Scene & Story - May 2017

Those of you who have been reading my blog for quite some time know about "my lake" and how much I love it. Recently my walks around the lake have become much less frequently than they used to be due to my work. In May I managed to walk there only once, early in the morning. It was a very spontaneous decision to skip Jazzercise and go to the lake instead.

It was a beautiful morning, and when I saw the rising mist on the water my heart skipped a beat. I love this atmosphere! It is rather challenging for me to capture exactly this mood with my camera, but I simply cannot not try it. I have always loved this particular spot with the pier where often fishermen are patiently doing their work. This morning, however, it was empty. When I looked at the photo afterwards the feeling of solitude spoke to me and it became my favorite photo for May.


I am joining Sarah and León for Scene and Story again as I try to do every first Sunday of a month. You can find more stories here.

Peonies For My Mom

My mom used to love peonies. In Germany they are called "Pfingstrosen", roses of Pentecost because they flower around the time of Pentecost which is in late May or June. They would appear in the gardens in colors ranging from pure white to deep red. They are stunningly beautiful flowers.

When my mom died 10 years ago I planted peonies in her memory. Now, peonies in California is a bit of a different story from growing peonies in Germany. Peonies die back in the winter, and usually they need some good frost. A decent amount of rain doesn't hurt either. Both are not necessarily always present in California.

But it can work. I had some lovely peony bushes at our old house. When we moved I didn't have any peonies for a couple of years, but bought them at Trader Joe's instead (like the ones in the photo above). However, last year I planted some peonies. Usually they take a while to bloom for the first time, up to three or four years. Therefore, I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed that two of the bushes carried promising buds. And indeed, they displayed a couple beautiful flowers.

Back home in Germany I used to buy peonies at the farmers market. It was one of my simple joys to go there on a Saturday morning and come back with one of two bunches of them. And not only that - I often mixed them with delphiniums or lupines, whatever I could find at the flower booth.

I loved to arrange them in vases with French lilac or put just one or two flowers in a glass vase and used them as a center piece on the table for dinner with friends,

I remember that I had a lot of fun with that!

But peonies - and other flowers - are also used as decoration in traditional parades. During one parade in Rothenburg ob der Tauber I saw the hat of this man and loved the way it was decorated.

My peonies are almost gone - we had some very hot days, and peonies don't like heat too much. But I know that very soon I will find them at Trader Joe's, and then once again my home will be filled with them. It's as if my mom was still around.

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We are having crazy days at work. The school year is almost over - two more weeks - and that means a lot of work for us in the library. Imagine more than 1600 kids returning their textbooks, about three per kid on average, and those things are heavy. Usually I'm pretty worn out when I come home, so it might take a while until I will visit you.

Scene & Story - April 2017

In March my chosen photo was of a bird, and so it is in April - taken right at the very first day of April and I already knew then that this was my favorite image.

Every summer the Hooded Orioles come to my neighborhood to raise their young. They live in a tree very close to our property. Usually they arrive some time in April, but this year they came much earlier - I had never seen them as early as the first of April. I saw this little guy - the male - sitting on the wire and since I couldn't really see what kind of bird it was I fetched my binoculars - and when I saw that it was an oriole I was so happy. He was sitting on that wire and "chatting" (they are very chatty birds), so I ran to get my PowerShot with its powerful zoom and captured this image of him. Never before had I got such a clear image of this bird. They are very shy and flutter away as soon as they see people. However, they love hummingbird nectar and grape jelly, so I started to fill up the little molds on my hummingbird feeder with the jelly. Both the male and female come by several times during the day to fuel up. Even when I don't see them I can hear their delightful chatter, and it makes my heart sing to know that they're here. They will stay until the end of August when they start their long journey to the South.


I am joining Sarah and León for Scene and Story again as I try to do every first Sunday of a month. You can find more stories here.

At The Powwow

Every year the Cross Cultural Center of UC Davis organizes a Powwow. The first time we saw it by accident when we were touring the campus, but this year I wanted to see it again. So on Saturday, April 15th we drove over to Davis, met Kaefer and went with her to the Quad where the Powwow took place.

It was a colorful event. Before arriving we were already greeted by the drumming and the chanting, a rhythm that I can hardly withstand. We witnessed many dances, walked along the aisle of vendors and enjoyed the delicious frybread.

But most of all, I tried to capture this event with my camera. The men were so fascinating...

...but I was really drawn to the women.

So much color, beauty and dignity. I was delighted to see many young people joining the dances. I'm so glad that they learn and keep their cultural traditions.

The dancing was exquisite. What a sight!

Look at all these feathers - aren't they fabulous? How much work is it to create this special kind of art?

I loved the hair styles and decoration of the women - so elaborate and beautiful.

And I'm just speechless about these boots. Awesome doesn't even come close.

In My Dreams I Walk These Streets

Neckarfront with Stiftskirche and Alte Aula

It's been 16 years since I left Germany for California, exchanged the beautiful medieval town of Tübingen in the Southwest of the country for a non-descript and not in the least pretty city in gorgeous Sonoma County. Even though I enjoy living in this stunningly beautiful part of Northern California I sometimes miss the crooked alleys of Tübingen, the uneven pavement and the old buildings, some of which look like they won't make it another year (they will though; they have been there for 500 to 600 years).

Neckarhalde

I used to know every little alley, every street, every corner and every little nook in this town. On Saturday mornings I would walk down the Schloßberg (castle hill) where I lived and wander along the streets, go into some shops and sit in a street café drinking cappuccino and watching people.

Haaggasse

Clinicumsgasse

Usually I had my camera with me because there was always something I found interesting or weird enough to photograph. The result is an abundance of Tübingen photos.

This is the castle, sitting high over the town. From up there we enjoyed great views over the terracotta roofs of the old buildings and beyond to the Schwäbische Alb (where I would often go to hike).

This is the path leading up to the castle from the far side of the town - the long back of castle hill at which end I lived.

Coming down from the castle there were so many little streets I could stroll along.

Bursagasse

Judengasse

Klosterberg

Some were very narrow and more like passages between buildings. You could easily get lost if you didn't know your way.

Hasengäßle

Neckarbad

This is Münzgasse with the domineering Stiftskirche at the end of it.

The pavement in front of the church...

... and this is the side toward the river.

A glimpse of the town hall with its beautiful Renaissance facade, seen from Wienergäßle.

The German poet Friedrich Hölderlin (I wrote about him here) lived in this tower which is right on the river Neckar and is part of the famous Neckarfront which is the most photographed location in Tübingen.

The bigger picture - in summer... (if you want to know more about the punting boats, I wrote about them here)

... and in fall.

This place is beautiful in every season. Yes, I do miss it.

Sweeten My Day

Apart from baking bread, I am not a frequent baker. However, sometimes there are days when I feel restless and not quite myself. Those are the days when I think I need to sweeten them up a little bit, and baking seems to be a good way.

I found this recipe for orange chocolate chip shortbread on Pinterest and thought it a good fit for that particular day. I had oranges, but no mini chocolate chips, so I substituted them with regular ones. The dough, when rolled out, is so thick that it easily holds the bigger chips.

Here's what you need:
1½ sticks unsalted butter, softened
1¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
zest of 2 large oranges
⅛ tsp salt
½ tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup semi-sweet (mini) chocolate chips

Start by combining flour and salt in a small bowl.
Place sugar on a rimmed plate and add the orange zest. Use the back of a spoon to mash zest and sugar together until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Put in a mixer bowl.

Add butter and vanilla, and mix on low for 1 minute.
Add the flour with the salt and mix until just combined.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Form dough into a flat disc and chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Roll dough out until it has a thickness of about ½ inch.
Use any shape cookie cutter and cut cookies from the dough, putting them on a baking sheet.

Chill for another 10 minutes in the freezer.
Bake for 25-28 minutes or until bottom of cookies are golden brown.

Cool completely and enjoy.

Scene & Story - March 2017

March was a better photography month than February and all of the winter months. It's so much easier to get outside when the weather is nice and nature is coming back to life.

When I looked through the photos I took in March I realized that I had photographed a lot of meadows and particularly trees. But it was this one that stood out - and it's not even a very good one. Taken with my phone and zoomed in, even though I know that my zoom is crap and the pictures are mostly a big disappointment. However, this one captures a Black-crowned night heron, one of my most favorite birds and the first one this year I discovered at the lake.

I don't know what it is about these birds that draws me to them. They're pretty - white and very dark blue feathers, orange feet, stunningly red eyes, yellow-orange feet and two or three long white plumes at the back of the head. They are smaller and stockier than most herons and have shorter bills. It's the "small fat" cousin of the proud and elegant Great blue heron. However, they're not as shy as the Great blue and don't seem to be disturbed by people so much. I often could approach them pretty close without them moving an inch away from me. Most times they were far more interested in watching what was going on beneath the surface of the water and catching their food quickly with a short shot into the water.

Perhaps it is their stoic patience that attracts me. Their ability to remain in the same position forever without moving a single feather (so to speak). Their complete and utter disinterest in me. Sometimes I convince myself that they actually know me - "the crazy lady with the little black box that she points at us" - even though I know perfectly well that they simply don't care. They seem to be at utter peace with themselves.

Zen is the word that comes to mind.


I'm joining Sarah and León for Scene and Story again as I try to do every first Sunday of a month. You can find more stories here.