great cormorants in february trees.
the unstrut river near where my parents live is one of my favourite places. this little river has grown dear to me, which is funny, as i have never shown any interest in it in younger years. i only started to appreciate it after i moved out and 300 kilometers away. it's 192 kilometer long ( starting in the west of thuringia in the eichsfeld region ) and flows through my home state until it ends up nourishing the saale river in naumburg in the east. the part of the river i know best can be found near sömmerda, which is only a few kilometers away from where i actually grew up. whenever i visit my parents it is on our must-do list, and there are always little surprises making these visits even sweeter.
on this visit my mom and i made a walk along the river near schallenburg, a tiny little village district of sömmerda.
high up in the treetops we caught sight of some cormorants. these black companions usually can be found near bodies of water, hunting for fish.
the unstrut river seems to carry plenty of fish for the birds these days and in recent years the return of the beaver also made news around here. i have seen plenty of chopped down trees the past year, which was quite frankly super exciting for me, as i had never encountered beaver felled trees in my life before. that february though, we didn't see any of it.
a small island in the river.
here the river has canal characteristics. the unstrut has been straightened over the centuries and only in recent times people started working on restoring its former natural riverbed. hence why you still encounter some of the canal parts from time to time.
i just love the reflections of the trees inside the waters of the river 😍
the surrounding fields offer wonderful perspectives as well.
right next to the river is a cycle lane, which can also be used by promenaders. the lane is part of a bike trail following the course of the river from its original source to the mouth in naumburg, and i hear it's a pretty lovely one. i kind of want to do that trail together with my dad some time in the future, that would be neat. maybe we can figure something out.
there are some levees around the river as well, as it is known to overflow from time to time. behind those levees you can find old relicts of milestones or other little structures like fences for horse or sheep paddocks.
many little canals cut through the landscapes, they were mainly built in medieval times to water fields for agricultural use. many of these canals don't have a name, but they can be attributed to several little streams and rivers in the area. some are also abandoned meanders of the unstrut river, but as i am not a geologist i can't make out for sure which is which. i think this is actually a little canal supplied with water from the unstrut river.
i really like this photo of my momma waiting for me on the dyke.
sometimes i fantasize about structures like these being some sort of magical place, where the old ones, our ancestors, did rituals and paid homage to mother earth.
little patches of riverside woodlands everywhere. there's an abandoned channel of the river in the back ( i only found out after looking on google maps! ). i will try to check that part out the next time i'm visiting this place!
the sun setting beautifully in the evening, tinting everything in gold. can you spot me and my mom inbetween the long shadows?
returning home the sky was doing a most breathtaking spectacle. a candy cotton sky in perfection ❤
back in wiesbaden i ventured out to igstadt on a sunday. igstadt is a district of wiesbaden, but it has a very rural character, situated in the 'ländchen' ( basically a small countryside ) - a historical area east of wiesbaden. it is a rather agricultural area, lots of grain fields and fruit orchards everywhere. igstadt's most prominent landmark is the water tower, which was repurposed into a place of residence! quite frankly, living in such a building is a fantasy i sometimes exert myself in 😅
i mean, a 360 degree balcony with a view on the surrounding lands and cities? count me in!
someone spiced up a boring garage with some mexican flavour! so random, but it surely enhances the bruised garage door ;)
forlorn places are eerie places ( kind of - i like them a lot 😛 )
i ventured out of the village and stumbled upon some fruit tree meadows. this is such a typical sight in this area.
brushwood with lots of different lichen! did you know that lichen belong into the category of mushrooms? it's because they only grow in symbiosis with mushrooms and photosynthetic algae or bacteria.
i always feel weirdly attracted to the structures and the colours of lichen, i mean, these are teeny-tiny animate beings, so that alone is remarkable about them.
view into the 'ländchen', towards kloppenheim and taunus mountains.
'skyline' of kloppenheim, with the most distinct building being the evangelical church.
this old building was formerly a brick manufacture ( obvious also through the clinker facade and the chimney ;) ) these days it houses several accommodation units and an IT company.
nothing beats a proper skeleton tree landscape ;)
in front of the old brick manufacture there was a field of withered sunflowers.
empty sunflower head.
snapped off. i really like this picture with the old brickstone factory in the back!
the whole scenery felt a bit ominous and spooky.
the first crocuses were rearing their heads! ( showing that it is not very uncommon to have early bloomers like this in february - this year they also emerged at the same time! )
some lovely winter aconites. also very common around this time of year.
they surely are the cutest with their little ruffs.
walking back to the village.
i haven't made a lot of pictures in the village itself ( there wasn't really something that caught my eye, it's just a normal village without a lot of special details and i was definitely more focussed on exploring the lands around it, soaking in some spring vibes ).
ending the post with a last picture of the water tower in full glory!
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