I'm back on the Blue Trail, which I've neglected for almost 2 months due to the unbearable heat. It's true, I've only revisited a very short section of it, and I've come back from it. For me, the Gaja Valley at Bodajk is a love forever! It shows a different face in every season. I went there with the intention of picking cornels, but due to the previous drought, most of it had already fallen off. But I picked one kilogram of it anyway, and will make chutney. The weather is now very pleasant and the grass is green again.
Farmers of grazing animals - horses, cows, sheep - are also very happy that they no longer have to use up some of their winter feed. On the way to the valley I met two horses, they were rather busy with each other. They are companionable creatures, alone they would just mope around all day while their owners were away.
Indian summer is a time of second blossoms. Now we see bluebells and acacia flowers again.
Next to them, blackthorns are ripening. But to be harvestable, you have to wait until the frost bites. There will be a few of those this year, but enough to make one or two jars of specials.
In the woods, a sign shows the major section of the Blue Trail here, which I did in a few small one-day sections during the winter. A tiny part of this is the Gaja Valley, which is shown on the right of the map.
Fortunately, the stream is flowing again, although much less than it should be. I wasn't there in mid-summer, but several people told me that there was no water except in a few stinking puddles, so the animals were thirsty.
The water originally covered the roots of the trees and was very fast flowing, full of fish. Even in winter, I sometimes go barefoot into icy water.
I finally saw my first cornel berry. I had to take a good look at the bush before I found the others. They gathered at the bottom of my little bucket and rattled as I walked along.
In many places I found decayed, fallen trees, left (quite rightly) by foresters to provide habitat for various small animals, insects and fungi.
As I walked upstream, I could see that the water was becoming more and more opalescent, in some places the sunlight had turned it almost amber. Very fine floating particles cause this phenomenon. Here the water was hardly moving, flowing very slowly. The reflecting trees made the view even more beautiful.
I ended up in the next village, Balinka, which is no longer on the Blue Trail. It's a very quiet little village with almost nothing except a church and a pub, or is it! Every house has a well tended small garden and many places have large animals. I stopped at a house and cute puppies ran towards me. Their owner wants to give them up for adoption. I promised her I' d help.
This is a place where people and animals live together in peace. Animals are mostly kept free, and even the chickens roam in the forest.
During my walking I hardly met any people. Only one cyclist whizzed past me in the valley as I was picking cornel. This day was not about performance, but about peaceful contemplation.