- Joined
- May 13, 2015
- Messages
- 841
Hi there! My intention was to go for a walk in woods on Sunday. Weather has been unstable the whole week and the day started under a light rain. Family seems to have started their hibernation period 
and they decline my proposal, I bet theyll wake up for ski season! So I decided to go by myself, with the idea to take an easy trail and just walk up to get some scenery. I really like these Autumn rainy days, specially up in the mountains. I can basically walk in the clouds 
and the colours are still on. Actually I dont mind walking in the woods/hiking with these conditions. On the contrary, I find the sound of rain drops on the leaves and the rocks relaxing and hiking in foul weather (well, not really foul in this case ) makes me feel a
Man, if you know what I mean 
. Anyway, parked the car in the village and I hit the track under a light rain and was immediately soaked into the beautiful colours of the forest. Walked up for a couple of hours, following the track, taking me through woods and clearings, some keeping the remaining of old cattle sheds and cottages. A refurbished one, was showing some signs of human presence and cattle was grazing around. The cows here are the typical Bruna Alpina breed (Braunvieh). I stopped by to take some close pictures. Its rather unusual to meet cattle this high up (around 1800 mt) this time of the year, generally they are taken down to the valleys or the plains lately by the end of September and many villages have cattle fairs by then. A whistle and a dog came running towards me, stopping few feet away barking. The shepherd was following. Never really know how these mountaineers react, many of them are rather grumpy and with little social skills, so to say . So I said Hi, Im walking the trail, Stopped to take a couple of pics; nice cattle you have, Weather is getting cold, etc. He looked an OK guy and we said names, shook hands and started to chat a bit. He said he would have taken the cows down by the end of this week but still he had some maintenance work of his summer shed to finalize and was taking the opportunity to make the last cheese. Actually, he was about to make some right away, having still a couple of cows to milk. I said: Do you mind if I hang around here and take some pics at your work? and Do you sell some cheese?. He said he was fine with both the things. The typical cheese here is called Formai de Mut (literally, from dialect: mountain cheese). A great cheese (for my taste) :thumbup:! Once he finished his job, he sliced down a 2 months old wheel of cheese of which I took an half. Since it was lunchtime, without asking anything, he just sliced down some more cheese and took out a salami. I put my bread, dried fruits and nuts on the wooden table on the front of the shed. Weather was getting better, still cloudy but rain had stopped. He spilled some wine. We ate, almost in silence, as its not unusual up here, sitting on a bench. We ate, listening to the wind and the sounds from the cattle. He was working with and old Sanelli butcher knife, the handle kept together by some duct tape but well sharpened. I was carrying one rather new Opinel, I picked up from the basket of our around the house knives. Had one more glass of wine and I hit the road back, thanking him for the hospitality and the company and leaving my Opinel to him as a gift. An interesting and rewarding morning! Pics just to share ! Take care.
and they decline my proposal, I bet theyll wake up for ski season! So I decided to go by myself, with the idea to take an easy trail and just walk up to get some scenery. I really like these Autumn rainy days, specially up in the mountains. I can basically walk in the clouds and the colours are still on. Actually I dont mind walking in the woods/hiking with these conditions. On the contrary, I find the sound of rain drops on the leaves and the rocks relaxing and hiking in foul weather (well, not really foul in this case ) makes me feel a
Man, if you know what I mean . Anyway, parked the car in the village and I hit the track under a light rain and was immediately soaked into the beautiful colours of the forest. Walked up for a couple of hours, following the track, taking me through woods and clearings, some keeping the remaining of old cattle sheds and cottages. A refurbished one, was showing some signs of human presence and cattle was grazing around. The cows here are the typical Bruna Alpina breed (Braunvieh). I stopped by to take some close pictures. Its rather unusual to meet cattle this high up (around 1800 mt) this time of the year, generally they are taken down to the valleys or the plains lately by the end of September and many villages have cattle fairs by then. A whistle and a dog came running towards me, stopping few feet away barking. The shepherd was following. Never really know how these mountaineers react, many of them are rather grumpy and with little social skills, so to say . So I said Hi, Im walking the trail, Stopped to take a couple of pics; nice cattle you have, Weather is getting cold, etc. He looked an OK guy and we said names, shook hands and started to chat a bit. He said he would have taken the cows down by the end of this week but still he had some maintenance work of his summer shed to finalize and was taking the opportunity to make the last cheese. Actually, he was about to make some right away, having still a couple of cows to milk. I said: Do you mind if I hang around here and take some pics at your work? and Do you sell some cheese?. He said he was fine with both the things. The typical cheese here is called Formai de Mut (literally, from dialect: mountain cheese). A great cheese (for my taste) :thumbup:! Once he finished his job, he sliced down a 2 months old wheel of cheese of which I took an half. Since it was lunchtime, without asking anything, he just sliced down some more cheese and took out a salami. I put my bread, dried fruits and nuts on the wooden table on the front of the shed. Weather was getting better, still cloudy but rain had stopped. He spilled some wine. We ate, almost in silence, as its not unusual up here, sitting on a bench. We ate, listening to the wind and the sounds from the cattle. He was working with and old Sanelli butcher knife, the handle kept together by some duct tape but well sharpened. I was carrying one rather new Opinel, I picked up from the basket of our around the house knives. Had one more glass of wine and I hit the road back, thanking him for the hospitality and the company and leaving my Opinel to him as a gift. An interesting and rewarding morning! Pics just to share ! Take care.
