15 January 2011

Natural heating



Almost all houses here have heating based on methane gas, but often they also have an open fireplace or a stove. This is why you see firewood stacked up in almost every backyard (this one is ours).

14 January 2011

What remains (III)



Super empty parking lot at the biggest shopping center we have here near by: empty after the big Christmas rush.

13 January 2011

We want the sun!



It keeps raining. And when it stops, there comes the fog. It's time for some sun!

12 January 2011

What remains (II)



What remains after the Christmas period?...a Santa still climbing the wall, but he lost his hat in the effort!

11 January 2011

What remains (I)



This is leftover from this long period of Christmas' and New Year's days...a switched off sign saying "wishes".

10 January 2011

Ice, ice



We live in the countryside. Along every road, before the grass fields waiting for the next season, runs a ditch, that fills up with water when it rains preventing flooding. Now all the water is frozen.

09 January 2011

One coin a day



Three children, three piggy banks. Every evening, daddy gives each kid a coin (one euro cent, 5 euro cents!) and they run to put it in their one.

08 January 2011

A frozen drop



This winter hasn't been very cold up to now. The coldest days never went under -3°C (26°F) and we did have some snow, but it melted away pretty fast. Anyway, in some places ice doesn't melt away...as the drop falling from this faucet in the garden.

07 January 2011

It's cold...for everyone



It's cold. Looking out of the window, I see a robin hopping closer and closer to the house...till it stops on some cable that lies there outside. I can almost seeing him (or her?) smiling to me!

In Italian, this bird is called pettirosso, that literally means red chest...nice name, don't you think?

06 January 2011

New Year...time for a new start



Happy New Year. And Happy New Start! I'm back again after a long time. Now happily mother of three (ages 7, 5 and 2), I might say busily mother of three, I still keep taking lots of pictures...so I really feel as coming back to my blog.

To start, a picture taken yesterday evening. The night before Epiphany (today, 6th January) traditionally the casera is being burn on the river. A very tall stack of wood and hay is put at the center of the river Lemene (on floating metal barrels) and is given fire. According to how the smoke and sparks move, elder people make a prevision on how the harvest will be in summer.