Along the Water's Edge

My favourite time to go down to the lake is early mornings

when it's very quiet and sometimes the lakeside is a little hazy.

This is the path I took, towards the Valais end of the lake.

The Valais is another canton.

I live in the canton of Vaud.

Canton can be translated as 'county' and there are 26 of them in Switzerland.

This is one of the first things I see when I cross the road from the metro station

over towards the lake.

I just love this elegant weather vane.

I've lined it up to fit into the open mouth-like structure on the stone column.

There are four columns and the cut-out opening shows which wind

is blowing at that particular moment.

I must take a photo of all four columns one of these days.

This sailing boat is always anchored in the same spot.

Before going in the direction I wanted to go, I just looked in on the steam-boat port.

They are still resting and their usual spring activity has been delayed

like many other things. in this uncomfortable period of the third wave of pandemic

currently surging across Europe.

The restaurants have also remained closed.

Some of the sailing boats in the port.

A fine line of snow can still be seen on the mountain range in the background.

Magnolia bud.

I did walk down part of the way to the lake.

I know that there are lovely Magnolia Trees lining the paths.

Many of them were still in bud form, but one tree in a sunny spot was coming into full bloom

These are a dainty variety of Magnolia with smaller blooms and long, expressive petals.

As we look to the right, we can see the Geneva end of the lake

with the snow-topped Jura mountains in the distance.

I did like to see a man on this sailing boat

I wondered if he was hoping the wind would allow him to take a sail

later on that morning.

In the meantime, he was just enjoying the peace of the moment, like me.

Above the lake there lovely areas to walk and I did enjoy seeing

this pathway lined with cherry trees.

There were other people up there enjoying the blossoms

and the excellent view of the lake from above.

The blossom was so beautiful close up

The blue of the cloudless sky set it off so perfectly.

This vibrant rhododendron bush was in full bloom

As I walked back along the lake, there was some activity on the water

A sailing boat had found a necessary breeze

and a boat of men doing rowing practice.

Coming back towards the port in Ouchy

We can see a small sailing boat in the distance going towards the Geneva end.

Coming closer to the area where I started my gorgeous walk 

along the water's edge.

There is such a feeling of serenity when I walk near the lake in the early mornings.

Early evenings are lovely too, though there are often more people there

to enjoy winding down at the end of their day.

I thought it would be lovely to end this walk by the lake with a colourful, flowery collage

of the blossoms and flowers I saw along the way.

The city gardeners do a grand job in the choice of flowers and colour combinations.

This spring, the colours are lots of orange and yellow, like these California Poppies above.

I hope that you are enjoying the beauty of spring where you live.

It's my favourite time of the year.

I seem to say that all the time!

I've just added my Easter greetings 

on Sunday April 4th!

The big chocolate bunny is a gift from my son and made from

70% cocoa Maracaibo chocolate!

The crocheted bunnies on the card and on the white jug

are this year's Easter decorations!

Happy Easter!

Flowery Seduction

Crocus time

Even better when you discover a whole garden full of them!

Delicate primroses and last autumn's leaves still on the ground

New street art in my neighbourhood.

Electrical boxes have been painted all over town.

I love discovering them!

Are we putting Earth First?

In my hand... the tiniest plant I have ever owned

I bought it in the florist's shop of the big Lausanne Hospital

when I had my second Covid-19 vaccination nine days' ago.

It's a celebration plant:

Two vaccinations, two tiny succulent plants, two little hearts.

The next day, I received this stunning orchid plant and beautiful card

from my son and his wife

congratulating me for having both vaccinations!

Wasn't that a thoughtful and lovely gesture?

Some days, the skies were just perfect

and when they are, I drop everything and get out in the sunshine.

I met a friend down by the lake, suitably masked,

and went to see the area where the beautiful steam boats are moored for the winter.

There are six of them altogether and here are two.

Click on the photos to enlarge them!

It's always lovely to stroll around the port and observe the lovely reflections.

There's a big park above the lake and these tiny yellow blossoms

really caught my eye.

For the very first time, I have a small Camellia bush on my balcony.

I'm amazed at the beauty of the buds and flowers.

I protect it from possible night frosts.

Someone asked me on my last blog entry, about the big nest in one of the trees

where the tree surgeons were cutting off branches.

I am happy to show you that the nest has been respected and preserved.

I took this photo to show you!

What a change in the lighting down by the lake when I went three days' ago

The weather forecast had told us it would be sunny

but.... this is what we saw!

I still liked the reflections and the yellow and red buoys

and the tree silhouettes stand out so well.

This was taken on the same morning.

Can you see the slight pink hue?

I heard on the evening news that our sun had been hidden by fine particles

of reddish sand blown over from the Sahara!

It does add an air of mystery.

This was taken from Ouchy, Lausanne.

The mountains on the other side of the lake are in France.

Blue skies are back and I just love how so many beautiful spring flowers are opening

From the upper left:

Deep pink magnolia bud, an apricot coloured Camellia

Sunny Daffodils and delicate pink blossom.

Today, March 5th, I picked a Camellia bloom

It is the anniversary of the first Covid-19 victim in Switzerland.

Today, at 11.59 am, the President of the Swiss Confederation, Mr. Guy Parmelin,

invited the Swiss people to respect one minute's silence for those 

who have lost their lives in the pandemic.

The church bells rang out from 11.59 and I lit a candle.

There have been 9.300 deaths in Switzerland to date.

****************

This is a lovely new pattern to try in crochet.

Flowers to celebrate spring.

Add some leaves and a circle and then a square

I know exactly where to find beautiful crochet patterns

and here is a link to my lovely friend Astri's blog:

Apple Blossom Dreams

You will find all sorts of tempting patterns there.

They are all very well explained with lots of photos and text.

With Renewed Enthusiasm

May I offer you a delicate Hellebore

seen in the park last week.

A huge thank you to all those people who have taken the time to leave very kind

 and heartfelt comments on the last entry here. entitled: "Why Blog?"

It was a great pleasure to hear from you all and I hope you won't be shy in the future!

It is these exchanges with you all which makes blogging such a fun and rewarding occupation!

For the past week, we have had a huge change in weather.

It has gone from grey and dreary to sunny with blue skies

and our temperatures have increased from -5C/23F to + 13C/55.4F

In the collage above, you can see the still frozen pond with tree reflections 

to the first wonderful signs of spring:

the yellow Aconite, white and purple crocus and snowdrops.

Even tiny green leaves were unfurling.

One day on my walk, I saw these young agile men. making me think of acrobats,

working together to prune a very tall tree.

Do click on the photo to make it bigger!

Here is one of the tree surgeons leaning right over to cut part of a branch.

All three men worked together, holding the cords and pulleys to created counter-weights.

This was the branch he was cutting.

I was very impressed and it was fascinating to watch.

One of the tulips in a vase which just happened to be the same colour as my tablecloth!

A walk in my neighbourhood took me past this lovely garden

where some wild primroses were growing at the base of a tree trunk.

Aren't they the most tender sign of spring?

Tiny crocus which have opened in the sunshine

and some darker ones that I saw in another garden.

Yesterday, I decided to go for a walk just before sunset.

I went up the hill in my neighbourhood, climbed up a rather muddy little slope

and just managed to capture the mountains and a slice of lake

as the colours were starting to change.

Less than fifteen minutes later, the sky had changed completely 

and took on a warm glow.

I must start going out more often at this time of the day and try and find different points of view.

That's sometimes a little tricky in a built-up area!

The flowers on the three Hyacinth bulbs have started to open.

Their fragrance is delicate and not too strong.

Here they are in their pretty pot.

My local florist's shop has a wonderful choice of flowering plants

and since Christmas, my home has never been without colourful flowers.

I made a collage out if my tulips as they started to drop their petals.

Just as beautiful as when they're fresh!

A little colour therapy in the form of two bright and colourful crochet doilies.

One can never have enough doilies, don't you think?

I usually go for fancy edges and often softer colours, but these two

rather glow in a joyful sort of way!

I'm still waiting for the arrival of my heart-shaped cushion filler

and in the meantime, I'm crocheting the other side of the heart that I already showed last time.

I hope you have all have a good week

and that you're keeping your spirits up

and finding time to do things which bring you harmony and well-being.

Next Wednesday, I go for my second Covid-19 vaccination.

To combat the pandemic, each one of us must do what is necessary.

In the meantime, stay safe and be happy!