and more holiday photos

Well, this week hasn't been much different than last week. My bronchitis still hasn't cleared up and I've spent another week at home resting. I'm really getting fed up with it now. And it's still hot, even hotter than last week, which doesn't help. So not much time in the studio, but I got at least one sketch done. And I've edited some more photos from our holiday.

Back in April, I put together a new watercolour palette with 24 colours. Some I've been using for a while, and some of them were entirely new ones. This is what the new palette looked like three months ago, with all the pans filled with to the brim with delicious Daniel Smith paints.

And this is what it looks now. I'ts quite obvious, well, it certainly is when looking at the box in real life, which colours were used a lot - and which ones weren't. There's not much left of either Payne's Grey or Alizarin Crimson, which I use mixed together as a shadow colour. And I love Sap Green. The only ones of the new additions that I did use where Rose of Ultramarine and Goethite.

It's useful to look at your palette after having used it for some time, and see if there's any changes you might want to make. Maybe a certain colour didn't work out quite as well as you thought, and you might want to swap it for another one. Or you find that there's a colour missing that would be really useful. There's such a great range of paints available these days, in any medium, and it's very easy to get carried away and buy a colour just because it's so gorgeous.

We went on a couple of outings in the area. One trip was to the beautiful Seleger Moor. I've posted some photos from my last visit there back in May, when all the rhododendrons and azaleas, their main attractions, were in bloom. Even though there's not so much blooming at this time of year, it is still worth a visit. It's just a peaceful place to be, and of course there's always the frogs, bees and hummingbird moths.

This gorgeous frog was sitting right in the middle of the path. Perfect for taking photographs. Can you see the mosquito in his back, sucking his blood? Poor little thing. I can imagine how he felt, I've got bitten about eight times while we were there. There's even a little insect sitting right on his nose tip.

For our the last day of our holiday, we decided that we had done enough walking and that we wanted something a bit more relaxing. What better thing to do than take a boat trip. We took the train to Rapperswil and got on the boat for a short 12 minutes journey to Ufenau. It's a charming little island owned by the monastery of Einsiedeln. It has two medieval churches and a restaurant, and you can walk all around the island, with beautiful views of the mountains and the emerald, crystal clear water of Lake Zurich.

We even saw this bussard, sitting on a leaveless branch right above our heads. It kept calling to its mate, which answered somewher in the distance. Just amazing.

Bussard calling from Nordljus on Vimeo.

I will definitely go to this little island again some time this summer. Maybe do some sketching too. For for now, it was time to get on the boat again for the almost 1 1/2 hour journey back to Zürich. We had been thinking about getting off somewhere along the journey, but it was so nice and relaxing to just sit on the boat, in the breeze, and watch the world slowly pass by, so that we decided to stay. In fact, I enjoyed it so much, I would have been happy enough to just take the next boat, which was already waiting there, and do the journey all over again.

A spring walk

I live in a valley, surrounded by gentle hills and lots of trees, and at the edge of a forest. The forest has been put under protection in 2007 and declared a "regional nature park of national importance" in 2009. It is a nature reserve and a rare example of a large original forest, which means that nature is left untouched, with only little forest management. No trees are felled and fallen trees are left where they are, only if a tree has fallen over a path is the part covering the path cut off, but only that part. It's a beautiful place to be. A few days ago I met up with my Mum to walk along the bottom of the valley to the visitor centre. That part doesn't really have the most exciting scenery, it's a broad path, sometimes close to the railway line and the road on the other side of the river. But if you look closer, there is much to see, such as lots of wildflowers, little ponds full of newts and tadpoles. We left early in the morning to avoid the heat and luckily, this side of the valley was still in the shade.

In the past two centuries, there used to be lots of industry along the river, including a spinning mill and a paper mill. The factories closed long ago and almost all of the buildings have been pulled down by now, but there are still remnants to be found along the river. And with all the industry gone, it means that the river is now clean and full of diverse wildlife.

It's not a too long walk to the visitor centre on the other side of the bridge, but if you're too tired to walk back, you can take the train from here.

Because we were so early, the restaurant was still all empty when we arrived there, and we enjoyed a cup of coffee in the peace and quiet before it was no doubt flooded with people later in the day, it being a fine day and a public holiday.

We walked back again, the same way we came, parts of it among the trees, which is always the best part :)

There were so many wildflowers on the way, including some gorgeous aquilegia, bush roses, and even some rare wild orchids.

It was such a beautiful morning, so energising and enriching. I don't spend enough time in this beautiful area, which is just outside my doorstep, but I should definitely take more time to explore and enjoy it.

A day in the mountains

Last Monday, I spent the day in the mountains, a day trip I've been wanting to do in a long time. It was the perfect day, and with temperatures reaching up to a humid 30 degrees Celsius down here, it was definitely more agreeable up there. I took the train at 7am, and after changing trains twice and then on to the postbus for the last bit, I finally arrived at my destination. It felt so good to get off the bus, in that fresh air, with uninterrupted views, surrounded by beautiful nature. I love the mountains. I always feel at peace up there.

At an altitude of 2,007 metres, Dürrboden lies at the end of the Dischmatal. Above the tree line, the alp is treeless, the grass covered with rocks and heather, and at this time of the year, also with an abundance of wild alpine flowers that is just simply amazing.

From Dürrboden, you can continue and hike up and over the Scaletta pass at 2,606 metres, and on to the Engadin on tours of several hours. I only walked a few hundred metres futher up, spending about an hour happy about just being there.

I prefer to take the 13km walk down through the valley back to Davos. The path is easy to walk, and the landscape always slightly changing. Surrounded by mountains, gorgeous views, deep blue sky, fluffy clouds, the lush greens of the meadows, the colours of the wild flowers. Hardly any people, just the occasional alp farm. And of course cows.

I had also taken my sketchbook and watercolours and found great spot with a bench overlooking the valley. It was rather windy up there, though, I had to put the water on the ground, which wasn't very convenient, and the paint kept drying out. But at least I captured the feel of that day. The intense colours, the deep blue sky, the lush greens.

The Dischmabach, a small river, flows down the valley, carrying with it the fresh, cold water from the snow of the mountains. I love these alpine rivers. The colour of the water! I wish I could have put my feet into the water.

Toward the end of the valley, the landscape becomes gentler and richer. No more rock covered meadows, but instead rich farmland and trees. And more people. But still that abundance of wild flowers.

From the end of the valley to the train station was another good 45 minutes, and when I finally arrived, I could hardly walk anymore. The whole walk had taken me almost 5 hours, with time for taking photos and my quick sketch, and by the time I got on the train, I felt sore and aching from head to toes, and every little patch of skin that I missed with my sun cream was burnt, and the rest was also glowing in a bright lobster red. I was exhausted but happy. What else can you be, after spending the day in such a place!

I did some more drawing and sketching, but it is one of those weeks, when everything just turns out wrong. I'm okay with it, even a rubbish drawing is better than no drawing, but they're just not shareworthy. But I hope that the photographs make up for it. And I'm sorry for posting so many of them, and the small sizes, but I didn't have much time for editing, and I just couldn't make up my mind about which ones to choose. And I took over 200 pictures, so this is still just a small selection... :). (I think when you click on them, you can see them larger).

Holiday Photo Sunday: A trip to the mountains

If you are spending your summer holiday here, I think it is best spent up in the mountains as much as possible. With every meter you get higher up, the slightly cooler the air gets, and up there, you can finally breath some fresh air and move without immediately sweating like mad. We only made it up a mountain once during our holiday, and it wasn't the highest, but it was a great day out. It was a bit overcast, and for about half an hour, I even had to put on a light cardigan.

My Mum had been wanting to come up here to Sattel-Hochstuckli for ages, to walk across the "Skywalk" and she was very happy to finally make it here. We went across the suspension bridge first thing, and it wasn't too bad. The fact that we werer the only ones on the bridge probably helped. I was still glad when I reached the other end.

There are lots of different trails up there, and we followed one of them, going upwards and, with the clouds clearing a bit, being rewarded with beautiful views.

One of the things I particularly love about being in the mountains is the looking down. It gives you a different perspective to see the world, which is always a good thing. And seeing those massive mountains, their calmness, serenity and groundedness (if there is such a word), it's just balm for my soul. And the forests. I love, love, love forests. And lakes.

The trail we followed turned out to be a circular route, and so we found ourselves back again at the suspension bridge.

I would have thought that the second time would be much easier, but I actually found it rather scarier than the first time. Maybe because there were more people on the bridge, which meant you had to let go of one of the handrails to let them pass.

After a refreshing drink at the restaurant, N and I decided to go for another little walk, following a different trail (well away from the bridge).

We met some very friendly goats on the way and spent quite a while chatting to them, and taking numerous photos.

I'm glad I didn't see this view of the bridge when we first arrived. I'm sure I'd never had crossed it, let alone twice, if I had!

One last glance back before we took the cable car back down. And, as every time when leaving the moutnains, I think that I should do that much more often, spending a day in the mountains.

Lines in the snow

Theme for Focus52, Week four (January 22 to 28): Leading Lines