I love watching the seasons change, love the snow (still waiting on that one) when it's fresh and crisp and sparkly, love when it's finally gone to reveal the flowers, love the mountains turn green and then the blue skies of summer, and the nightly light shows of the thunderstorms of July, love swimming in the lake, and taking long hikes in July to the mountains where it's still spring, and going in squelchy shoes through the piles of snow, before coming to a picnic stop on the bottom of soon to be mountain lake, love the monotone sound of the cow bells, and the search for elusive edelweiss, or wild orchids, love the insects busying themselves in the Alpine meadows and the call of the Alpenhorn (not too close), then August celebrations, community spirit, fireworks, travels, more hikes, trying to cram in as many summer emotions and barbeques as possible before it's time for calm and return to school for kids. That can be a welcome change with a slight touch of sadness though, the smell of autumn, the changing colours of the mountains, amazing moons stepping up from the mountain and so bright you could read through the night, windy days that seem to bend the palm trees to the ground, endless rain, pause, and then anticipation of Christmas, crisp winter days, skating outdoors, skiing trips and cocoa, warm fleece on the sofa in front of the roaring fire, coloured by the kids occasionally throwing into the flames a sweetie wrapper or a page from glossy magazine... Candlelit dinners, long evening talking, music in the house, card games, monopoly dusted and taken off the shelf, puzzles, books, more books and conversations, tea, lots of tea and biscuits, trips to the cinema, homework, deadlines, cuddles, snowstorms, cold all the way through to the bone, birdfeeders needing refills every day, colourful visitors in the garden, short walks, long baths... and then waiting, longing, beseeching spring with the buzz of its insects, with the snowdrops and magnolia petals, cherry blossom, bicycles, endless calling meadows, soft grass... bliss
