The Drustvo (village cooperative farm) finally got around to cutting the chin-high grass in the meadow behind my house. Trying to navigate through that jungle, either in tracks and furrows I’d created or which large herbivores had made, was a nightmare. I never knew what I’d disturb laying up in it – thankfully just roe and the occasional red deer but there were plenty of boar lays about. Each step was a hard task, exasperated by knowing that i was picking up encephalitis-bearing ticks or stepping on venomous vipers. Half an hour of that even before I reached the forest – and then the trek back again.
Yesterday we sat in the garden and watched the tractors do their thing. What was amazing was the sheer amount of large bird life which followed them, picking off snakes and rodents as they fled the scene. There were the usual giant white storks but, more surprisingly, there were many eagles about. My Jack Russel, Sandy, barked incessantly trying to frighten them away as they swept over the garden screeching, but I was more worried about him being an easy meal for them.
Jays and shrikes joined in the feast
And, just for fun, here’s a clone of the old Windows wallpaper I took on a walk:
