On a cold yet Sunny afternoon (Nachmittag) at the end of a walk, we find ourselves at the doorstep of Thomas Nann: a local teacher & hobby farmer. Thomas is nowhere in sight.. a few minutes later we're greeted by his wife and dog. She explains that Thomas is out pruning his Apple/Pear trees. His Chickens & Geese are all cozied up inside the barn and there's no chance for me to take any pictures.
Shaking our hands, Thomas explains that a farmer's job does not end with the drop in temperature. There's pruning, regular maintenance, animals to take care of & not to miss the Juicing work: Grappas/Schnapps, Wine & local Apple juice 
Thomas is a retired high-school teacher turned hobby farmer who cares for both his land and the animals. He uses ecological growing practices (not to miss the solar panels) and allows for natural smaller yields in alternate years.
He takes us on a tour of his farm or what little is left in the winter. I'm surprised to find Kale, Fennel, Spring-Onions, Broccoli, Garlic & herbs still managing to withstand the freezing temps. This part of Beckenried (behind the Kirche) hardly gets any Sun in Winters.
As we walk around the vegetable beds, Thomas breaks a stem from FlowerSprout (a Hybrid of Kale & Brussel Sprouts) and proceeds to discard the long leaves on the ground. Ouch!! I could use them for a salad... I'm wondering if I should be shameless enough to collect them. After all, his compost pile wouldn't miss a few leaves. Soon he's discarded all leaves except for a few at the top. I'm forming the appropriate sentence in German in my head and summoning up the courage to ask for the leaves when he unexpectedly hands the Stem to me.. The Brussel-Kale-Bouquet is a gift for me!!! Awww... this is certainly better than a Kale Salad!! I'm all smiles & Thomas tells us that he's left the baby unfurled fronds on the stem. These can be sautéed for a side-dish.. Oh My.. I can have my bouquet and eat it too.. What JOY!!!
A stone sculpture catches our eye and Thomas explains that it's made out of one single stone. Pretty neat design depicting the continuity of life -- starting from Earth and reaching up to the Sky (Sun) and returning back to Earth.
We move on to his Spirits Room.. Steel & Copper Pot Stills, Shelves upon shelves of bottles and flasks of all shapes. He explains the process but my Swiss-german isn't good enough to make sense of anything and i just enjoy gazing over the amazing collection of Grappa: from Walnuts, Apples, Pears, Plums, Blackberry, Elderberry, Herbs (Mint, Sage). The tasting room is a barrage of fragrances.. from dried herbs to fruits, to herb oils to apple juice. We taste a couple... Mmhhmm.. his spirits capture the local taste and flavors..
I'm about ready to start walking back home with some prized schnapps.. But wait there's more.. i learn that Thomas has another passion.. LPs. He takes us to a room stacked with ~30,000 cataloged LPs.. All rare & vintage classical records of songs, operas, concerts. He speaks passionately about his collection and how the current generation of so-called singers is ruining Music.
I walk out a little dizzy from the dose of fresh air, dried fruit, grappa and music with a vow to support local, small-scale farmers like Thomas who are all but becoming extinct.
