I'm working as a consultant, so I end up visiting various companies in Switzerland. The above photo (like the photo below), shows the view I see when I get off the commuter train and climb up the Swiss hillside to one of the companies I'm working with.
It's the most amazing thing!! I get off the regular commuter train from Zurich, hike up a hillside (on a public path) through a vineyard, pass through a charming wooded residential neighborhood, then take a path with green pasture and cows grazing on one side, and the other side is a protected wetland full of thousands of frogs. Then I arrive at a building that looks basically like the set of a sci-fi film to work on some super-high-tech stuff.
This whole set-up completely blows my mind!! Given zoning laws, I would suspect that such a place would be not only impossible, but illegal in the U.S., and I'm starting to question whether zoning laws are such a good idea...
Anyway, since my whole family consists of amateur biologists and amphibian enthusiasts, I decided to take the family on a weekend trip to work.
Here I am with Nico, carefully making our way through the reeds to see the frogs:
Leo was less enthusiastic about that part:
And here's one of the frogs we saw:
And Nico was psyched because he'd never seen damselflies before, but had learned all about them from his David Attenborough documentaries. He even pointed out two damselflies mating:
My husband recently expressed concern that all these nature documentaries have perhaps a bit too much sex and violence for a six-year-old kid. He may be right. Not sure...
All I know is that I had a great time! I've always loved observing frogs (I know I'm different), but I'd never in my life seen so many in one place! I also got to see them puffing their little green cheeks to call, too. All in all, a great day in Switzerland!!! :D
7 comments:
Beautiful!
What a great view on your way to work!
There was a turkey vulture nesting on a section of the building I work in. You can see it from a window in a hallway there. It was neat walking into work (or from a meeting) and looking out to see the perch.
Thanks Melliferous!!!
Hey Aerin!!!
Wow, that's cool!!! It's fun to mix a little business and nature watching. ;^)
So did you see any baby birds?
Wow! Those are some breathtaking views. Eliot did not tell me that they were living in such a beautiful place. He did mention cows....
My wife has a similar experience on her bike commute to work along a creek. She has seen river otters, and had great blue herons flying alongside her; and that is all inside city limits.
Hey Wayne!!!
That's cool -- it's nice that urban living doesn't have to mean giving up on seeing nature!! :D
My husband recently expressed concern that all these nature documentaries have perhaps a bit too much sex and violence for a six-year-old kid. He may be right. Not sure...
I was a bit envious at the ease you talked about Nico seeing the damselflies mating. It seems completely natural and not in any way inappropriate to me.
Hey O.G.!!!
Yeah, I don't think that a six-year-old learning about how animals mate is a problem at all. The problem is that it leads him to extrapolate and talk about human mating in a manner that (again) I think is okay, but my husband was worried that if he talks about this in front of other people, they might think he's a weirdo/pervert...
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