First Wild Salad of the Season 19th March 2017

I was so happy to see dandelions growing strong, then noticed a few other edible weeds. Before I knew it I had lunch all sorted.

Delicious.

Wild salad from the garden

From left to right, wood sorrel, dandelion, Jack-in-the-hedge.

 I wasn't as happy to see this next one, but decided to pull it and eat it too, ground elder.

Last but not least salad Burnet.

Salad Burnet

Dandelion

Ground Elder

Jack-in-the-hedge

The following day, and I could swear there was no sign of it the previous day, I discovered wild garlic.

Wild garlic

Wild garlic in the raspberry bed

Garden Diary in Pictures March 2017

Crocus in full bloom by the public path.

Primroses below the lavender by the garden steps

Hellebore under the pear tree

Garden Picture Diary February 2017

 24th February 2017

Daffodils

Poor little primrose

Apple tree

Crocus

Last years leeks knocked over by the snow

I'm very excited about this mullein.

Garden Picture Diary January 2017

Since moving house two years ago a new hobby has jumped into my path, and my new best friend is Monty Don, not that he knows it. Yes, I've taken up gardening. The owner's daughter asked if I'd like to take over the care of the garden as it had become much too much for her mother. With the warning that it wouldn't be a perfectly kept Swiss garden, I've never done any gardening in my life, I agreed to give it a go.

14th January 2017

Garden path to road

Front of house, terrace and top of pear tree above the wall.

To the street

My mess behind the house

24th January 2017

Front of house from street

This is the fruit and vegetable garden. Pear tree left of steps, apple tree right of steps. Canes for raspberries, summer and autumn fruiting. Far right of picture are red currant bushes tied up with string to protect them from the snow. Strawberries, cultivated and wild, under the snow.

Garden from street

At the garden gate

Horischlitten Transport

Yes, it is time I posted here again. Been over a year. 

Here we go, especially for you Tim.

The Horischlitten (here from an old photo taken around the 1900, found on the wall at the Jagerstübli in Grindelwald) as you can see is for transporting loads, on snow.

 It is still in use today. I see it often on the Männlichen moving beer containers and bottles from the Gondola to the restaurant. This year in January the Mürren postman used it to deliver post in nearby Gimmelwald. Last year I saw one transporting hay down from Allmend to Wengen.

 However, sixty odd years ago it once carried a more delicate cargo.

Working as a Community Nurse in the Lauterbrunnen Council I visit many elderly people.

One lady, excited about her first great-grandchild, proceeded to tell me of her experience giving birth to her son.

It was in the fifties, January 1st, middle of the night when her waters broke. The midwife, who then lived in the village was called to attend the birth. She unfortunately didn't like how things were progressing, and suggested that hospital would be the best place.

Back then, it seems, there were no stand-by trains during the night and certainly no helicopters either, because her husband readied the Horischlitten for the trip to Lauterbrunnen. A mattress was tied to the Schlitten and this lady was strapped to both.

Husband sitting on the front and father-in-law behind (I'm not clear as to what his job was, it is a downhill journey, maybe walked behind with a rope to help slow everything down). On route they discovered that the snow conditions were far too fast for safety. The husband had to walk back up to his work shed in search of a sturdy chain. This was attached to the front of the Horischlitten, falling underneath thereby slowing it down on the descent.

This unfortunate mother-to-be, travelled down the 700 altitude meters, on a toboggan whilst having contractions; via a winding, switchback mountain track that if misjudged becomes a steep descent ending, rather speedily, on the valley floor. No wonder the baby decided to wait another couple of days before finally arriving on 4th January.

By the way, an ambulance was thankfully waiting for them in Lauterbrunnen to take them to Interlaken.

That baby is now the proud grandfather.

Order your Horischlitten here!

Christmas presents weren't the only 'gifts' I brought back to Switzerland with me after visiting my niece and nephew. Head lice decided to hop on board for a free trip too.
It took five days til I was itching and another five days before I realised what it might be. My sister confirmed that they had also found a louse or two. Then the assault began.
Convinced these critters drown easily, a bath was drawn. Eight drops of essential oils mixed with a little milk (to help disperse the oil) were added and swished well. Lay back, relax, enjoy and submerge the head, are my directions. Make sure all possible air bubbles are released from the hair. Shampoo and submerge again, keeping hair under water for as long as possible. A detailed search of the bath water revealed one tiny young louse. They are so tiny, just a speck of dirt until the magnifying glass reveals the legs! So a few may have carried on down the plug hole unnoticed. To my horror within a couple of hours this little mite was beginning to wiggle it's legs again. I squashed it with a satisfying 'pop'.
A 'google' search revealed that head lice are able to close off their air holes for a few hours unharmed, saving them from baths and swims.
Hot air from the hair dryer kills the nits, apparently, but not the lice. Hair straighteners could therefore also be a tool of attack.  So I made good use of mine the following day.
Each day I am using the nit comb and catching nothing. There is still an itch! Certainly less of an itch but an itch means a louse. A louse means nits, which means more lice. All have to be removed.
Next attack involved olive oil or hair gel smeared all over the hair, paying particular attention that every hair shaft is covered, scalp to end. This clogs the air holes of the lice and after several hours they should be dead. It is advised to do this overnight and use a shower cap.
Olive oil must be horrendous to remove so I decided on a hair product (will be easy to shampoo out, or so I thought) that I mistakenly bought and never use. Four heaped teaspoons of the 'curl creme' were mixed with essential oils of lavender, thyme and eucalyptus, three drops of each. Hair was sectioned, starting at the neck, combed through with the nit comb then smothered in the gunk. Working slowly and meticulously up to the crown until all is covered. Five hours I waited before performing the aforementioned submerging hair wash.

Success, four bodies washed up in the bath water. Here with my nit comb to give an idea of the size. Definitely dead.

The hair product wasn't as easily washed out as hoped, my hair had lots of 'body' to it that evening.
Horror of horrors, overnight there was still an itch.
So the next day the process was repeated with shampoo this time. Essential oils added were rosemary and lavender three drops each. Left on for three hours. I only found one washed up body, also dead. But the itching was no more.
However, in a few days I will need to attack again to catch those nits that have survived the onslaught of hot hair drying and straightening irons.

Spitex Lauterbrunnental has a car.  

A 1992 Fiat, with only 67,000 on the clock, (kms I presume)

 hardly used, kept in a garage, one careful lady owner!

What a delight, especially on those rainy and cold days, of which we had many last summer. Now the 12 km round trip to Stechelberg is a doddle instead of a pedal.

 Yes, I had to drive down that 'walking path' to my next visit. So pleased I didn't meet a tractor or hiker!

Parking and maneuvering is a bit of a challenge in these narrow roads.

But the car is a success. Has cut my travelling time by about a third.

Of course that is only possible along the valley, I still have to catch either a cable car or mountain railway most days.