Trying

I have decided to give this gardening thing a try. I have never been very successful with plants but we live in such a concrete jungle that I had to do something! Plants here cost about $1-3 a piece. The most I have spent on a plant is $4. I spent about $45 on seeds prior to coming here.

I have been afraid to start them though.

Jason went to the wood market and bought these boxes. We are trying to start some container gardens for vegetables.

Below is a banana tree that I bought Jason.

These flowers are pretty but all I know about them is that they need full sun (or at least that is what I think the person I bought the plant from explained to me).

I have become very interested in succulents. They have nice symmetry and their leaves look cool and refreshing.

Here is my "Bird Spa". I have tried to create a little oasis for our feathered friends.

Here is our makeshift trellis for my sweet peas. I have never started seeds from water and a papertowel before. A friend/neighbor shared some of his sweet pea seeds with me since I need some plants that will be vertical. They grew very fast and so I have attached them to little wooden skewers in hopes of training them to climb the trellis.

More vertical plants and a really cool plant that has a lovely deep purple side of a leaf.

Ok, here is one of my fails... or fixer-upper. I bought these flowering vine plants but they had been sitting on the ground so long that when the person I bought them from pulled them up, they sustained some root damage. They look sad. I repotted them and am hoping that they are just focusing on drinking lots of water in the root system and then will return. They are a lovely flowering plant and many people have them around their homes because they also have thorns (natural protection).
What would a garden be without little whimsical creatures?? Balcony bunny!!

More Vacationing in Austria: Klamms!

Here in the middle of the Alps we have a ton of gorges to explore. There are a handful less than 20 KM away that we have been checking off our list. Here are a few pictures from the Seisenbergklamm. It is directly in the town Weißbach bei Lofer in an area called the Saalachtal (Saalach Valley).

The Seisenbergklamm, much like the nearby Vorderkaserklamm that we went to when my parents were here last summer, had a nature trail where you were informed of the flora and fauna of the area.



The Liechtensteinklamm is near St. Johann in Pongau is one of the deepest and longest Klamms in the Alps.

I have had a lot of free time of late, so I have been trying to learn new things. One of the things I have been reading up on is the Ayurvedic diet. I learned that I have a "Pitta dosha", and when it is "imbalanced" things like walking around water help. (I can feel your eyes rolling. :) )



It even has a little legend:

The blacksmith of Oberarl, in the Plankenau area of St. Johann, had promised his crippled daughter to the devil if the devil would deliver the famous Gastein hot springs to his doorstep. The deal would have to be completed before the rooster crowed in the morning. The devil agreed and went to work in the dark of night. However, the blacksmith’s wife, a sly old woman, found out about the deal. To put an end to her husband’s boundless greed, she dunked the rooster into the drinking trough, causing it to crow before daybreak. The devil, who was at that moment flying through the Klamm with the hot springs, heard the rooster crow at Oberarl and realized he was too late.
Filled with rage, he threw the hot springs into the Klamm where no human being would ever find them again. Indeed, to this day, no one has been able to capture the healing waters and pipe them out of the gorge.

I do not know why I am so obsessed with waterfalls! I am sure most people will not find 7 pictures of rushing water quite as interesting as I do. But the feeling of being in these Klamms just makes me tingle. I do not know if it is the cool blue of the water, the changes in speed and levels, or the general beauty of this earth that just moves me.

Finally, Murmeltier!

This last weekend we decided to vacation in Austria. The weather was not super on Saturday, but that did not keep us from enjoying the outdoors.
We decided to try to hike to the top of the nearby Walcher waterfall. The waterfall is located right before the toll on the Großglockner Hochalpenstraße and the base is about 1200 meters above sea level. The Quelle of the Walcher, which is also the base of the Walcher Kees, a glacier, is about 2200 meters above sea level. So we had about 800 meter elevation climb.

Halfway into our climb, I was complaining about how we have been in Austria for over 2 years and I have yet to see a Murmeltier, which I guess are Groundhogs in the US. Not 2 seconds had the words come out of my mouth then I glance over to the left and down the hill a few feet sat one!
It was a curious little creature. Jason and I took dozens of pictures of it and managed to scoot ourselves closer and closer so that we were practically sitting right next to it. It kept running in to it's hole, but as Jason and I quietly sat there waiting, it would poke it's head out to check on us!

As we continued further up the mountain, we saw several! They had a shrill bird-like chirping cry that I assume they used to notify the others that people were coming.
Hiking in these parts of Austria is basically straight up and straight down. One thing that is so amazing about the Alps is how suddenly the environment can change. We went from pine trees to an alpine glacier basin that was snow, clouds, and wild purple and white crocus.

A closer picture of the glacier.


Part of the trail went under the waterfall. You can barely see me on the left on the trail.
This picture was taken on the decent. On the left, you can see a zigzag outline in white, of the snow covered trail that we took up. There were two Alms, although neither of them were open yet because apparently it is still winter here!!

Grossglockner Strasse: Alpine Flowers

Since I have lived in Austria, I have really become interested in flowers that are found in the Alps. I am a novice; once I get some free time I hope to educate myself a bit more in this area. I am just posting these for now, but as time goes on I will try to provide more information to accompany these pictures. Enjoy! I hope they tempt you to make a visit to the Austrian Alps!!
















What do you see in this last picture!!

Grossglockner High Alpine Road is indeed high

To get to Italy we took the Grossglockner High Alpine Road.
On our side of the Alps it was rather cold and rainy. I was a little worried because we could not see anything!


After crossing a certain point, however, it started to clear up.


There were waterfalls everywhere.


There are several breathtaking views. There are places to overnight and lots of opportunities for Alpine hiking!


As much as I wanted to see a Murmeltier the only ones I saw were on this sign.


The glacier. There is an overlook where this picture is taken as well as the opportunity to hike down to the glacier.


Perhaps my most exciting find was Edelweiss growing naturally!