Sounds amazing!! Thank you for introducing me to it!

Probably not. There are mostly wolves in the area than bears. They saying is: you cannot see the wolves but they see you 😨   This is a great website for hikes in Valais:   https://www.les-bisses-du-valais.ch/en/   just select area e.g. Central Valais, select the hike e.g. Bisse de Clavau, then select Gallery. I have a sort of plan to try to complete them but I like to have no plan sometimes.

They are a japanese card set (from the time when japan was closed off and anything western was taboo). They can be used to play a game called koi-koi which i  got really into playing as an alternative to patience (it can be played one handed or with multiple players). It is about building hands of cards, a little like poker, but reminds me most of mahjong as the hands all have beautiful names. Instead of 4 suits its cards are divided into seasons and months, with one set for each month. All featuring different stylised plants.   

Well this was awful 😅 Why with the curl up head and neck. MEAN.    I still did it, but I was not happy about it haha 🐝 

Wow, gorgeous! So interesting to see the crosses, too. I wonder what they represent. Was it bears? 

I will have to look those up, they sound very interesting, kind of like the small train cards in the original Ticket To Ride board game.      Hi Friends!   Good morning over here so far: got up, did my Duolingo (we are back to trying French again, baby!), coffee, Bujos, and Tarot. Then hung out on an audio call with a friend for an hour and a half, now catching up here. Other friends will be stopping by on their way back to the city and that will be really nice, too. I didn’t get any cooking done yesterday, but the massive list of to-dos and errands I accomplished means I don’t feel bad about that. Cooking will be today, starting with the pie crust, then the enchiladas, then the pot pies. If I have spoons after those are done I will make some watermelon sorbet, because we have a lot of watermelon leftover from the picnic that I don’t want to go to waste. It is cooler here today so being in the kitchen cooking will be pleasant, I think.    Weighed in this morning at 263.2 and feeling pretty good about that. It’s a tiny bit down from the 264.x I keep floating around and that is okay. Incremental progress is still progress. And considering I ate like a goblin yesterday (bread and cheese!) I am going to take it. I was quite active with my chores and errands, which was nice. I realize that on weekends I tend to sit a lot, especially compared to how active I am at work. I know part of that is really wanting to reinforce that I am resting and relaxing on my days off, but also I need to be doing activity, both for activity’s sake and also for functional self-care. If I can be on my feet working for seven hours a day during the week, I can extend myself for a few hours each day of a weekend. Not so much that I don’t get that sense of rest, but enough to get ahead on things for the next week and so preserve some spoons. All the spoons!   Today’s card is Strawberry from the Hedgewitch Botanical Oracle, which has the oracle property “Enjoy”. It calls us to delight in the little things we might take for granted: the warmth of sunlight, the sound of birds, the way our drink quenches our thirst. I am also reflecting on how grateful I am for things like electricity and running water (indoor plumbing!), having appliances that work and time to cook and money for ingredients. Very much a grateful day over here.    I am grateful for all of you, too. This place is pretty special. Thanks for being here. ❤️ 

You could put that snail in the Gastropod Art Club thread!!! ❤️ 

Ah, thank you so much for your photos! I am on flat, bald prairie and seeing trees and seas and all the rocky goodness is balm for *my* soul! Glad you had such a great rainy picnic!!

I keep forgetting that we are on opposite sides of the world and you get to listen to birds at different times than I do. I hope you got to do that, it sounds like it would have been lovely.    I hear you about the intimacy things; I am the limiting factor for that in my relationship and I know it is a frustration for Dave. Thank you for trying to be understanding and compassionate. It really makes a difference for those of us in the lurch. ❤️ You’re a good partner, Sal.    Proud of you for the NA beers. You’re doing such an amazing job with your sobriety. ❤️❤️❤️ So inspiring!!

Yay for a meetup that was fun and flew by!! ❤️