WordPress Daily Feline Prompt: Meow Association - home, soil, rain

This is mainly because Tabby and I had to visit the vet today. It was very cunningly planned by Mr. and Mrs. Human, they bribed us by pretending that everything was normal and then …..

“We were forced to leave our home, there was no soil and it was snowing so forget the rain and Fluffy, don’t exaggerate, I smelt the goose before it was cooked.”

“You did, why didn’t you tell me?”

“You were sleeping, it is your own fault.”

“I thought you were sleeping.”

“I never sleep when humans are moving, I always have one ear open. I heard Mrs. Human go to the cellar and I heard Mr. Human telling her to leave the cages in front of the door. Emphasis on cages, meaning more than one, and I knew that it was Vet time. My first action was to disappear under the bed. Mr. Human spoke a few profanities and he dragged me out. The cages appeared and before I could say “Garfield” I was looking through the bars.”

“I didn’t notice anything Tabby.”

“No Fluffy, you were sleeping, remember.”

“I only remember looking through bars suddenly.”

“And then we were off, moving through the streets to that well known place, the den of the vet.”

“But Tabby the nice ladies were there that give me an ear scratch and tummy tickle.”

“Fluffy it is all a trap, to lull you into a feeling of security. I saw you sitting in your cage while they put me on the  operating table with thermometer poised for my private parts. Ear scratch my paw, they were attacking me and to add insult to injury they emptied a full ampule of anti worm medicine in my body. As if I have worms, What an insult.”

“They did that to me as well, but the nice ladies said I was a good boy for being quiet and still. They said I had nice teeth and then I was given a manicure. Did they give you a manicure as well Tabby?”

“No Fluffy, they did not, I make sure that my claws are short, and sharp and whet them now and again. If you did that you would not have to have a nail cutting session at the vets. That was your fault.”

“Look I am quite proud, I have some photos of the action Tabby, but there are no photos of you.”

“That is no problem Fluffy, do you really think I want to be proud of photos of my indignation being shown all over the Internet. I tell you do not place your trust in humans. They are crafty and sly, and now let me sleep to recover from the exhaustions of the day.”

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WordPress Daily Prompt: Word Association

Write down the first words that come to mind when we say home, soil, rain

It had been raining in the garden and the soil was laying bare, the gardeners were working on it.

“Hey Fred what’s going on” said one of the worms that usually lived in the soil.

“Don’t know Joe, looks like we no longer have the grass roots to worm our way through.”

“But Fred, we are open to the perils of the upper world. I can see the crows gathering already.”

“No problem Joe, they are not interested in a worm when they can crack a few haselnuts. What worries me are the blackbirds, they are the sly ones. I think we will have to make a dive for it into the underworld.”

“Hi boys, what are you squirming about?”

“Dolores dive, hide, the top of the world has been removed. We are exposed and Joe said the blackbirds are gathering.”

“Oh, but look over there, I can see a patch of ivy. Let’s go hide.”

“That’s not a good idea Dolores, the snails took over under the ivy a long while ago and they do it all themselves. You know, reproduction, baby snails and all that.”

“Hey Fred, that is nothing new, we can do that as well and much better. I bet you that we can produce more of our kind than the snails in a week.”

“Yea, but they are bigger and have shells. No, I ain’t going in any bush where the snails live.”

“What’s going on, what’s all the excitement?”

“Hi boss, I was just telling Dorlores and Joe not to go where the snails are in the ivy.”

“No-one is going anywhere. This is our home and we are staying.”

“But the lid of the world has disappeared, we will be eaten by a bird.”

“Then do what worms do and worm your way out of the problem. Start eating and bite the earth. Use your brains, you have enough. Your bodies are full of them.”

“You mean”

“Yes of course. We are not worms for nothing. We get buried in the soil, down deep. We are the kings of the underworld and no-one can beat us. Fred, Joe, Dolores you should be ashamed of yourself. You have the brains of a snail. They just hide in their shell, but we carry on regardless. The soil is even our daily food.”

“But I can feel earth tremours, something is happening.”

“Ok, then dive for it.”

Suddenly there were no worms to be seen, they pushed their bodies deeper in the earth and found that the boss had a good idea. After the earth was digested Fred decided to have another look at the roof and it was there again.

“Hey boys and girl, come and have a look, the grass is back.”

“Of course it is” said the boss. “Humans have to have their nice green lawn to show everyone. They call it gardening. So let’s worm our way through a few roots and have fun. Meet you all in the Underworld later. Looks like it might start raining so we should go hide.”

“Yes boss, we all know what happens when it rains on us worms, it turns into a real wash out.”

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WordPress Daily Prompt: Singin' in the Rain

Safe inside, toasty warm, while water pitter-patters on the roof… describe your perfect, rainy afternoon.

Photographers, artists, poets: show us RAIN.

Looks like there is a storm brewing
And the wind starts howling
The cats start running
Searching for protection
Suspense is mounting
The stage is set,
pressure is gathering,
The air is pregnant with tension

At time like this I like to watch from the patio, letting the wind gusts fly across the garden, scattering leaves and twigs as if they were just feathers caught in the wind. I can feel it coming, the sky darkens and then the rain starts falling. First of all single drops, heavy with the weight of their moisture casting stains on the concrete, bouncing off the leaves in the garden. That is just the ouverture.

The time arrives to disappear into the protection of my own four walls, followed by the felines.

“Mrs. Human” Nera the chief cat says. “Do something to stop the rain.”

“Not possible Nera.”

“But Humans can do everything we felines cannot, that was why we let you be our slaves. Bastet, our chief somewhere in the eternal corn chambers, said find a human, preferably with a well stocked larder, and you have no more food or rain worries.”

“Yes Nera, even Bast can be wrong sometimes. Human god(s) can also make mistakes, and no-one can control the weather. If it rains, it rains and you just have to change your programme and put up with it.”

“Felines do not change programmes Mrs. Human, the programmes change for the felines and we are not here to “put up” with things. Look Tabby is coming, shaking her wet fur. Tabby, shake your fur over there where Mrs. Human is standing, not here. My wonderful black silky fur has the wet look, not exactly the thing for a Princess feline like myself.”

Tabby moved and I got a drenched foot as she shook her raindrops in my direction.

“Sorry Mrs. Human” said Tabby, “but I have to put my wet somewhere and you just happened to be in the way. You see Nera, anything to please. You fur stinks when it gets wet and Mrs. Human just stinks of human whether wet or dry.” I stink?

“Hiss, hiss, Tabby tired of life?” was Nera’s answer.

I decided to intervene; otherwise the fur might start flying. “Felines be nice to each other. Look at the rain outside the window. Can you hear the pit-pat on the glass panes? You will now have to be content doing something worthwhile indoors.”

“Did you hear Nera?” said Tabby to Nera “something worthwhile. Looks like the indoor programme will have to be applied. Where are you sleeping Nera.”

“Ok, Mrs. Human, point taken. Tabby I will lay my super luxury body on the soft comfortable blanket on the settee, stretched out to absorb the fifty shades of sleep.”

Since Nera saw that book on the computer her life seems to revolve around fifty shades of everything.

“What about you Tabby?” I asked.

“Great minds think alike, but it looks like Nera has again taken the most comfortable place for a sleep. I will again have to succumb to the hierarchy of the felines and take the second choice. I am up on top of the cupboard, where I can survey everything. When I come to think of it, that was Nera’s favourite place until her sleek body became no longer sleek, a little bit overweight and she started to sway when she walks instead of sprightly leaping everywhere like a spring lamb. She cannot climb to the top these days.”

“Tabby, you really seem to have a death wish today, hiss, hiss. I have told you time and time again it is my super luxury fur, fluff, and not overweight. Nothing worse than a jealous feline.” Nera was again annoyed.

Then it was quiet, just the regular breathing movements of two sulking cats that avoid rain when they can.

And me? I decided to clean out some cupboards, do some ironing and bake a cake. I like to catch up a bit on housework when I cannot sit outside with my computer, or a good book. That is my bad weather programme for an afternoon. After all the weather can only get better. 

WordPress Daily Prompt: Free Association

Write down the first words that come to mind when we say
...home  Switzerland
...soil Burial
...rain = Storm

The Burial in a Storm in Switzerland

"So what are we going to do now?"

"Now that is a good question." Jakob rubbed his forehead, as he always did when he had a problem. Seth just looked on, but was sure they would find a solution.

It was not funny being over two thousand metres with a storm brewing and a dead body to dispose of. At least the earth was soft, so they would have no problems digging a grave. Seth even shed a few tears.

"What are you crying about, her time had come. She was old and we knew it could happen any day, we just hurried it up a bit."

"But she was part of our lives Jakob. Admittedly she was laming a bit and could not do the work any more, but you did not have to shoot her."

"Seth, that was the only solution. Of course I did not want to shoot the old girl, but it was a crime of compassion. To put her out of her pain and misery."

The two men were looking down at the corpse laying on the earth. No movement, no breath from the dead, just a stare from her hollow lifeless eyes. Seth had a feeling that they would spring to life again, but he knew the dismal truth. Dead as a doornail, so they said. The two men had been living on the alp together for many years with their friend. They had braced many problems together, but this was something new.

"I think we should now do something" said Jakob. "The body will soon start to stiffen and then it will be finished with a move to the grave."

"Jakob I have an idea."

It was not often that Seth had ideas. He was known as the village idiot and thanks to Seth he had been rescued from the brutal actions of the village boys and had worked many years on the alp, cutting grass for the animals and producing cheese from the goats and cows. He was a hard worker, although the departed had also been a good help to both of them.

"OK Seth, what is the good idea?" although Jakob was sure that it was not a good idea.

"Instead of just burying her, we could perhaps sort of preserve her for a while."

"Preserve her? Is that one of your weak jokes?"

"No, Jakob. I do not make jokes about the dead. Quite simple really. We preserve the goats by eating the cheese I make,  preserve the cows by drinking their milk and so we could preserve her by making sausages from the remains. Or hang the meat up on the moutain side where the wind is eternally blowing. We have often eaten wind dried meat from the cows and that is very tasty. We have even dried the flesh of the chickens."

"But I have never eaten meat from someone I knew Seth. It would be disrespectful.""

"No Jakob. Think of it like this. We would be preserving her and each bite would remind us how helpful she was when she was alive."

Jakob though about it and decided it was not such a bad idea. It was approaching mid Winter. They had to eat from the reserves they had. They would be snowed in until Spring arrives and it would be a welcome change to their diet of cheese and milk. And so it was decided. Their faithfull donkey Hilda would be preserved and buried in the ice and then they would have meat enough until the Winter had passed. For once Seth had a good idea. 

Canna

Although Autumn is just around the corner and we have a cold weather spell at the moment, the canna in a pot in the garden is still flowering. Probably making the most of the remains of the Summer before disappearing into my cellar, where it will stay potted and sleeping until next year when it will again take its place in a sunny spot.

"What did you say Canna?"

"I am not ready to got yet, still have a few flowers to show. Plenty of time, no rush. Just a drink of rainwater now and again and a few sun rays to keep my feet nice and warm and damp. You won't get rid of me so fast."

And that was a report from a small plot of garden somewhere in Switzerland where the foxes and the hares say good night to each other.

A Rainy Day

Today it really only rained once and that was enough. It was just "pissing" down, I can't find any other words for it. I took the photo at the supermarket this morning just outside the entrance. At least I do not have to give the garden any water this evening. I have two very unsatisfied cats that do not like getting wet in the rain.
"Did you say something" I asked my big fat Nera cat
"Leave me alone" she says "don't bother me, hisss".
Tabby, her litter sister is just ignoring me. She spent most of the day outside on a chair where it was sheltered but now she is occupying a cushion at the top of the cupboard next to Nera.

So what can we do on a day like this. Not very much, but here is something I made for yesterday's evening meal.

At the back on the left we have an apple cake (Äpfelchueche). Take a shallow baking dish and line it with flaky pastry - you can buy it already rolled out. Then prod the pastry with a fork. Take 3-4 apples according to their size, peel them, cut them in half and remove the middle bits where the pips are, also the stalks. Then cut the apple in slices and cover the pastry it with it. Put in a heated oven (about 180° C) for about twenty minutes to get the crust slightly brown. In the meanwhile put 2 eggs and milk making about half a liter liquid with some sugar in a jug and mix with the electric mixer or a whisk until liquidised and then take the apple cake out of the oven and pour the liquid over it. Put back in the oven and bake until the milk-egg mixture is solid. Take out of oven, sprinkle with sugar and some cinnamon if liked and the Äpfelchueche is finished. You can also make the same using plums or apricots.

Now for the cheesecake (Chäschueche). Again line a shallow baking dish with bought rolled out flaky pastry. Prod the pastry with a fork. Grate about 200-250 grammes of cheese (I use Greyerzer, but you can use any cheese you like, even cheddar - it just has to be a hard cheese) and cover the base of the pastry with the cheese. Then mix 1-2 Tablespoons of flour with the cheese. Put 2-3 eggs, and milk in a jug (to make enough liquid to cover the cheese) and add some pepper - I usually put pepper from the pepper mill in it. Then mix with the electric mixer or whisk. Pour over the cheese-flour mixture and bake in the oven at 180° until brown on top - usually about 30 minutes.

The apple cake is eaten cold and the cheese cake warm. In Switzerland we usually make a soup to be eaten with the cheese one and the apple is eaten afterwards. You can also eat the apple with some whipped cream. If anything is not clear with these typical Swiss evening meal things, then ask. It is a bit of a custom in Switzerland that Friday is the day to eat this sort of thing. I think it goes back to the days when Switzerland was quite catholic and no meat was eaten on Fridays.

Otherwise I have not got a lot to say today. I just stayed indoors and played with my computer and some photos. Thursday evening was interesting. We had another one of our first aid evenings. The husband of one of my colleagues had chopped his thumb off sawing wood. It was all very realistic with a chopped of thumb and lots of red colouring material.

We had to look after a complaining husband and make sure the thumb was securely put in a plastic bag in a second bag containing ice to get it to the hospital to have it sewn back again. Then my friends daughter cut her leg open with some wire which we looked after and eventually her son managed to drive a nail through his foot. Quite an interesting evening. We finished the evening off with plum cake and coffee.

So that is the Saturday report from a rainy Switzerland. My cats are not available to say a few words, they are still sulking and so am I as West Ham United, my football club, lost 3:2 to West Bromwich Albion (one of those clubs from up North somewhere in England). Here is a photo of my wet pampas grass in the garden.

A Rainy Day

I think this photo from the office window just about sums up the day. It was windy, it was raining, totally unfriendly. The day started well - I forgot to set the alarm yesterday so 30 minutes were missing when I got up. A completely different modus operandi had to be applied, but I still managed to fit everything in - even a quick look on the computer - before driving off to work. We had two absentees at work, meaning the work for five was once again being spread around on the remaining three plus an apprentice. I just love those situations, you can really feel that you have done a good days work when you go home.

Deutsch: Ich glaube diese Foto von der Bureaufenster sagt alles über den Tag. Es regnete, es luftete, total unfreundlich. Der Tag hat gut angefangen, ich vergass die Alarm zu stellen gestern, deshalb 30 Minuten war schon verloren am Anfang von der Tag. Ein ganz andere Plan muss agewendet werden, aber ich habe doch alles machen können - sogar ein schnelle Blick auf dem Computer, bevor ich ging zur Arbeit. wir hätten zwei Abwesender in Büro, was bedeutet noch einmal dass die Arbeit für 5 war wieder auf 3 und ein Lehrling verteilt. Ich liebe solche Situationen, man weiss das man viel gearbeitet hat wenn man zu Hause geht.

This was the view from the entrance to the supermarket at lunchtime when I was finished with the shopping and lunch. It was not just raining, it was pissing down (excuse the strong words, but at the time it was how I felt). When I got back to the office I made a stop in the canteen and took about 5 paper towels with me to dry my hair off. Not that the wet look bothered me, but when the water starts running down your nose and neck, then it is not pleasant.

Deutsch: Hier ist die Blick von der Supermarkteingang am Mittag, nachdem das ich eingekauft und gegessen hätte. Es hat nicht nur geregnet, es hat geschiffen (bitte Ausdruck entschuldigen, aber so war es mir vorgekommen an diese Moment). Wieder im Büro machte ich Halt in die Kantine und nahm etwa 5 Papiertüchli mit mir um meine Haar zu trocknen. Nicht das die nasse "look" mich gestört hat, aber wenn die Wasser tropfen laufe die Nase und Nacken herunter, denn ist es nicht angenehm.

But every cloud has its silver lining and on my way home I saw this from the car window on the private road at our local castle, so decided to take a photo. It is not every day you see something like this. Unfortunately by driving in reverse to get back onto the lane, I had a confrontation with a sharp stone ornament belonging to the castle steps which made a cut in the car bumper. I was not happy about this, but it could have been bigger. Understanding Mr. Swiss found it wasn't so bad and these things can happen. I suppose it is one of the problems you have to face when you are married to a photographer, computer freak, and cat lover.

Deutsch: Aber jede Wolke hat ein Silber Futter (weiss nicht die deutsche Ausdruck für diese Spruch) und auf dem Heimweg sah dieses von der Autofenster auf dem Privatweg beim lokale Schloss und entschloss ein Foto zu machen. Es ist jede Tag, dass man so etwas sieht. Leider beim hinterfahren habe ich ein Stein Ornament beim Schloss Treppe übersehen und es hat ein kleine Schnitt in Stossstange am Auto gemacht. Es hat mich nicht so glücklich gemacht, aber hat schlimmer sein können. Verständnissvoll Herr Schweizer hat gefunden es war nicht so schlimme und solche Sachen kann passieren. Wahrscheinlich ist eine von die Probleme mann muss sich abfinden damit, wenn man mit ein Fotographin, Computer freak und Katzenliebhabe verheiratet ist.

It's Raning Again

Photo of the Schoolhouse in Olten, Kanton Solothurn, Switzerland

Yesterday lunch time it started raining, but it has only rained once since then and it is still raining. Switzerland is gradually sinking. It’s a small country, so it doesn’t need much. If you think you are safe in the mountains because they are higher, then this is a mistake. More and more holiday chalets are being built in the tourist areas, but the mountains are not really there to live on, but more to visit. The result is when it really starts pouring down the earth starts moving and a landslide develops. There have been many houses buried by the avalanche of earth that covers them.

The area where I live is near a river but we are fairly high up and the River Aare floods very rarely in our region, although a few people where I live have water in their cellars at the moment. Nothing dramatic, but not exactly to be wished for. The towns of Olten and Aarau are quite badly hit and certain areas have been evacuated. The holiday villages of Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen are cut off from civilisation due to landslides which have blocked the roads.

Seeing all this flooding I was reminded of two years ago when Kandersteg and the area around the Lake of Brienz was badly hit. At that time my son was doing his annual military service. All fit sons of the Swiss are in the Swiss army and have to do 3 weeks a year. They are fully equipped with uniform, rifle and boots made for walking (at least 25 Km marches are made with the recruits – the officers have to do a 50 Km march). Anyhow, my son was doing his service in a place called Bière in the French speaking part of Switzerland high up in the Jura highlands as artillerist where they have the big tanks, although he is in charge of the office logistic and accounts. As every good soldier is, he went to the barracks to sleep about 11.30 in the evening as the men were relaxing in the local restaurant and quenching their thirst until then. It had been raining for some time, although up in the Jura they didn’t notice any dangers.

He had been sleeping for approximately an hour when the commanding officer came in and woke him and a few hundred others. They had to get their equipment packed within 30 minutes and all their belongings and were put onto lorries and driven down to Kandersteg where there was severe flooding. My son had to make the journey in a car with one of the officers as he had to get there before the rest to organise the army logistic. He said that part wasn’t fun as the officer with him had also only had about an hour’s sleep, but they arrived ok at about 3-4 in the morning. He then had to do the paperwork and organisation of the office. You can’t just move 300 soldiers to a mountain village in the middle of the night without having some organisation. At around 7.00 in the morning the officer asked him how much sleep he had had, and after my son told him about one hour, he had to command to go to bed, which he wasn’t sorry about.

During the 2 weeks they were in Kandersteg they helped to clear the debris that the water had left behind and generally tidy up. My son had never seen anything like it and it made a lasting impression on him. He said they were knee deep in mud most of the time and how tragic it was to see people that had lost their homes and possessions. If you opened the door to a house left standing from the water, you were confronted with mud and wood piled up to the roof. One thing he told us that we never forgot was the generosity of the people living there. If the soldiers went to a café for something to drink they were never presented with a bill. The village inhabitants were so grateful for the hard work the soldiers were doing that it was the only way they could thank them. My son said afterwards that it was the first time he had done his military service and felt that there was a reason for doing it.

It is still raining, but the news says it will soon stop. The situation is now improving in some places, although that really means it isn’t getting worse. A lot of people won’t be sleeping in their homes tonight if they still have a home. I know a lot of countries have had bad floods lately, thinking of England, the weather has been a bit crazy this year.