Well, Readers, the weather in the Alps is rarely settled, and so last night and today have seen some drizzle. I hardly dare to mention that the temperature is in the mid-sixties Fahrenheit, what with London being stuck in the high eighties for the next fortnight, and sympathies to all those at home who find these prolonged high temperatures difficult to cope with – my Dad and Mum both had heart and lung problems, and would have found the heatwaves this year very hard to bear.

But here we are, and John also has an upset stomach – often we seem to run full pelt until we get away on holiday, and then it all catches up with us. So, today we are taking things very easy indeed, which is actually rather pleasant. We both brought enough books to last us for six months, plus I have my knitting (another cardigan for my dear friend’s adorable baby boy), plus there’s the balcony to sit on and watch the swifts and house martins sailing past. And I can hear a chiff chaff as I write. This morning I video’d the clouds making their leisurely way up the valley.

This is a working village, so there’s always some building being renovated or rebuilt in the very short summer season (three months maximum, from July to the end of September if you’re lucky) so apologies for the happy sounds of saws in the background.

We go for a little walk into the village, I love the way that the plants are reclaiming the patches of tarmac around the hotels.

It’s sad to see the lifts standing unused. Lots of tourists are coming into the village to use the Hohe Mut lift, which will only open on 15th July, and then only the top section. Apparently there was talk of the lift not opening at all, but there are lots of weddings at the Hohe Mut restaurant, and you can pay for a special wedding gondola to take you to the top, all decked out with ribbons and roses, so clearly that would have been a big loss of income. Still, it’s a bit of a pain for the less fit amongst us, and it makes the areas that are still open ultra busy. The hotel owners are very unhappy with the whole thing. The one in the photo isn’t normally open in summer anyway. An opportunity missed, I think.

And then it’s back up the hill to the Hotel Olympia. I love the way that the Alchemilla leaves are hydrophobic, so all the water gathers in droplets.

And I do love finding a new plant – this. is Blue Honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea), an Austrian native usually found in mountains, but also found in North America (where it’s known as Honeyberry) and in Japan, where it goes by the name of Haskap. I love how much I see when I slow down. When I visited the Alps when I was young(er) it was all about getting from A to B. Now, it’s much nicer to just wander and notice.

Further up the slope there’s a patch of Fox and Cubs (Pilosella aurantiaca), known here as Orange Hawkweed. It’s native to the mountainous parts of Europe, but can often be found in the UK – there’s a spectacular patch of it in St Pancras and Islington Cemetery, just along the road from me. It’s always nice to revisit with an old friend!

Fox and Cubs in St Pancras and Islington Cemetery in 2021