cute snail on the quest of finding shelter and food.
after all the cultural world heritage gardens and city visits i needed a serious reboot back to nature. i found exactly that on a 8 km hike around wildsachsen, a small district in the community of hofheim in the taunus mountains. i basically chose a hiking path that followed the symbol of a fallow deer antler, though i made a few deviations here and there. the landscapes around wildsachsen are hilly of course, only natural in a place called the taunus mountains. there were lots fields and orchard meadows, woods and the occasional marsh. i encountered quite a few sheep and even the deer that gave the route the name! though it was quite a warm may day, almost a little too hot for my taste, i still enjoyed this hike a lot. sometimes the less 'sensational' excursions are just what the doctor needed to prescribe to you, as there is also beauty in landscapes that don't offer meticulously planned park paths with lots of mythical surprises. sometimes 'simple' agricultural sceneries just do the same trick on your mind - the perfect switch off to everyday routines.
small streams cut through the meadows and field landscapes, at first i followed the seyenbach for a bit. this stream later confluences to klingenbach river, together with another small rivulet called hollerbach.
i was a little late to the canola blossom game, all the fields weren't as brightly yellow as they actually are on the zenith of the season.
the fields still were a wonderful spring green, though ( which often stops being the case when summer rolls around and everything turns more yellow and brown - the downside of summer are the droughts after all, and we have those in the taunus mountains as well ).
close-up on some canola blossoms.
i climbed on top of a small hill called seyenberg and ended up coming upon old orchard meadows. these orchard meadows are often apple and pear meadows, but occasionally you can also find cherries. unfortunately, may is not known to be a month of fruit harvest, and most of the blossoms have also withered, but it all is well, because fresh green leaves are a good substitute for at least the eye nourishment ;)
tiny delicate blossoms - i think it's the blossoms of ground elder! ( which is edible, but i am always having a hard time to properly identify it ).
on i marched, passing by more apple trees.
you could see that the trees were planted by humans a while ago, they were neatly positioned in even intervals. wildsachsen inhabitants were always known for being fruit growers professionally...
... but also farmers in general. i don't know what will grow here eventually, but whatever - not important. because what got my eye was the neatly piled rows of soil. and the little pittoresque wooden vehicle in the back. but mostly those straight lines, creating a wonderful contrast to the nature around it.
lines above and lines below.
it looked so pretty to me! LOVE me some geometrical vibes.
and also, non-geometrical elements as well. look at these beautiful blossoms! they are known as 'snowballs' in german, the official name is 'viburnum opulus roseum'.
couldn't get enough of these! even when slightly withering they are beautiful.
love when there are green fields as well, especially pretty in late spring, early summer. and the views were wonderful, looking out on the surrounding taunus mountains.
eventually found a shortcut down a hill to get to the other side of the valley.
discovered an abandoned hut, but was too chicken-hearted to check it out. it had a strange dark mood going on, usually a sign that one should back off, lol.
bird vetch abloom!
at the end of my shortcut, which was an almost invisible green path through grass, i made a little detour towards the cemetery of wildsachsen, where i encountered some fluffy big sheep nearby!
all the fluffy wool staring back at you.
there were some little ones prancing around as well, but they hid well behind their moms and other props, so i couldn't take proper photos. ( can you spot the little one? )
on a trailer right next to the sheep was a very lovely and cute depiction of a different kind of sheep. 🐑
returning back to my initial path, that now led me through some marshy landscape and reed fields. the golden tops of the reed where shining like halos above them! these fields are natural monuments and under protection.
i mean, come on, isn't this a good colour combo? it screamed summer, actually, even though summer was not even there yet!
on a big meadow i encountered these fallow deer, who were hiding far away from me from the sun under big trees.
towards the end of my little hike i returned into the woods.
which was an utter jungle, so to speak.
i was quite smashed after this hike, because it had been so warm all the time, but ending my hike in the woods was such a good cool-off. though i didn't take any more photos of it, be assured that the forest was basically looking like this all the way through, green and lush and kind of moist. a very good combination after all the sun i went through earlier.
i think i will return to this area again, though not particularly wildsachsen. there's more little places surrounding it and more valleys and hills to discover, but seeing that i rarely explored the region of hofheim yet, it is a good excuse to return.
until then, stay curious ;)
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