Weeks now pass like days for me. What an enormous difference in perception between the time in childhood and the time now, almost old age. I remember my childhood days, they seemed endless. A recent trip to the village where I grew up reminded me of that. It reminded me of leaving home in the morning and spending the whole day in the fields, on the hill, in the woods, or by the river. The day was very full, all the time was mine. There was a time when I felt immortal!
Weeks are now passing like days for me! It seems like yesterday was Wednesday and now... Wednesday again. Time to talk about the walk, this time nature walk, through places I knew in detail because I was there all day with my friends. This was more than half a century ago.
Now I'm back on the grass road, less and less traveled lately. Not far from my grandparents' house where I grew up. I was accompanied by my nephew Justin, aged five. The youngest child of my much younger brother (18 years younger than me), who left the city and moved to the village. Once or twice I visit him so I can consume my nostalgia for happy and lost childhood.
The greatest pleasure when I'm here is to walk in places where I once ran and thought I was immortal!
It was an evening walk, close to home, in a place called "On the Hill", easy to understand why it is called so because there is a small hill nearby. I wanted to see the signs of spring, which is starting to make itself felt, somewhat belatedly in these northern parts of the country.
The trees, some of them, have started to bloom...
... others are far from leaves and flowers, they have not woken up yet.
Nephew Justin prefers flowers. As soon as he finds a flower, he picks it up and comes to me to photograph him with it. He quickly understood that flowers interest me and wants to help me, he would do anything to make me feel good. It reminds me so much of me when I lived here with my grandmother.
I wanted to see "The Hill", the gathering place of my friends I used to play with while the day was long. Many of my friends didn't have much time to play, because their parents had animals (especially cows) and sent the kids out to the field with them. My grandmother didn't raise anything more than a few chickens, so I had no responsibilities, I was free and accompanied the other children who took care of the animals. That didn't stop them from playing while watching the animals.
I don't know anything else about my friends. They all left the village, only the hill remained and my memories.
A small part of the field was plowed, ready for spring sowing. The plowed land looked photogenic and I took a few pictures.
Here came the surprise and reward for returning to this childhood place. I noticed movement near the hill and continued photographing...
I don't know if you've noticed. A few deer! So close to people. A sign that nature is changing and adapting. We have enlarged the image just enough to be seen.
It was a pleasant but brief surprise, the deer was scared of us and quickly disappeared, leaving me to keep looking for signs of spring. Hidden behind the dry vegetation.
I was pleased to see some trees that only grow here in the north, sort of like willows that don't weep, don't have drooping branches. It's called "rachita" and I don't know if it has an English equivalent..., It has, I found it, it's called an osier!
A little further down we can see the village, well, now it is not a village anymore, it is a district of a small town called Falticeni.
On the opposite side is the hill. Between these two landmarks was my walk.
Nephew Justin, who is the leader of this little expedition, is pulling home. He must be tired!
After a few hundred meters we reach home. I think about the advantages of living on the edge of the village (and I want to forget the disadvantages). You can consider that you have a huge garden.
The road in front of the house, the place of so many games, meetings, joys, and sorrows with children my age. Now there are fewer children and they all stay indoors, busy with tablets and phones. They don't even notice the nature around them anymore.
Instead of children, there are now cars. More and more of them. In my childhood, when I saw a car, it was a holiday...
For #WednesdayWalk by
