Good morning, my dear gardeners, nature lovers, and all of you who simply enjoy reading about birds, snails, and cucumbers! Today I’m taking you on a little trip — to a place where you can hear the sea breeze, smell the forest, and watch birds hopping so close on the branches that it can even get a tiny bit annoying.

I spent the last week on holiday, in a little cabin in the forest by the sea. And now tell me honestly — is there anything more beautiful than that? Well, okay… maybe my garden. But apart from that? Nothing beats a cabin in the woods by the sea! I even visited a lighthouse!

Lazy days all around!

I played ball on the beach with my family, dipped my feet in salty water, watched the clouds, observed gulls and cormorants (though I admit — I didn’t take a single photo of them!). Instead, I captured a sunset — a picture that seemed to stop time. That moment when everything goes quiet, the sky burns orange, and you remember that life is made up of such little treasures.

At the cabin, I wasn’t alone. Magpies and chaffinches kept hopping around me — curious and cheeky, as if they were about to ask: what are you doing here, human?

Fun fact!

Studies show that magpies can recognize themselves in a mirror! Very few birds have that kind of self-awareness. And even fewer can so stylishly steal shiny trinkets from gardens!

And chaffinches? Oh, that’s a whole different story. They sing for hours, even in the summer heat.

But the real sensation of the week was a snail. For three days, it slowly climbed up the trunk of a tree near the cabin. And just when it was almost at the top — it fell. Or maybe it jumped, deliberately, straight into the wild bilberry bushes. Who knows? Maybe that was its favourite snack.

Speaking of snails!

Did you know they can sleep for up to three years if conditions aren’t right? But my snail friend definitely wasn’t a sleepyhead. He was an athlete!

And the bilberries? They grew wild in the forest — no care, no watering, no fertilizer. And yet they had more flavour than most fruits you can buy in a store. Nature knows best, doesn’t it?

At a forest crossroads, right where the narrow-gauge railway runs, there’s an old fishing boat. It’s been there for years, more and more abandoned by time. Missing planks, peeling paint… and inside? Wasps! Yes, right there in the boat, where fishing nets might once have been, there’s now a buzzing nest of life. I wouldn’t recommend getting too close, but I must admit — it looked incredible. I took a photo. Just one, but enough.

After a week, I returned home to my little paradise. And what did I see? A jungle! While I was gone, everything decided to grow, spread, and take over the world! There’ll be some work with pruning, replanting, and harvesting — but it’s the good kind of work, the kind that makes you feel alive. Work where your hands end up smelling of basil and earth.

So, how’s your summer going? Have you had the chance to watch birds or snails during your holidays this year?

Until next time!