Today's Walk Wasn't For The Faint Of Heart.

A testing ground of nerves.

There is nothing better for me than to walk the same routes again and again. Apps are for lemmings...I like to measure my walk and conditioning on how heavy I breathe up a familiar hill, how often I need to stop when it gets steep and how easy it is to hold a conversation while stepping about. Does anyone really believe it when an App tells you that you've worked off 800 calories? Quite a gamble, don't you think?

This morning I walked down Gartengasse and within minutes had joined the nebulous thought highway. Shopping in Oberwart, doing dishes, planning the day and wondering how the roses had grown so uniformly vertical at one of our neighbours and what to cook for dinner.

A faint barking from Maxi ( a little lapdog who likes to sneak out and pretend he's a scary hound ) reigned in my imaginary culinary adventures and when little Maxi received an answering bark my nebulous adventures ceased. Before I knew it, a big dog crossed my path and I really don't know which one of us got more of a fright. Even though this particular dog is bred for herding sheep, he is meek as a lamb and wouldn't hurt a fly ( yes, he's an Eisenberger too ) but both of us had our hearts pop into our mouths for a split second.

A bit further along on my route I stopped to put on my jacket and nearly jumped a foot high when next to me, from the depth of the long grass, a hidden pheasant did a rendition of a vertical take off, complete with flapping wings and whining sound. I swear I could feel the turbulence of this pheasant's take off.

These birds are frequently tempting us villagers to change the lunch menu. Well not quite but often the male species struts about in full splendour trying to attract a plain Jane who happens to hide across the road and sadly forgetting in their romantic excitement the dangers of approaching cars.

The rest of my walk seemed rather tame and was met with a deer trying to hide among the wheat, a bird thinking I deserved a bit of his luck but thankfully not aiming well and the odd car passing me. Yet another day in paradise...

Biggi

A red beetle for good luck...