Hello, my faithful readers! Today was a special day – I spent a wonderful time with my family in the park. The main goal of our trip was to teach my daughter how to play volleyball. I have to admit, with each minute, the ball was bouncing better and better!

But, as it usually happens, we didn’t stop at just sports. We couldn’t resist taking a walk toward the picturesque pond, full of beautiful birds in their natural habitat. And suddenly, mandarin ducks appeared among them! They’re quite exotic and not often seen in Europe, especially not in our area. Usually, you’d find them in zoos. Of course, I immediately checked where they might have come from – according to Google, they’re most likely escapees from captivity. Clever little things. What luck that we got to see them!

Of course, there were also the usual mallards, quacking and swimming around the pond as always.

But that wasn’t the end of our nature discoveries! During our walk, we came across a four-leaf clover – and I was the one who found it! According to Wikipedia, a four-leaf clover appears once in about ten thousand regular ones, which makes this moment truly special. And interestingly enough, that extra leaf is the result of a developmental error in the plant – a mutation. Nature never ceases to amaze me!

At one point, the day became even more surprising when a cormorant showed up in the tree above the pond, probably drying its wings. What an incredible sight! It was a young bird, since it had a white belly, which means there must be a whole family of cormorants somewhere nearby! Life in the countryside is wonderful!

In the evening, we came back home and were greeted by our beloved tits, who have long been enjoying the feeder in our garden. And of course, as usual with those little fussbudgets, they started sulking at us for disturbing them. They sit on the fence and chirp, and won’t come to the feeder until we move away. They sure have their moods!

That’s how I spent this amazing day full of natural discoveries and active rest. Half of my holiday is already behind me. Just a few more days left, so I’m hoping the weather will allow for more walks and outdoor adventures. Keep your fingers crossed, and I’ll try to bring you more interesting stories!