Exactly a year ago today, on July 31, 2020, we were in a part of Ukraine that reminded me very much of my childhood in Germany. Beautiful forests surrounding a picturesque village. Just a touch touristy in places, not too much. It is Ukraine’s own Wild West. “Wild” as in Nature and wildlife. I even heard the ringing grunt of a wild boar.
The boar would not show himself but there were some other memorable encounters and scenes. Take a look at some of these pictures.
This nest of White Storks was right on main street. The village, like many in neighbouring countries erect a platform for these storks to use as a foundation for their nests.
My Dad told me that there was also a stork nest in my hometown, Bensheim, Germany. Every year the storks would return to the same nest – until one day a drunk American GI used them for target practice.
Storks throughout parts of Europe face similar problems. For example, storks, as well as other migrating birds, had a hard time when they arrived in Albania from Africa. They were weary from flying over the Mediterranean yet could not land for fear of all the firing from hunters from Italy. It used to be that Italians would come over to Albania and pay money to hunt on Albanian lands, a country that had more wildlife (so I read) than in their own country.
But now, as of a year or two ago, hunting in Albania is severely restricted, if not outlawed altogether.
Left: Buds! Center: A very friendly horse. Right: The main church in town. Far right: Cemetery
I first noticed laser-etched gravestones when we were in the country of Georgia. Who knows? It may also be done in the US now. I have not been to the US for over a year or been to a US cemetery in many years.
The cemetery in Chisinau, Moldova is especially interesting in that regard. On those gravestones I saw etched the deceased holding, variously, a guitar, a cigarette, vodka, or a Kalishnikov! That cemetery in Chisinau, by the way, is said to be the largest in Europe.
Left: Eurasian Sparrowhawk being harried by a mob of swifts.
Center: Eurasian Goldfinch sings as pretty as he looks.
Right: The Green Woodpecker is often overlooked in orchards and other semi-open woodlands. Overlooked until he opens his mouth. His loud “yuk-yuk-yuk” sounds like he just got the joke that he heard earlier.
This fellow and the similar Grey-headed Woodpecker are not nearly as common as other woodpeckers, so it is always neat to see them.
Saint John’s Wort, Hypericum perforatum. The flowering top makes for a good traditional tea. We try to gather some every time we see this plant. There are several of these herbs that go under the general name of St. John’s Wort, Hypericum sp., but they all have varying amounts of hypericin and hyperforin. If you crush the yellow blossoms between your fingers you might be surprised to see a red stain, hypericin. It is used for treating a variety of ailments: depression, anxiety, wounds, etc. It has also been touted as useful against immune deficiency illnesses and rhinovirus, including Covid. But I am no doctor. Be sure and check out the whole story.
However we personally have been using it for years and have had no problems.
The woods are especially enjoyable, although it usually takes some climbing to get up to more secluded forests. But it is there where we enjoy our “Waldeinsamkeit”, a German word that roughly translates to “forest aloneness” – tranquility and solitude. Medicine for the soul best taken sitting down, or laying back in soft comfortable cool feathery-green moss. All you hear are birds and – on one occasion – loud snorts from a wild boar. But no dogs, no cars.
I love these old workhorse trucks!
A contrast in styles, traditional and modern. This village is slowly modernizing as it becomes more aware of touristic possibilities. I hope they do not forget their roots.
Took the wrong road, but the view is right.
From NOwhere 2 nowHERE 