Updated: Jan 7, 2019
by Rae Richen
Getting there:
Catching the correct part of the train was a trick we learned with the help of the station staff. Look in the right corner of each car for your train car number which is printed on the ticket.
As we arrived in Frutigen Valley, in Switzerland, we were hardly aware of the mountains because of the fog cover.
Behind this lovely old church, we found a graveyard with new and old graves containing all the names similar to those of my husband's family in Helvetia and Portland, Oregon.
The headstone for Margrit Reichen-Schmid reminded us that family stayed behind when the Reichens left for Portland, Oregon.
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Our name, Reichen, was changed to Richen. My husband's grandmother once told me the name change was the result of hatred for Germans during World War I. Note the log cabin and fir trees carved above the name. Margrit was a beloved mother, but only lived to be 45.
Whimsy in decoration seemed to come out in the gardens of the residents.
This fellow is dressed for company. Note tail accommodations in checked table cloth pants.
What may have been a water trough has become garden art, or perhaps a deterrent to curious dogs.
The tunnel where we found this map/sign takes off from Frutigen and heads for many miles in to the surrounding alps.
On our first morning, we awaken to find the mist of yesterday lifting. The fresh air of the first morning felt warm and refreshing. The sudden sight of the mountains, forced us to sit on the curb.
Frutigen is a walkable town. We climbed to this view in a half an hour.
Climb higher and you can see the waterfall coming from the snow field.
The contrast of dark rock, green moss meadow and icy water from the long snowfield is beautiful and cooling. This view is spectacular because the enormous mountains are so close and the drop of waterfall so long.
However, This view is also spectacular. After winter snows melt, these show up in early spring, and by June were going strong in every meadow. Sweet Woodruff and Dutchman's Breetches in the rocky shore of a creek.
And, a bonus, This is a view we can have at home as well.
Enjoy and share your travels and your wild meadows.
Updated: Jul 3, 2019
by Rae Richen
From the first sweaty moment on Paris’s Boulevard de Grenelle to the last heavy-breathing phone call in Kauai, criminal lawyer and loving sister, Angeline Porter, pulls us along toward swift but dangerous revenge.
Determined to have justice for her dead sister, Angeline sets out to kill the one who caused Sophie’s suicide.
She discovers that the causes were many and very, very slick.
Thus begins a ride toward justice that will have you reading into the night. When you close the book, you will cheer. You’ll also want to see what Angeline will be doing next.
Enjoy Revenge in 3 Parts.
Then, be on the lookout for more dark and dangerous mysteries from Valerie J. Brooks.
Available to pre-order for October 15th:
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_4_11?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=revenge+in+3+parts&sprefix=Revenge+in+%2Cstripbooks%2C212&crid=2J86O5IRN6OGE&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3Arevenge+in+3+parts
When kids ask about the moon, here's what we can tell them...
by Rae Richen
Many years ago, on a warm summer night, we visited the park with our nine neighbor children. We wanted to learn about the night sky. With us, we carried H.A. Rey’s great book Find the Constellations. We also had a flashlight covered with red cloth to make it possible to read without losing our night vision, and blankets, so we could look up without craning our necks.
The kids began asking about the phases of the moon. All of us were having trouble remembering how to tell if the moon is waxing or waning. So I made up a rhyme.
The waning moon is sad and bereft. The waning moon is white on the left. The waxing moon is happy and bright. The waxing moon is white on the right.
Here is what that looks like through the month, thanks to astronomologer.com at https://images.search.yahoo.com/
The Waxing and Waning Moon
Well, of course I had to explain the word bereft. But after I defined it, we had a lot of grief-stricken play-acting in the night park. The children tried to shine the flashlight on their own faces to show waxing and waning. They made faces to go with bereft waning and happy waxing.
And I didn’t yet own a camera. Darn!
My bit of doggerel has since passed down to my own children, and as they grow old enough to wonder about the night sky, it has passed to their children. I guess that’s the beginning of a mnemonic becoming folk wisdom.
In the present day, thanks to the internet, there are fun ways to visualize the moon, our earth’s shadow on the moon, and the light of the sun on the moon as the moon goes in and out of our shadow.
Lunar Sunset
I’ve also found some fun sites that explain the moon phases. Have fun with the following:
As seen from earth. Pretend to be standing on that watery planet in the middle.
and
Want more information? H.A. Rey, of Curious George fame, wrote and illustrated a very clear book about the night sky. Still in print and still fun to share with adults and children. Find the Constellations.
Rey's illustrations make it easy to remember the real shape of the constellation AND the Greek stories that often are associated with them.
On understanding the moon phases, here are two good sites I found:
