Hauterive vineyard

The grapevines are changing color too.

Fall rainbow

The hills behind our house are currently very colorful.

New building

A few months ago, I noticed a building near us that had holes in its roof. Soon afterwards, it was demolished. Excavation of the site soon followed, and now they're beginning to build. The excavation looks terraced, but it isn't. The building to be built here will eventually house Zak's lab.

Quince harvest

Our landlady harvested her quince this week.

Passage interdit

There are many sets of stairs all over Neuchâtel, but this may be my favorite. It always looks so beckoning

 the way it curves into darkness beyond its "forbidden" sign.

Pasta and bread

Additional preparations for our meal.

Italian dinner party

Yesterday we had a small dinner party for the guys who took care of Fred while we were in Italy. On the menu: creamy tomato soup, fettucini (from our cooking class) with mushrooms, garlic bread, stuffed eggplants, caprese salad, parmesan with special balsamic vinegar, and Zak's homemade truffles. 

Honeylocust

Remember the honeylocust from two weeks ago? It got trimmed in that special, European way.

Goats

This is a photo of the goats at the Abbey back in April. The audio file is of them grazing last weekend.
Only one goat in the herd of 50 wears a bell.

Curly-haired pigs

These guys are a new addition to the menagerie at the Abbey. I think they may be Mangalitsas.

Sheepdog cat

Freddie and Zak recently watched the World Sheepdog Trials on TV. When the camera showed only the sheep, Fred's attention would wander. As soon as the dog was back, he was totally engaged. It was highly entertaining. He's watched the TV here only once before, for these commercials which aired back to back: Royal Wedding corgis and toilet paper koala.

Peppers

We harvested our pepper crop last weekend for a spicy meal. The two thinner ones came from a plant given to us
by a friend. The jalapeño came from seeds I planted in May.

Slug

Also at the botanical garden.

Snail

Possibly a Helicella itala we saw at the botanical garden on Sunday.

Virginia creeper

More autumn colors.

Mailman

At last! A photo of a Neuchâtel mailman on his mail scooter.

Scales

All the stands at the market use old-fashioned scales to weigh produce.

European peacock butterfly

I wrote to a local butterfly expert for help with identification of this European peacock (Inachis io) who visited our celosia plant.

Airshow

The festival included a demonstration of precision flying by six Swiss jets.

Fête des Vendanges

Our local Fête des Vendanges, a fall harvest festival, took place a couple weeks ago. Here: parade floats (in the parade-float barn) covered in fresh flowers.

Sumac

A flaming red sumac near Zak's work.

Euonymus

I got some strange looks from a fellow pedestrian who saw me on the ground under this shrub to get the photo 

I wanted. I think the fruits of the European spindle (Euonymus europaeus) are utterly charming.

Boston ivy

Boston ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata) on the north side of a neighbor's house.

Fern-leaf maple

The beautiful leaves of the fern-leaf maple (Acer japonicum 'Aconitifolium') beside the honeylocust.

Autumn

The days are getting shorter, temperatures are dropping, and the trees around town are changing color.
Here: a honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos) next to a small red maple.

Lake Thun

Lake Thun is always the most beautiful shade of blue.

Another cow

Alpine cow.

Paraglider

Paragliding is very popular in the Alps. This guy flew right over the hiking party.

Alpine excursion

A few days after we returned from Italy, Zak's whole lab went on an overnight outing to the Alps. The first day: a hike and social activities. The second day: a meeting and factory tour. They started the hike here in Kiental, and ended 6.5 hours later in Blausee in the neighboring valley.

ZARA

The combined name Zak's cousins gave us (also an international clothing brand).

This is the end of the Emilia-Romagna photos. Back to Switzerland tomorrow.