7 March 2015 - Deer spotting and more forest wandering

Two mornings in a row of clear blue skies!  It's feeling more and more like springtime!  Tim and I were eager to walk to the shops while the grass was still heavily frosted.  Into the trolley went some more quark which is a very thick yoghurt tasting spread (I think) for bread!  Imagine the thickest Greek yoghurt possible and thicken it and you'll have quark.  I reckon it tastes amazing with some apfelmus (apple sauce) and some crunchy cereal! (We just have the one bakery treat each day but there are no biscuits in our pantry so when I've got the munchies, the quark, apple and cereal trick seems to satisfy the mid afternoon desires!)

It was a maths morning for Luke and apart from silliness with the ball of string (ie unravelling the entire ball and entangling himself on purpose), he actually cooperated reasonably well.  Even so, I kept watching the blue skies and sunny day and was really wanting him to finish so we could all get outside!  Why does it take SO long to get everyone ready to go?!

As we need a child seat for Luke for the car as he is not yet 150cm, we walked to the local equivalent of the Shell shop and petrol station ("Total") and I asked them in pretty much unrehearsed German where we would be able to buy such a seat.  They were really helpful.  I also asked at another garage and they were also helpful and seemed to indicate Ravensburg would be the cheapest.  I would have loved to tootle off to Ravensburg this afternoon but we will do that journey tomorrow and fit in a bit more sightseeing whilst we are there.

Choices on the wanderweg!

Just a few doors away live these gorgeous little ponies .

A wider path and so peaceful!

After stocking up on our bakery treat and some water, we headed back to the forest at the north end of Bermatingen and joined the network of wanderwegs.  Karl and Annika were keen to see some of the deer hides (as in hideouts not skins - Gillian and Jane!) that we had discovered yesterday.

Afternoon contemplation.

Tim just enjoying the peace!

Nature's best picnic seat - a fallen tree.

Who can resist climbing up into a hide?

The lovely thing about walking in the forest here, as opposed to the Australian bush is that I am not watching every step and log for a snake.  Here, I feel free and safe just to step on twigs and undergrowth and leave the marked tracks.  The kids scrambled up and down many of the hides just because it is such fun!  We did see a couple of deer but they saw us, too and darted away too quickly to catch them on camera.  Also, the noise the kids made was enough to scare any wildlife away so we were lucky to even see the two we did.

From Oberstenweiler

Our first bumblebee - so furry!

 We ended up walking to Oberstenweiler, a nearby village from where there are amazing views again of the Alps and the lake.  We even saw a zeppelin flying over the lake!!!!  It was a perfectly still, clear day.

Tim ran the 4.5 km home from here!

... and Annika chose an Alpen view handstand in the middle of a country road!

Noisy cows

Woolly goat

A pond or a dam or a lake?

"Aaah the serenity!)

Long fingers of sunlight break through the trees

Yet another hide to explore!

Happy chappy!

Signposts are never too far away on a wanderweg.

Reflections in the forest...looks almost prehistoric!

Often seats are provided!

Another little wayside prayer spot.

Pond and late afternoon reflections

It is lovely to be living in the middle of farmland and forest.  We often go past rural smells and cows and barns and crops.  The sky is clear tonight so it will be cold outside.  Hoping for another clear day tomorrow!