Morning Walk in the Hills

Thursday mornings I usually travel to one of the other villages I visit. However this month the person I work with is on vacation so I have a "bonus" day every week this month. This morning I decided to go for a longer-than-usual walk and chose to head up into the hills. It's the first time I've ventured up to where the sheep, goats and cows spend their days. It was a cool morning and lovely for a walk.

Near my village the hillside is terraced. Today I found out that many of the trees that divide the hillside into sections are fruit trees. And blackberry (or boysenberry) bushes. First I walked through the pine forest which was shady and cool. On the other side I emerged into the fields which have already been harvested so it was easy walking. I crossed the field and began walking along the greenery when I noticed the blackberries. Heaven!! Immediately I began sampling the biggest, plumpest berries and they are sweet! Then I pulled out a bag I just happened to be carrying with me and gathered berries for an hour or so. It reminded me of northern California in late summer. I was like a kid - so excited about my find!!

I wasn't the only one there - a dog barked at me when it saw me. It was the shepherds dog and I don't know if it was trying to herd me or if it was just alerting the shepherd of my presence. I said hello to the shepherd and kept on picking the berries - they headed farther up into the hills. I found out later that unlike English, Bulgarian has words for different kinds of shepherds"

Animal - English Bulgarian Shepherd
sheep обце обчар
goats кози козар
cows крави кравар

If there are many kinds of animals - sheep, goats, and cows then the word for the human in charge of taking them to pasture is "пастир" (or pastur).
That's the Bulgarian language lesson for today.

I've added a few photos. As you can see the air is not crystal clear. I think the haze is a combination of humidity and smoke from small trash fires.

Speaking of dogs - raise your hand if you saw this coming.....
My dog friend who joined me on walks has become a nuisance to where I live. Feeding her has made her bold and she comes into the building hallway looking for me and sometimes sits outside my door. This makes my neighbors unhappy and rightly so. Not only that, but now there is not one dog but many dogs looking for food. O.K. I have stopped feeding her. Maybe once in a while I'll slip her a hard-boiled egg but not near my building. If she joins me for another walk (alone) then she might get a treat.