Me and my parents were in the countryside for a couple of days. It was not really a holiday because we had to work, but still the time we spent there was in a way very relaxing. Away from the hustle and bustle of modern life and the usual crowdedness everywhere. We could not watch TV just listen to the radio, and of course there was no computer. (If I wanted to I could have found one place to use the Internet, but I did not have time and I just realized that I can do without these electric things for a couple of days.) I really think I cannot help praising nature in every blog entry as it was so great to meet a couple of animal friends of mine like a tree-frog, two toads, several crickets, grasshoppers, a pair of thistle finches, storks and others as well. It is sometimes really good when you don’t have the temptation to switch on the TV or anything else, and you can just immerse yourself in the tranquility of nature, and sometimes it is also good to be away from the expectations of human beings who don’t even know you, and don’t want to get to know you or understand you at all… in a word, away from every pressure and stress.
There was a summer shower and lots of frogs came out to enjoy the refreshing raindrops. Did you know that even the smallest tree-frogs can jump as high as around 60 cm?? And there were the toads as well. All of them had their opinions expressed with their loud croaking.
I don’t know why there are many people who do not like toads or are afraid of them. It is true that a toad is not the most beautiful animal in the world, but otherwise they are quite all right, and don’t deserve the bad prejudice. They are very shy, but they are bound to jump inside through the open door to have a look and then vanish under a cupboard or anything else.
When I was a child I liked looking at animals. Many times after kindergarten and later school or in the weekends I went into the garden and had a look at the various inhabitants living there. I just sat on the grass for a long time contemplating longicorn beetles, crickets, grasshoppers, praying insects/mantis and all the others around me everywhere and I was creating tales in my mind about them. Once or twice when I was wondering about them I felt a furry head and some whiskers with a wet nose on my arms and it was either my dog Bobo ’calling’ me to play with him, or one of my cats asking for some attention. Then I really needed to say sorry to them and shift my attention back to them. (They got lots of attention from me but they wanted to be always in the centre. :-) )
Anyway, on the countryside, there are even more creatures to see beside crickets and co. In villages people make round-shaped places high on poles for storks to nest there. In every village there are stork families living during summer months. They were so lovely as they were standing in their nest, with their beak half open because of the heat. Herons can be seen frequently too as they are crossing across above villages to reach their fishing place in reedy lake areas. Almost forgot about swallows!! If the wall of a house is not completely flat but uneven (these are mainly houses that were built earlier) then the swallows can paste their nests made of mud and hay under the roof.
There is another thing that I like a lot. When the night falls you can see more stars than in a city because the artificial lights do not dim the interstellar beams.
