ONE SPRING DAY

We had not visited "our" mountain (Uludag) in a couple of months, so we decided a drive was in order to check out Spring on the different levels and sides of the mountain.  For weeks we'd been wishing for warmer, dryer weather and this particular day in Bursa it was a lovely sunny, warmer day - finally.  Not so sunny at the top though - the temperature dropped dramatically, the clouds rolled in and it rained.  But, we managed to discover a new part of the park that warrants exploration on a sunnier day.

 Multi layers of spring greens greeted us at every turn from the tree foliage, to the newly erupting flowers, to the shoots in the newly cultivated fields.  Add the white cherry blossoms and it was beautiful.  More sun was the only thing missing.  The cherries that are grown up and on top of the mountain fill the markets after the current season cherries are finished, ensuring we have cherries in our markets for much longer.  Yea for cherries!

 

 

 In the top photo you can just see the lady in red sitting on the ground; probably having a tea break from working hard in this garden plot.

Geoff noticed this farm in the distance and what appeared to be workers in the field close by; after zooming in for a look, what a surprise...

 

 Hoe, hoe, hoeing the raspberry patch...no motorized tiller here...

 And no diesel tractor, just a two horse "motor" and single plow....

   Wonder  how long this will take?

There was still snow at the top, mostly in the shady areas and higher up than we could drive.  Streams and waterfalls were flowing quickly from snow melt, and there were lots of these little "snow melt" streams that had carved their paths under the snow.

 We drover further  down the road that goes to the cable car until it ended at this stream that was roaring along.  If you cross the stream by rock jumping, you can chose from two walking paths....we are looking forward to seeing where they will lead...maybe to that waterfall we can hear.

The first signs of spring on the mountain, tiny yellow and purple crocus.  They appeared in some most unexpected places.

 

And in rolled the clouds, wind and rain, so we headed down the other side...

 Raspberries we get in the local markets comes from these mountains.  The raspberry canes were leafing out...hope it is a good crop.  It was interesting to see all the income possibilities the mountains offer to the locals.

  



This is the same location we took photos of the changing leaves in the autumn.  Now there are all the beautiful shades of spring.

 We had planned to picnic on the mountain, but the rain ruined that idea, so we found this quiet little offshoot of the Nilifer River and parked ourselves here for our picnic.

While we were looking around our spot, we noticed these two old buildings, wondering what they were in their day.

Thank you Uludag, on all your levels and sides for giving us another day of change and beauty.  We will see you again soon.