Photo a day - March

Published on 11th of April 2023

Smell of hyacinths, rain drops on the window, slow lazy mornings basking in spring sunshine outside on the terrace - me with coffee, Mara with watering can which she often turns into a puddle on the floor. Tiny purple bursts of crocuses I planted as bulbs in the pot with an olive tree. Blankets, seasonal bugs, messy curls I am still learning how to tame. Picking last oranges in grandma's garden, finishing her sweater - she was very good with tangling the yarn, multiple times. Rare week-end trips - because, the weather, or the bugs - and missing it dearly, cabin fever is the thing here. These are snippets of March.

One place we did manage to visit during these rare week-end outdoor moments, is Bosco dell'amicizia on Monte Pellegrino. We discovered it by accident, it's just a turn from the regular path up to the sanctuary. It's an easy trip as Monte Pellegrinno is close to our home, so in just 15 minutes you have fresh air and nature around, and a little escape from the city noise.

Why I fell in love with this spot. It's wild, the nature that's doing its thing. With all the massive trees lying around, you see and feel its force. It's quiet, you barely hear traffic and all the city noise, there's bird song instead (until someone drives a motorbike up to the sanctuary, fortunately it does not last long). There's so much colour and texture - fallen trees, grass, wild olive trees, wildflowers, a feast for all the senses.

Kids love it here too. They call it their parkour place, for all the trunk climbing and jumping they can do here. Then there's hide and seek, looking for sticks and pine cones, trying to knock things down with sticks, stick sword fights, looking for bigger trunks with easier or more complex walks/climbs/jumps, making up a whole trail of different logs and obstacles. Then there are little trails around to explore - we never made it far, usually distracted by another log to climb and jump from. Further away there are also rocky areas for different kind of climbing. The options are endless.