Walk in the forest

The little things that were once normal are suddenly precious and we enjoy them much more than we used to before...

I've always been a person who loved to be outside. When I was a little girl, we lived in a building with about 20 other flats. There were many families with kids of my age, and we used to play at the large backyard behind our building. I spent there as much time as I could. If I wasn't there I was helping my parents on our fields.

My best friend lived in a flat next to ours. Our balconies were only 1 meter apart. If we couldn't go out because the weather was bad, we would sit and talk there. We even exchanged some bakes or produce over the balcony. When I did something what my parents didn't like my punishment was that I couldn't go neither out nor on the balcony. I would wave to my friends from behind the glass and they would know that I was grounded. They did the same when they were grounded.

As much as I loved being outside, I enjoyed being inside as well. My mom thought that I would become an interior designer as I was moving furniture all around the flat all the time. I liked painting stories on the walls too and some of them I remember like it was yesterday.

These days, I still enjoy being inside as I do a lot of cooking, gardening, workouts, baking, cleaning, reading and so on but I miss being outside a lot. Someone else chose for me that I should stay inside, and this is killing me. I live my life within certain boundaries and try not to limit anyone else by my actions and here I am, following instructions that are limiting me this much. I am a responsible person, so I do what I can to avoid contact with other people but from time to time I have to go on a precious walk to stay sane as I don't even have a balcony friend to talk anymore.

Last weekend was perfect for walks. The weather was great, and it was very warm for the beginning of April. We went out around lunchtime as most people here are cooking for their families at that time.

We were surprised to see many people in the city in front of the grocery stores. Luckily, we passed by this area quickly and very soon we entered the forest.

We were right when we thought that there would be no people in the forest at that time. It was deserted and we enjoyed birds flying around and chirping. It's a pity that you can't hear them (or see them) from the photo.

There were so many pinwheel flowers! At some places it was almost like a white carpet.

When I was a child, we had a forest not that far away from our flat. We would go there almost every Sunday with my friends and enjoy the views of our city from the top of the hill. On the way down we would collect dozens of pinwheel flowers and bring them to our moms. My mom would put them in a small vase which she would place on the table in the living room - sweet memories.

These days I leave them where they are and only adore their beauty...

This dead nettle would be another addition to the bouquet for my mom. My bouquet had to consists of various flowers and be colorful.

We would also collect dandelions (not from this close to the street though) and my mom would make delicious honey by cooking them with a lot of sugar. I don't remember the exact recipe and she doesn't prepare it anymore, but I remember that large cooking pot that she was using. After 20+ years she still has it...

We walked for a few kilometers and then turned around and walked the same way back home. I loved our time outside as it's so scarce these days. The first thing that I will do once this lockdown is over is going for a picnic to the river.

I hope that you have enjoyed our walk together.

Thank you for visiting!

Cheers!