18 May 2017

Eau du Schweiz

I think this title is a good example of Swiss humor. You will not find this in a perfume store. One of my first German teachers was from Heidelberg. I believe it was her who introduced the word "Misthaufen" to me. As my times in CH increased, I found her description of this entity evident on many occasions both in CH and in Germany. "Misthaufen" refers to a (hopefully large) pile of cow manure intermixed with hay that sits outside a farmer's barn. Some years ago, a law was made that it must sit on concrete I believe. Supposedly, the larger the pile, the more prosperous the farmer.

I am uncertain of this, but knowing the Swiss penchant for detail, I suspect that somewhere in the Swiss agricultural archives in Bern, there is some sort of quantification regarding Misthaufen. Staying on topic here, this leads to the above title. After the grass is cut, as previously described, the fields are left relatively bare. Two things then happen. First, all the barnyard cats are immediately evident in the fields in watchful poses and scrutinizing the ground. They feast on any field mouse that happens to venture out without the benefit of overlying grass protection. The second thing that takes place is "misting". "Mist" is manure from the Misthaufen. This is applied in two ways; the usual is mixed with water and sprayed from a truck apparatus similar to a street cleaning vehicle. Sometimes, there is a hose attached to the truck which allows for more precise placement of material along roads, driveways, or sidewalks. The second application process is placement on the mist out of a truck with a fan blade arrangement that flings a more solid manure onto the fields. My own description of this is "flinging" or "plopping". Two things are important here. This activity is closely related to a forecast for rain. Rain promotes good absorption of the manure and prevention of burning the newly mowed grass shoots. The other thing less common is that it is illegal for misting to take place onto snow. This applies to spring when a sudden snow can occur especially at higher altitudes. I expect this law was passed to curtail the likelihood of tourists being exposed to fields covered with brown and fragrant snow.

OK now, the topic approaches exhaustion. By now, one can imagine that "Eau du Schweiz" refers to the unique odor briefly enjoyed by all. I have know people who, without fail, can sniff and tell which farmer's product is out there. Cutting grass, misting, and following rains go together, so take a umbrella (for the rain).

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