Dent de Valerette in Chablais

This little limestone tooth just reaches 2000 meters. As a part of the Dents du Midi it is not an obvious summit, but it sure is beautiful!

The fun part once you arrive at top is the ridge line you can follow, all the way to the cabane Chalin and up the Dent de Valère.There was frost at the top and we got snowed on as we returned to the car!

In the catholic canton on Valais of course there is a cross.

The fall colors are simply awesome at the moment. We were hoping the clouds would lift, but as they didnt it means I will have to return!

A bit fresh for a picnic up here!

Skuleskogen in Västernorrland

Such fantastic local tour guides!

A fun and interesting way to mark the water levels from thousands of years ago.

We hiked up to a cave before going to the top!

Lakes and sea marking different altitudes.

I learned the difference between a birch and an aspen! Such cool trees and we are lucky to see them changing colors! Every now and then a red maple pops in.

Red granite is underneath everything. The roots here are hugging it and the tree is still alive, just got itself into a more comfy position for when it snows or gets super windy!

Very well explained info!

Me at the top drinking a rose hip soup, nyponskalmjol soppa!

Swedish lichen on High Coast

Amazzzzing!
Likin' da lichen up in the north!

Stockholmsgatornea, the narrow streets of Stockholm, a wild playground! 

How many different mosses and lichens are there??

Myrtilles popping out in between mosses and lichen.

Perfect elf spot!! Or trolls!

A red carpet! Magical!

Nature making right angles in the granite blocks.

A swim in black clear waters?

So wild!

Beautiful Bisse de Bruson

Here is a fun walk to do in any weather! 

It is a loop in the woods that can be extended or shortened and can also suddenly if the desire hits one, include a peak!

Gushing waters from the mountain tops enter the bisse, which was used in the old days to water the fields so the village would survive winter.

A beautiful hike up to the start of where the water gets captured.

William Besse, a local ski hero, carved this goegeous howing wolf. I hope I can get a group out here on snowshoes this winter, I bet it is quite the sight in the dark!

Dont want to step off here to cool my feet!

Ancient Tracks in the Alpes - Finhaut

High up at 2400m in the Commune of Finhaut is a mysterious spot. You find yourself surrounded by mountain tops which are the Swiss-French border, and the enormous Emosson dam is catching all the runoff and meltwater at the other end. A fascinating place!

Here are the ancient "dinosaur" tracks that were found. Today we are still unlocking their mysteries!

Sandstone with wild formations!

There is still quite a bit of snow, so if you go take good boots and poles too! Here we are under the col de Terasse near the dinosaur prints.

Eating wild foods La Tzoumaz

A wikked hot wild day was had by the cows, the views and us picking our couscous and pesto lunch from the wild unkempt ski fields of La Tzoumaz. 

Thanks to La Maison de la Forêt for letting us invade your kitchen!

Fresh alpine serac with wildherb pesto and edible flowers for decoration!

Wild norwegian spruce buds tea with wild flowers! Beautiful and super refreshing too!

Couscous with wild spinach, wild thym, sarriette, daisies, common berce and whatever else was at the bottom of the forraging bags!

Cows chilling under the télésiège!

I just love the contrast of going up and over the Col de Croix De Coeur from Verbier to La Tzoumaz, which I often still call Les Mayens de Riddes. 

The views down onto the Rhône Valley are amazing!

NDD : Nature Deficit Disorder

Spending time in places like this with more flowers than your eyes can focus on or brain can comprehend should take care of any nature deficit disorder anyone is feeling!

I hope you can get out and feel the air in a place like this soon!

Views from Mont Blanc to the Matterhorn

Cow fields full of wild orchids and a view of the Alps ranging from the Mont Blanc accross the Grand Combin and the Matterhorn. WOW!

Crans Montana and the right side of the Rhone Valley are really spectacular in any season!

The view up into the val d'Anniviers and the Couronne Imperiale, as they call the 4000m peaks around the Matterhorn are impressive. I particularly enjoy this view of the Illgraben on the left. It is fun to change points of view.

How do plants drink?

Many alpine plants have adapted to live in semi-desert conditions. They have tricks to get the most out of the smallest and rarest amounts of water, be it in vapor or ice form as well as liquid. Some can even defy gravity!!

Here the eidelweiss is doing some crazy thing just this morning after having been snowed on for the last 2 days up by the Cabane de Chanrion.

Pure magic!

The cabane chanrion is perched in the upper val de bagnes. A super place to get away from everything. There are bouquetins and marmots, beautiful wild flowers, wild alpine lakes, views of glaciers and awesome geology to discover too!!

Glaciers in Evolene

Sunny day and meeeeelting glacier water! From the valley fields bursting with flowers awaiting happy cows, we walked up as far as we could to see the Ferpecle Glacier and Mont Miné Glacier.

The moon was still over us as we started out!

What a view, what a day. We got our feet a bit wet in some places. It is increadible to witness all this melting!

Will the Mont Miné Glacier still be visible in 20 years? As we came around the corner a huge peice came crashing off the left side of it. Scaring us from going to close.

The moraines on the sides are completely powdery and difficult to walk on. A very fragile environment indeed...

La Dent Blanche and the Borgne de Ferpecle gushing with silt, giving the river a fascinating color.

Picnic time! And sunscreen time!

The flowery cow fields! We wandered through one that had flowers up to my armpits! I felt like a real troll in Heidiland here!

Evolène is really a Swiss postcard!

Wild foraging in the Alps

How great a feeling to pick your own "apéro" out of a field at 1800 meters with a bunch of people who only know what a dandilion and a tulip are!

And the final touch is decorating it all with wildflowers!

Dandilion flowers

Wild spinach

Alchemille

Tastes like.....uuhhh, well it is hard to say really, which is another fun aspect! Naming tastes is really tough! Yummy!

We had some groovy alpenhorns to help us cut everything up and prepare it on a yummy local bread.

Cooking with flowers

So much fun to pick flowers in the garden and dry them to use when the garden is covered in snow later on!

Sirop au bourgeons de sapin. Epicéa

The Norwegian Spruce is the key to the magic of our Swiss healthy alpine air!

The famous "bourgeons de sapins"  come from the épicéa. They are picked now in the Spring.

Pick the green fresh ones and put them in a jar with sugar and let the jar sit in the sun all summer. The humidity and heat will melt it into a beautiful sticky mess. But when you filter out the pine needles you get a wonderful concoction!

Here it is in the jar now, alongside the sirup from last year. It is used to soothe sore throats and is super yummy on ice cream or in yogurts!