when i visited my parents we went picking for wood garlic, which is actually pretty difficult if you don't know the right places. i, for example, have been on the look-out for wood garlic fields for several years now, but i still haven't found one in my area. wood garlic ( also commonly knows as ramsons or bear's garlic ) grows only a few weeks in april, sometimes it's still available in may. my parents however did find a huge wood garlic field in weimar, and they go there every year for picking until their basket is filled to the brim. they use the herb for making their own pesto and herb butter, or just for seasoning meals.
a tiny patch of the whole wild garlic field. there was so much, i think it would serve at least 2000 people.
the field is right next to a very important memorial in weimar. these fenced in trees are part of the buchenwald memorial ( one of the many german concentration camps of world war II ), behind the fence there is a graveyard of the victims that died during the times when the soviets took hold of the former concentration camp. there are metal bars inbetween the trees to show where they found bodies. if you look closely, you can see some of the rods.
this is not a wild garlic pant, but the little blossom was still pretty! in the background you can see the leaves of the wild garlic.
a basket full of delicious ramsons.
my parents suddenly had the idea to visit a small pond in another area of the woods, remembering that it could be time for the annual toad gathering. and guess what, it was exactly that time! i have seriously never seen so many toads in one place in my entire life! it was a very interesting thing to see - the toads being glued together in huge toad balls, fighting for their right to knock up a toad lady. or to see those little egg strings that look like pearl laces and to listen to the tiny croaks that echoed all over the little pond. it was a fantastic experience!
hello, little creature!
here you can see tidbits of the egg strings.
toad ball in the water.
a male toad with his sweetheart. i love how female toads are so much bigger than their male partners :)
and it didn't end with the toads! after our pond adventure we decided to visit family in weimar. my cousin and his family have a little garden outside of the city and after we found out they were staying there, we paid them a visit! my great cousin found a cute smooth newt in the garden pond.
i was over the moon with all the amphibians. :)
and we spent all evening with chalk drawing.
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