Gagala News (G-log #3)

For weeks, it rained and drizzled. Then, there was a gap in the clouds for one day. I watched the weather website minute by minute, and at 8 a.m., the rain stopped and the clouds slowly disappeared, heading south. I started the planned tour and reached the first mountain peak after 30 minutes. There were still some clouds, but I took some pictures. It might be my last chance because many trees are already without leaves. Then, I took the new route through the woods and took my first shot there. But then came the big disappointment. A quad with two women in green camouflage clothing appeared and informed me that the woods were closed for hunting. Great, just what I needed. I could only drive back and stopped where I had taken the first shots. I took a few more with more sunlight. Then, I took a few shots from the valley where I take my morning walks. That's all I could do. I was too exhausted to plan an alternative route. The next few days will be the same as before: rain and drizzle. After that, autumn will definitely be over. Better luck next year... See the shots at Gagaland.

It's been a few days since I took these pictures, but I just got around to editing them. These are the last shots I took this fall, unfortunately I couldn't get out of the house in time to drive around and find some nice motifs (I just can't afford it anymore). Maybe winter will bring some better opportunities.

It's my car's B-day, 20 years on the road. I bought it used in 2016 and it still runs great. It's making some new noises now, and the "stainless steel" muffler is starting to rust, the paint is peeling, and I can't afford new tires for this coming winter, but it still reliably starts when I need it. So far, I've only had one major repair that cost more than I paid for the car when I bought it. Thank you, my little French friend, for getting me this far, and may you go many, many miles without a breakdown for a long, long time. It's unthinkable that something bad would happen to it, I don't have the money for a new one.

Thanks to all my supporters for my livelihood, so I can still be on the road with Baby Blue, even if it's just once or twice a week.

P.S. a few new shots at Gagaland.

Last Thursday the battery of my car was empty, so I was late at the supermarket and I forgot my cooler, I couldn't buy dairy or frozen food, then I went to a place I hadn't been before, but there were too many tourists and the area is too big for me to walk, I didn't get far enough. When I finally get a pedelec, I will go back. The area is called Schanze Forest Reserve and is a protected area, you are not even allowed to pick berries there, too bad that nobody controls such things. But if you choose the right path, you can still find peaceful and quiet places (except for the jet planes above). I only took a few pictures, you can see them at GAGALAND in 4k for free.

Last Thursday I was able to take some new pictures. If you are interested in landscape and nature photography, welcome to GAGALAND, 4k shots for free.

Right after shopping at the supermarket and having a cup of coffee at the bakery, I drove to this beautiful place. It's on the other side of the mountain, where I was two weeks ago, but this time it was hot as hell, summer has arrived. The sky was dull (which means nearly no clouds, which is boring for me), the wonderful fluffy clouds came too late, see the last picture at GAGALAND (shot after I was back in my apartment, totally exhausted).

1,5 km (1 mile) is the short distance I walked last Friday on the photo tour to the furthest point, the same place as last time. I was hoping for better weather conditions, but it was too foggy for landscape shots, so I made another study of trees in snow again. I have to admit that I'm obsessed with snow, I have to take every chance to shoot it, especially now that it's getting rarer and rarer. Since the last photo session on December 2nd, the snow had completely disappeared and came back a week ago, but due to my tight money situation, I only allow myself to use the car once a week (the place is too far to walk to), so I drove to the supermarket and then to a forest not far from the town of Winterberg. The parking lot hadn't been cleared of snow and my all-season tires didn't make it to the edge where I was supposed to be, so I parked my car in the middle of the lot. This time I had spikes on my rubber boots, but that was not necessary, the forest path was naturally covered with snow, lots of it. But my food intolerance attacked me again, I hadn't eaten enough, so my blood pressure dropped, and with no bench in sight, I lay down in the snow, my loden coat and lama wool hat keeping me warm. After 5 minutes I felt better. Next time I will eat something before doing another photo tour. Now it's Sunday and the frost is over, it will start to rain tonight. I hope Mr. Winter will come back, I still have some snowy landscapes to photograph. If you want to know where these photos were taken, most of them have GPS data in the metadata. With a program like XnView you can see it with one click.

Thanks to all my supporters for their support.

Take always good care of yourself and stay healthy!