Winter Weather in the Jura Foothills

We went for a walk in the hills last Saturday. This was the sun through the foggy morning mist.


It made for a very atmospheric view of our regular walking place. All of the photos in this blog post were taken with a mobile phone camera, as I hadn't brought the normal camera.You can see how it looks without fog in the previous post, New Year's Walk, which shows photos of the same scenery.



There were tiny mushrooms nested in the grass.










The colors were beautiful.



This dirt road looks like something out of a fantasy scene, disappearing off into the unknown.












Yesterday we went for a drive a bit higher up. Even though there was snow on the ground in places, it was warm in the sun. It almost felt like spring with the sun being out. The muted mellow colors were very pretty.










But for now it is still winter and the trees are standing like bare sentinels waiting for much warmer weather.

Jasmine's Fancy Footwork

Jazzy has amazing feet. Sometimes they look very compact and cute.

At other times they look particularly prehistoric. She also has strong legs.

She's able to do all sorts of quick manoeuvres to get around places.













And she has a very wide stretch between her legs so she can reach across quite long distances.








They hold her steady during otherwise engrossing activities, such as eating.







When she stands on flat surfaces they stretch out spindly and long.
Having two toes forward and two back give her incredible dexterity and flexibility.She has a scaly pattern on her feet and they're soft and warm to the touch, unless she's cold.



Her nails allow her to keep a firm grip. Often she allows herself to hang from just one nail, and she's a heavy girl!



She can pick up all sorts of things: toys, food... And when she does that, her feet become more like hands. She can be amazingly strong with them and has an incredibly tight grip and she can also choose to be incredibly gentle and delicate with them.



She hangs and swings, and it's amazing to watch how quickly she can move along using her feet and her beak to make contact with whatever she's working her way across.












She uses the crook in her leg, which is a bit like a heel or an ankle to lean on when she's balancing or even when she's sitting one- legged on a perch.










She can swing, hang out and do all sorts of silly things.

And then she can look totally serious, as if to say, whatever you might think about my feet, they're pretty handy.

Maldives Palm Tree Egg Tempera Painting

Here is an egg tempera painting of a palm tree in the Maldives. I finished it about an hour ago. It's 18 x 13 inches.


The photo I used as a reference was taken by Tony. I love the oranges and yellows and the contrast they make with the deep reds and greens. I think this painting is my favorite so far.
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Crystalline Trees

Shortly before Christmas we had a snap of very cold weather. The trees turned into beautiful crystalline entities.











Each one displayed a unique structure.



Some of the trees looked like they were especially created just for Christmastime.












And when the sun shone pale through the mist it lit up the hillsides to display a fairyland...


...of sparkling woods.

How To Reduce Our Pollution Intake On Car Journeys

Ozone is a major component of urban air pollution and is associated with increased cardiovascular and pulmonary hospitalizations and deaths. An article published in the October Journal of Immunology and described by EurekAlert! says: "Ozone shuts down early immune response in lungs and body". The mechanisms for this remain unclear, and pulmonary researchers at Duke University Medical Center have been performing studies to find out more.

John Hollingsworth, M.D., and lead author of this study, said: "...it appears that ozone causes the innate immune system to overreact, killing key immune system cells, and possibly making the lung more susceptible to subsequent invaders, such as bacteria."

The article concludes: "The Environmental Protection Agency is in the final phases of reviewing and possibly updating the standards for allowable levels of ozone in the air. The current standard says that any amount greater than 85 parts per billion can be unhealthy for those at risk. Many medical groups, including the American Thoracic Society, recommend setting a stricter standard of 60 parts per billion, citing studies showing ozone's adverse effects on health, especially in children and those with compromised health."

One way we can take some control of the amount of exposure we undergo is to minimize it by using an air filter in our car. When we're out driving we can be exposed to a vast amount of pollution. Exhaust from cars and trucks, heavy duty vehicles on construction sites, ... the list is varied and long. One very effective and easy-to-install filter is the XR-100 Car air purifier. This air filter removes particles, odors, particulates and volatile organic compounds, and it cleans the air within the car 10 times per hour. This costs approximately 150 pounds UK Sterling.
It has straps to hang it from the back of a front seat and it plugs into the cigarette lighter outlet.





My experience is that it makes a tremendous difference and it's a simple and effective way to significantly reduce exposure to pollution on car journeys.
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New Year's Walk

We started out the New Year by going for a really nice walk in the foothills of the Jura mountains. The ground is very coarse and bleak, but there's a rough beauty to the scenery.

Looking out across Lac Leman are the Alps.





They almost look like they're hanging from another world.In spite of the cold there are lots of birds around. We saw a kestrel hovering, intent on his hunt.


To the casual observer it would seem there was little happening on the mostly frozen hillside. Looking close though we saw rabbit droppings, mouse trails dug into the soil through the dry grass and many freshly turned heaps of soil.











Some of the trees retain their green, contrasting nicely with the blue sky above the Jura.












Others have lost their leaves, but the intricacy of their branches is fascinating.



The delicacy of a tree's construction is amazing to see.




The slopes are a great place to walk and enjoy the views.
The snowy Jura are fantastic and refreshing to see. The air coming across them is very cold, but also replenished with clear oxygen. It's revitalizing.






We went again today. It was totally different from yesterday: there was no sun, the sky was grey, clouds were low and it was even colder and no one else in sight.

But it felt so good to us that we plan to walk there, or nearby, most days from now on. So we're starting the year with a new thing.

This is also the 101th post on DweezelJazz blog.

Here's to a good start to 2008: Happy New Year!
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