Tow this into the forest

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In Israel we carefully plant trees, one by one, and nurture them.
People around the world donate money to Keren Kayemet to plant trees in barren landscapes.
It is against the law to cut down a tree without special permission.

But here in Austria it is almost like a mitsvah, a good deed, to fell some trees.
I was told that the forests are simply taking over the land.

We saw this by the wayside while hiking from down from Hochart.

You just tow it into the woods and start sawing.
The logs fit neatly into the back part.

You see woodpiles everywhere here in rural Austria.
I'm a bit envious, especially when I read this report from the 1990s about Austria's forest harvesting:
"Forest land: 3.9 million ha (46% of the total area, 0.5 ha per capita). The forest area is steadily increasing by some 2,000 ha a year ..."
One hectare (ha) = 2.47 acres.    Sigh ...
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Checking the Kouga Dam overflowing

A week or two three ago we spent the weekend at Tia Ghee Tented Camp in the Gamtoos Valley and heard that the Kouga Dam was still overflowing after good late winter and spring rains.  We immediately decided to take a drive up to the dam for a look and we definitely weren't disappointed.

 

From the tar road, very close to where it becomes dirt going into the Baviaanskloof, there is a dirt road turnoff to the left and about 7 or so kilometers later you arrive at the dam.  The low water bridge over the river was under water and the road on the one side of the cement bridge is totally washed away so we parked the car, took off our shoes and went a wading.

Just less than a kilometer's walk up the hill and we got to the lookout area at the top. What a sight!

The lookout area looks right down on the dam with views both upstream above the wall and downstream back to where the car was parked in the distance.

I really struggle to get Chaos Boy to pose for photos lately so was just too glad when he flashed me a smile for this one. *mxm* (which means tongue click for those who don't know) Teenagers!

With Drama Princess it's the total opposite.  She'll happily pose with a smile, do the natural thing and pretend to be looking at something or perform for the camera.

 

Walking back down through the tunnel on our way back to the car

One last pose as we made our way back through the river to the car.  Everybody was in agreement that taking the drive to the dam was a great idea, even if the KidZ complained all the way while walking up.  Coming back down they were all smiles.

 

Note - 3 November 2015 - At the time of posting this we just had a huge amount of rain dumped on us again over the last week so the dam is definitely still overflowing.  If you want to see this for yourself, do take a drive into the beautiful Gamtoos Valley this weekend.  Why not get away properly and book for the weekend at Tia Ghee?  You won't be sorry.

Fall Garden, Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia

Colonial Williamsburg's nursery is in the midst of its Fall growing season with a variety of lettuces and other cooler weather veggies.

Museum Visit - Imperial War Museum

A grand building, a beautiful park and interesting exhibits. The Imperial War Museum has much to offer.  My visit was to see the exhibition "Lee Miller: A Woman's War".  A selection of photographs that document Miller's life from model to reporter for Vogue magazine in the early part of her career, and then war correspondent.   She became a reputable war photographer, one of the first women to bring back images from the war zones.

Many of the images in the exhibition are from the Lee Miller archives set up by her son Anthony Penrose following her death in 1977.   A fascinating life of an extraordinary woman.

The exhibition runs until April 2016.

Rocky Mountain High

Recreational marijuana is legal in Colorado, sold at highly regulated dispensaries. It is illegal under national law but the feds stay out of the way. A local told told us that a study of the experiment had just been completed by law enforcement agencies and social scientists. No increase in crime, no change in auto accidents, no change in health statistics and the state is making truckloads of money. Everybody's happy. This store is in Manitou Springs, adjacent to Colorado Springs.

Do you think it should be permitted in your area?

By the way, I assume the name of the store is a reference to the old Bob Dylan song.