Saillon Switzerland

Saillon Switzerland
Originally uploaded by ellengwallace.

Yesterday my daughter, who was not feeling well, and I drifted up and down the mountains on small roads like the ones you see here. I was not pleased that the price of gas has gone up again, after a month or so of gently sliding down. But if you drive slowly enough the tank empties at a snail's pace. Tara finds car travel very soothing and we nibbled on some excellent crisp apples, usually hard to find this far past autumn.

In the Valais most of the vines belong to families - tiny patches of vineyard that provide a bit of extra income, historically. The vineyards were busy, with people using their weekend free time to prune back the vines. Bundles of branches lay between the vines, waiting to be collected.