A Evening Walk At La Col De La Faucille, Jura, France

It has been very hot this last week so we drove up the Jura mountains yesterday evening and went for a walk at La Col De La Faucille. It was amazingly fresh and cool. There was a pleasant breeze.




The trees are tall here and smell strongly of pine resin.











Looking out over the valleys toward the West huge stretches of sky can be seen. (As usual, click on photos to enlarge.)





At the edge of the path is an incredibly steep drop all the way to the bottom of the first valley.





We saw a very odd tree stump...



...that looked like something had melted it into some sort of wax figure or piece of coral.


There were flowers everywhere, even the dandelions had only just gone to seed up here.





There were lots of wild roses.






There were yellow, white, and lots of purple flowers.


Among the vegetation there is often a huge boulder or two here and there.








The rock formations on the Jura are very interesting.












The rock looks squished together from lots of smaller rocks and there are fissures all throughout. The color is exquisite, mixing blues and greys with reds and rusts.




We walked further along the mountain for nearly an hour when we realized it was getting rather late and we did have to walk back! The sunset was gorgeous.



The light reflecting from the tree trunks glowed pink red.


















As we walked back at a quick pace to avoid being eaten by all the insects that were gathering. I guess we looked like a great feast, and whenever we stopped we were instantly surrounded.Yes, Jazzy did come along, though she was most surprised at our late departure from home for such an outing. She's usually in bed at about this time. Here she is, with one of the flaps on her backpack cage down to keep her protected from the breeze as the sun receded.


The sky grew luminous after the sun had set.










The light reflected off a long expanse of cloud further north up the same valley.










Looking North towards the Geneva valley side of the Jura there was a huge set of clouds building up to storm proportions. During the drive back down we saw lightning flashes from this foaming mass.






As we came to the end of our walk and arrived back at our starting point, Jazzy was sleepy. You might be able to detect her phasing in and out here, it even showed up on the camera!One last glimpse back before driving back down to the other side of the Jura. We arrived home, refreshed, contented and well exercised.

Easter Weekend Snow In The Pays de Gex, France

I love snow. Most of my early childhood I only imagined what snow was like. The closest experience I had of what it looked like was one of those toys that, on being shaken, bring up fake flakes which descend through the liquid inside the glass globe onto a scene within it. And ever since whenever it snows, especially if it's heavy, I see it as though I were in one of those toy globes and it seems just like magic.

It snowed and snowed in the Pays de Gex last weekend, and then it snowed some more.

Two weeks ago there were already many signs of Spring arriving and we were surprised when the snow continued heavily for several days.

It was cold enough for icicles to form on the balcony...

...and was very beautiful.

Going anywhere was a challenge, so we stayed home.

It was Easter weekend, though it looked more like Christmas!

The Jura foothills were gorgeous. It's fascinating to watch the clouds move over the trees like a stealth blanket.

The sun sometimes shone, shedding a glowing light on the white treetops.

When patches of blue sky also appeared the sight was glorious.

Winter Weather in the Jura Foothills

We went for a walk in the hills last Saturday. This was the sun through the foggy morning mist.


It made for a very atmospheric view of our regular walking place. All of the photos in this blog post were taken with a mobile phone camera, as I hadn't brought the normal camera.You can see how it looks without fog in the previous post, New Year's Walk, which shows photos of the same scenery.



There were tiny mushrooms nested in the grass.










The colors were beautiful.



This dirt road looks like something out of a fantasy scene, disappearing off into the unknown.












Yesterday we went for a drive a bit higher up. Even though there was snow on the ground in places, it was warm in the sun. It almost felt like spring with the sun being out. The muted mellow colors were very pretty.










But for now it is still winter and the trees are standing like bare sentinels waiting for much warmer weather.

New Year's Walk

We started out the New Year by going for a really nice walk in the foothills of the Jura mountains. The ground is very coarse and bleak, but there's a rough beauty to the scenery.

Looking out across Lac Leman are the Alps.





They almost look like they're hanging from another world.In spite of the cold there are lots of birds around. We saw a kestrel hovering, intent on his hunt.


To the casual observer it would seem there was little happening on the mostly frozen hillside. Looking close though we saw rabbit droppings, mouse trails dug into the soil through the dry grass and many freshly turned heaps of soil.











Some of the trees retain their green, contrasting nicely with the blue sky above the Jura.












Others have lost their leaves, but the intricacy of their branches is fascinating.



The delicacy of a tree's construction is amazing to see.




The slopes are a great place to walk and enjoy the views.
The snowy Jura are fantastic and refreshing to see. The air coming across them is very cold, but also replenished with clear oxygen. It's revitalizing.






We went again today. It was totally different from yesterday: there was no sun, the sky was grey, clouds were low and it was even colder and no one else in sight.

But it felt so good to us that we plan to walk there, or nearby, most days from now on. So we're starting the year with a new thing.

This is also the 101th post on DweezelJazz blog.

Here's to a good start to 2008: Happy New Year!
.

Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas time! There's snow on the mountains and it's cold and frosty outside.

It's nice to be indoors, warm and dry with a pretty Christmas tree. This is our little tree - well, it's not your usual Christmas tree, but our ficus tree agreed to have lights and tinsel put on his branches. And it makes for a lovely warm sight, with a bundle of prezzies underneath. Jazzy too likes to unwrap prezzies. Last night we all opened a present just to celebrate that Christmas is nearly here and start the festivities.

We have also sampled one or two Christmas season goodies to get into the fun of things: almond cakes, Italian panettone, Spanish turron, almond with honey, persimmons and all sorts of special things.

Wishing you a very lovely Christmas and that 2008 brings you many good things.

Snow On The Jura Mountains, France

There's snow on the Jura mountains! It was very pretty this morning, all pristine white.

It looked like the mountains had been dusted with powdered sugar.
The air was clear and lovely to breathe.







Sometimes clouds wafted by.










The sky was dazzling blue.











The colors were gorgeous.Occasionally it seemed entire peaks would evaporate.
Snow is a wonderful thing and it brought with it a very lovely day.

Best Friends

My best friend is visiting this week!





We're having a great time, going lots of places. We walked around the Lake at Divonne-les-Baines. It's very changed now with all the Fall colors.




The yellow and orange leaves are gorgeous.





We went to a cafe in Divonne that specializes in chocolates and also has very nice teas.










We had gingerbread and a chocolate pie to share.






The coffee cups are bright, colorful and very appealing.










Cruising around the countryside we've seen lots of sights. We snapped a crow flying across the fields...



Picked apples near the Lac Leman in Switzerland...
















Went for a picnic in the foothills of the Jura...








We've been doing all sorts of silly things. Here it was apparently necessary to hold the boulder in place, in case it moved during the photo session.


We've driven through villages with sweet flowers by the roadside...












Passing time with your best friend is one of the most wonderful things in life. We'll see what more fun and mischief we can get into for the rest of the visit.

Butterfly Egg Tempera Painting

Here's the finished Butterfly 10"x7" painting.


It's based on a photograph I took on a walk in the Jura foothills in the Spring. It was a beautiful day, with bright blue sky and the fields were full of brilliantly red poppies. This butterfly was out enjoying the day too, and this is where we met.

Over a period of a few weeks after completion, the egg tempera paintings continue to become brighter and more distinct in color. This is because the egg yolk, which is used as a base for the pigment, initially tints the colors in the painting. The yellow of the egg yolk disappears completely when exposed to daylight. See previous post, Egg Tempera Painting, for more about this type of painting.



It turned out that the last two photos of the Geneva Lighthouse painting were taken in different lighting and so the photos aren't really possible to compare. But here it is after it has had time for the egg yolk color to vanish.

A Walk Round the Lake at Divonne-les-Baines, France, Part II

We continued to walk round the rest of the lake. It's an idyllic spot with the Jura mountains in the background.


The soft afternoon light through the trees along the water edge is very pretty.














There are so many beautiful views looking back towards the town of Divonne and the mountains.









It's quite a paradise for taking in lovely scenes.


Here's a closer look at the island in the middle of the lake.




The late afternoon sun makes for fantastic reflections in the water.


The lake is calm at this end and it almost looks like the water would support being walked on.











As the sun sets it gets closer to time to go home, and we near the completion of our loop walk.Here you can see the view to the other end of the lake, where we started out earlier.











In the 'Port', there's a sailing club where it's possible to rent wind surfs, rowing boats, kayaks and also rowing skiffs. We're eager to try out the rowing skiffs sometime.





It's a fabulous place to be out on the water.

A Walk Round the Lake at Divonne-les-Baines, France, Part I

Divonne-les-Baines is a small town in France very close to the Swiss border, about 20 minutes drive from Geneva. It's a popular holiday spot, and the town is known for its spas, as there are several natural springs nearby. It also has a very nice artificial lake. (Click on photos to see larger.)



We visited the lake yesterday.









It's quite long, and, at a slow pace, takes over an hour to walk round it, and that's what we did.Jasmine was there too, creating quite a stir as people realized it really was a parrot in a backpack cage. As usual, she made a good number of friends there.




There's an island in the middle of the lake, which you can see here at the far end.














Autumn is showing itself in the changing of the tree colors. The hills behind, the Jura, are covered in trees that are just starting to change.






There's a path all round the lake and there are also tarmac lanes to allow for bikes, roller skaters and anything you can think of. There were many people out enjoying the late afternoon sun and warmth; some going round fast, others strolling along.

There are many trees along the edge of the water. Here you can see that the leaves have already turned yellow and red for Fall.

There is also a horse race track nearby and horses are out in the meadows just beside the walking path.

The many trees around the lake are beautiful to look at, all slightly varying in shades of greens and yellows.

A Car Trip Up Le Saleve, France, Part II

Once we got to the top of the road (see Part I for the journey up) we could see the view on the other side of Le Saleve. The white peak in the middle of the mountain range is Mt. Blanc.


Down the hill from where we were standing there are houses.



Some of them have garden plots.
Looking to the left there's a house that has a magnificent view over the entire valley and all the mountains that circle it. Click on photos for larger image.


Further to the left there's a nice restaurant with an outdoor terrace; they also serve great desserts.

In front you can see where we parked the car to stop for the view.


Turning even further, with our backs to the view of the mountains shown in the first photo, there is yet another restaurant.




We got back into the car, passing with this restaurant on our right.



A short distance along, we stopped to look at an even broader panoramic view of the mountains. This time Mt. Blanc is on the right side of the photo.

Gradually turning south, the panorama unfolds.


Turning further you can see the expanse of the valley.



Turning even further south, Annecy Lake can be seen in this photo. For more about Annecy and the Lake you can look at the Annecy articles posted here in Parts I-V.


The Alps are stunning.
The road goes further up the hill to a place where it's possible to see the valleys and mountains on both sides of Le Saleve at the same time.

Right here the camera batteries ran flat, both of them! The shots shown, in the rest of the article, from the top of Le Saleve were taken on another day, which is especially noticeable because, as you'll see, there's a sudden development of clouds and a more winter appearance. This didn't happen last Saturday!

The top of Le Saleve is a favorite spot for taking in the views, and the locals enjoy coming up to have a picnic in the cool breezes at the cliff edge.This shows the Lac Leman looking over to the Jura mountains and North, towards Lausanne.

Looking back to where we came from in the Geneva valley below Le Saleve, this shows the valley south of Geneva. The Jura mountains are on the far side.

You can see Geneva spread out down below, along with the famous Jet d'Eau, the 140 m high fountain.