Alpine Walks in Valais

[ranunculus]

We couldn't believe our eyes when we first encountered posters advertising 'cow fighting' in the Alps ... the betting was significant, the backdrop was magnificent, unfortunately the spectacle was not!  

Must have been exhausted Cliff   

No, we had slept quite well!!   

We actually spent three hours at the event (from the moment the cows were placed in the field), but apart from the betting frenzy, the wonderful refreshments and the majestic scenery, the participants just eyed each other up.

[tonyg]

Magnifique Robin!

On a cold, bright autumn morning here (after a thoroughly wet last 24 hours) it is good to feel the last warmth from the autumn sun in the alps

Off to Wales for half term next week, the last time this year.  Perhaps we should be heading south instead of west!

[Ragged Robin]

Hi Tony, getting chilly here but sun still warm, we are getting ready for the winter too seeing the first snow on the Alps - every day looking in the garden to see if your C montana bulbs are up but not yet only C sativus 

Have a good holiday - there's always next year for here 

[Ragged Robin]

Robin it is so nice to have you correspondents living in the alps.  Lovely shots and I suppose it will soon be a winter wonderland  

Ian, so pleased you enjoyed my 'Thoughts from the Alps' - you get a completely different picture living in an area to visiting and it has been interesting to live here through all the Seasons this year.  The winter wonderland is fast approaching, last year we had the best snow on record for 35 years  

[Brian Ellis]

Hi Tony, getting chilly here

Here too Robin, first time I could see my breath when I went to get the paper!  Really nice to see your latest walk, you live in a beautiful area and thanks for sharing it with us all.

[Ragged Robin]

Thanks for joining me, Brian, I love that time of Autumn that you describe when you first see your breath and also the smell of a bonfire - takes me straight back to Autumn days in my childhood on walks 

[Maggi Young]

There were excellent additions to this thread, about further areas visited in the area by other Forumists, but this thread is devoted to Robin's individual "take" on her home region so the other posts have been transferred to the Travel section.   see here...  http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=4387.0

[cohan]

lovely views as always, robin, fascinating about the cows..i think here, any fighting breeds would be strongly discouraged...lol
i always enjoy seeing the 'civilised' aspect of the alps--all the traditional houses/sheds etc, so different from anything here....
you seem to be about where we were several weeks ago-- a late fall due to warm weather; the difference is that we suddenly got very cold so the leaves just froze on the trees, and they are slowly being blown down now, most without having changed colour..
the mountaintops we can see from here have been white for weeks...

[Ragged Robin]

Cohan, glad you visited this thread to compare your autumn with here    The colours are definitely more muted in the Alps and feathery (silver birch and larch gives this effect) and it has taken ages for the colours to take hold....very vibrant few reds although russets are showing now.  Actually the weather was so warm today after a cold snap that we were once more back in T shirts enjoying outdoor living!

The cows are great characters, although not great beauties I would say...but they definitely are worshipped hereabouts 

I, like you, just love all the handmade jostle of old chalets and buildings which haven't changed much over the years and occasionally cows still live under the house during the winter so you get this waft of strong cow smell and a low moo as you walk past 

[cohan]

our colours are probably as muted as yours--probably even more so, since there are very few species of trees (in the city there would be more exotics), and we really only have shades of yellow--except in the shrubs and understory where there is much more colour...not the wild tones of the forests in eastern north america..

we did end up with a lot interesting bronzes, ochres, umbers this year, after the leaves froze.... even near blacks on willows... i have to look at those photos yet and see if they came out well..

cows under the house would make for fragrant living! but might add a bit of warmth on cold winter nights!

does your area have building codes to preserve the traditional look of the villages?

[Ragged Robin]

does your area have building codes to preserve the traditional look of the villages?

Yes, there is a Cantonal system in place that does that to a large degree and really you could still recognise local villages from old photos.  However occasionally bizarre things happen to old buildings like putting in modern plastic window frames that look so incongruous.

Cows under the house or next door is quite common during the winter.  Here a couple of rather poor pics of one interior but it gives you and idea...

[cohan]

Yes, there is a Cantonal system in place that does that to a large degree and really you could still recognise local villages from old photos.  However occasionally bizarre things happen to old buildings like putting in modern plastic window frames that look so incongruous.

Cows under the house or next door is quite common during the winter.  Here a couple of rather poor pics of one interior but it gives you and idea...

it is great to perserve the look, though i understand for locals they are just going about their lives, not living in a museum! however, if it can help bring in tourist dollars, i think its worth the inconvenience..

[Lesley Cox]

I like the chair placed handily Robin. It's always good to contemplate cows - or pigs. There are two bovine ladies living near me, rather like Highland cattle but huge. I sometimes have a chat with them when out for a walk. They look very fierce with shaggy coats and wide horns but are the gentlest creatures and very friendly.

[Ragged Robin]

You're right, Lesley, somewhere to perch and admire your garden, or someone else's, is an important space - though Gardeners seldom do!  There always seems to be another job waiting before you can relax 

Cows, on the other hand, know just how to relax and chew-the-cud, ruminating on the unnecessary waste of energy that we humans expend 

[David Nicholson]

Here's something for you to look out for Robin.

Quote from John Blanchard's book Narcissus: A Guide to Wild Daffodils in respect of N. poeticus var. recurvus

"It is to the variety recurvus meaning with swept back petals, that the popular garden name of the Pheasant's Eye is properly applied. Introduced to Britain in the nineteenth century, it was originally thought to be a garden hybrid, but Pugsley equated it with the wild plants from Switzerland, particularly from the Valais district where it flowers in June. It grows at heights from about 1500 to 2200m............"