Wangen -Again

 In the Summer

We went to Germany for our church service, and had a sister along, so we did a walk about to show her the historic town center. First, a walk along the River and the city walls.

City walls and fountain 

A park outside the city walls

A traveling poet

To be continued….

St. Gallen

 Sister Visit

When she finished her 1000km. Camino in Spain, she came yo see us and is now considering the Swiss portion. The Swiss Jacobsweg (the Pilgrimage route) goes through St. Gallen, so we went to see it. Pilgrimages go to the main churches, of course, so we went there. There are the scallop shells on streets and signs and in front of the cathedral showing the way. 

The Abbey Cathedral 

Fountains are dressed for summer.

Restaurant Salad: Arugula, dried ham, watermelon, feta, lentils, “rice” pasta. 

The Reformed Church 

Happy Independence Day 250

 In the USA

Celebrating the holiday and milestone with a sister from America via Santiago, after she completed a rigorous Camino. 

Dinner in the garden. Dessert of raspberry Torte.

Happy July

 It’s Raining!

And we are glad. We are relieved. We are refreshed. After weeks of very high temperatures and very dry weather, the ground is soaking up the gentle rain. At least, we are getting gentle rain. Some places got downpours, with floods, and backed up sewers, and problems. We count our blessings once again. 

Behold the happy vegetation.

Goodbye June

 Hot and Dry

Tomorrow the heat wave is supposed to break. We are expecting rain. If the forecast does not change again. That will be a welcome start to a new month. But, with constant watering, the flowers are happy in the blazing sunshine. 

Our new/old bell tower

The European version of a hummingbird. Europe has no hummingbirds. This is an insect, but it has feathery-looking wings, it’s colorful, it can hover, it has a long beak-like proboscis, and it definitely hums. It is also very fast and flitting, so it is very hard to get a picture of it. It is a hawk moth, called Taubenschwänzchen in German, meaning “little pigeon tail.” 

It is good to see pollinators active. 

More Summer Blooms

 First Gladiola 

This summer was for a long time very cold and wet at first, and we have now been in long very hot and dry weeks, so it has taken a while for flower bulbs and seeds to get established. But the gladiola have begun blooming. 

And my first Dahlia. Orange? Not my favorite color. It must have been part of a multi-pack. 

But, they all look lovely in our house.

Happy Summer! 

Summer Blooms

 In the Sunshine 

It’s rose season. The ones that didn’t re-wild are blooming prolifically. And the naturalized Malve and other volunteers are just as happy.

And the sweet pea 

A nice time for dinner under the wisteria pergola.

Happy Summer

 Hot Days

Summer has arrived with scorching heat, a huge downpour a couple of days ago, lots of watering to do on the other days. It is truly summer. Today after church and a group dinner, some of us walked back to the house and church along a tumbling river. It was sweltering hot, but being by a river somehow helps.