Landscapes for a transported Western mind

When I first moved into this apartment in August 2007, the area was very much a construction site.  Still, I  had a scenic view of the beloved vineyard, even though I had to use my imagination to visualize Lake Geneva beyond the trees.  I use the term "beloved" for the vineyard, because that area is zoned for wine-producing grapevines.  Such vineyards are about as sacrosanct as anything can be these days and, as such, they guarantee that no development can occur where they exist.  So, yes, "beloved" is a well warranted, if somewhat selfish on my part, description.

Of course, that particular view was soon obscured by a construction fence so that the development that my apartment belongs to could be completed.  Here is the same view early in 2008.  The vineyards have been denuded, as have the trees.  Little bits of lake water can be seen peeking through the tree branches.  The pink tinge in the background hints at the Alps.

The Alps can be seen better here as they reflect the winter sunset.

Here in the fall of 2008, one can see that the gardens belonging to the ground floor apartments had received some basic landscaping attention.  But real TLC is called for.  The construction fence is still with us.

Building continued into and throughout the winter.  The construction fence stayed with us.  But the Alps and a good lake view provided compensation for that.

Here is the fall of 2009.  Hallelujah, the construction fence is gone!  The equipment one can see is for the approaching vendanges (wine harvest).  I really do love that vineyard!

This is from February 2010 during one of our snowstorms.

And this photo was taken this afternoon.  OK it's still not as sunny and warm as I would like it to be for this time of year.  But it's beautiful and getting more so as time goes by - even though I am once again losing my lake view.  And yes, they're still working on that landscaping!  But when the vineyard turns green once again - there is just a hint of it here - and we have a day without haze, the view will be spectacular.