Observe | Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss

I observe permanently. You never know if you might get a good theme for a photo. Today was wonderful weather, Spring is on its way, almost here, and the sky was showing itself at its best. I was visiiting Mr. Swiss at his golden oldie refuge and this photo was from the grounds. At last we can go out, sit on a bench and enjoy the fresh air. Mr. Swiss told me that they have four new kid goats in the grounds and showed me the questionnaire where the guests in the home should suggest names for the goats. This was naturally an invitation for me to take some photos..

And here they are, all males. They make such wonderful squeaky noises, being youngsters.

They are so sweet, and now I can observe them growing during the Summer. Their horns have just began to show on their heads. They have one of the older goats still, a female, and she seems to be organising the youngsters.

FOWC with Fandango: Observe

The main idea is to have something to observe and remember what you have observed. Observing has become one of my hobbies . One day my workplace no longer needed, or perhaps, wanted me. I had become old, no longer full of energy and sparkling ideas. “The Moor has done his duty, the Moor can go” in the words of Friedrich Schiller in his work “Fiesco” dated 1783. And these words still have a ring of truth. Do your job and go, after all you get paid for it and when you are too old and tired and no longer able, then go gracefully with no big bother, you receive a pension.

That was my position after working for 30 years in the same company. Saving and working economically was always important for the survival of a company. One day you no longer went home in the evening with a little thought in the back of your mind on how to solve a few problems the next day, because there would be no next day. It does not happen suddenly, but with official notification that you no longer need to return. Your company does it in the interest of all of course, and you will be treated fair, but the Moor can go.

At last you have reached the road unemployment. It has a good side and a not so good side. The good side is that you still get paid, but this time from the state. The bad side is what to do with your spare time if you remain healthy.

I think that was the worst part. I looked forward to retirement, but retirement comes at an age when active sports are no longer possible. You are now free to travel and go places and see things, but the body may not be able to. Walking has become difficult, you tire quickly. No-one told you about this side of retirement. It was to be a straight and easy path to take and to have fun.

What do you do with all this free time. We live in a digital era and computers are part of it for me. I had a digital camera and began to take photos, but I wanted more. I got my first DSLR camera. I became an observer.

Scaffolding 2

I discovered it is not important what you observe, but why you observe it and how you observe it. At the moment the building opposite ours is being renovated and so I sit outside on the porch with one of my cameras and one of my lens and take a few photos. Yes, the DSLR cameras are now two and lens according to how I want to see the subject. No-one pays me for this work, it is a duty of love. Taking photos has made me see more detail in life. You go shopping but look around you. There is a noise, a glass jar full of pickles has fallen off the shelf and broken. Grab your camera and take a photo, why not. I do. We even now have cameras on our mobile phones, and no matter where or what, you can take a photo. I have overcome my health problems. I do not sit around waiting for the next doctor’s appointment, I have observations to make. I even made observations of the decor in the waiting room of the doctor’s surgery. No matter where you are, you can take your observations home with you.

Hauptgasse Solothurn entrance 09.06 (4)