BRAMELOUP CHALET
FALL

Spring . Summer . Fall . Winter


View in Fall

As the temperature and the leaves both drop, the forest that seemed so close in the summer opens up so that you can see the village across the river and the far mountains.

Now it is berries that add dashes of colour to the greens and browns of the forest.




 

The little Japanese garden outside my bedroom window also takes on Autumn colours.

Japanese maple
Maple
Japanese maple 2015

chalet in autumn

red Azalea leaves

Japanese maple
Another Japanese maple in the front yard

Whenever I clear some brambles and saplings to extend the garden, there is more burning to do.

Putting up a good supply of firewood for the winter becomes a priority, although it is work that continues all year round. I try to bring in as much firewood as possible. There are always fallen trees in the forest to be carried up to the chalet, cut up and stored under the eaves or in the woodsheds.

Bringing up a fallen tree from the forest

Piling firewood under the eaves

       


chalet in autumn colors

The trees take on autumn colours and lose their leaves, one species after another. It is so quiet that you can hear the leaves falling in the forest. If there is a gust of wind, the air fills with leaves like confetti.

fall colours

autumn leaves

Colourful carpet of fallen leaves

 


As the days turn cool, it is time for the first fires in the fireplace, adding the occasional odour of wood smoke.


This is the season for planting trees and shrubs. For several years I extended the garden and added some fruit trees. Now I mainly try to slow the encroachment of the forest in my meadows,

Watering a new Rhododendron
 

Planting another plum tree

It is also harvest time for my potatoes and jerusalem artichokes, my main food crops

Digging potatoes
Digging potatoes

The early fall is often dry, so it is a good time to do outside maintenance. I finished plastering and painting the outside of the chalet in 2005 after adding a layer of insulation in 2004. In  2015 I repaired the balcony.

Finishing the last layer of cement

Painting


When I gain weight with too much travelling, I can always work it off around the chalet. I did lose some time in 2007 making repairs after a burglar tried to break in by cutting through the shutters with a chain saw (he failed to get in). Finally I was able to get everything ready for the winter. Fortunately attempted break-ins are rare, and my alarm is a good dissuasion.



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Last updated 25 October 2017

Photographs copyright © Arthur Lyon Dahl 2005-2017, all rights reserved