Exploring on a Saturday

1. wooden scuptures
2. swans
3. a turtle

Pond Vrbje

I feel it is such a waste when I let a sunny Saturday or Sunday slip away by doing all the laundry and cooking and cleaning up and nagging. Nope, not this Saturday. I had lunch on table at noon, sharp, and we were out of the door before the clock struck 1 p.m. It was just a 15 minute drive and we were out in the fresh air again before Jay was able to start her afternoon nap in the car. Our destination: Pond Vrbje. A huge wooden face greeted - one of many wonderful wooden scultures carved out of twisted roots or trunks that had been set up by the road and by the path around the pond that we took.

"Family", my favorite

The girls thought the Troll was really special for sticking his huge tongue out of his big mouth. Checking for details was inevitable.

the "Forest Troll" and two fairies attacking him

What makes this place especially attractive for people is that it is very close to the urban area, but the fields separate it from the town and villages, and the Savinja river is running very close by so it is like stepping into a world of pure nature where you can get balanced again.

the "Guardian of the Landscape"
with harvested fields of hops
in the background

We saw many ducks and swans and other birds on the pond but with two active girls, one focusing on every detail while taking photos, and the other one looking for every possible opportunity to climb, jump, run or to empty the rucksack we had taken along of every treat she had put in, there was very little chance for any living being to stick around long enough to be in the picture, much less to enable us to name it. That is what I had thought when...

Mrs. Turtle

... I looked down a short path to the pond and saw Mrs. Turtle! I called the girls who had just ran off far ahead to come back and they were just as amazed as I was! Poor creature wasn't particularly happy to have too little hands gently touch her helmet so she kind of glided down the stony path, another half a meter away from the us, but then she apparently couldn't beat her own curiosity and slowly turned her entire body to the right so she could see us. We had a long confrontation there, but then we let her follow her own rhythm of life and left the site. Whether this was her natural environment or somebody left her here out of negligence, that I don't know. The girls were thrilled to have had the experience but still a little worried about her well-being just like me. I think we should check out on her really soon. Jay was wondering whether we were going to go there the next day! It was a really nice 2-hour walk!