Catching up...

I have been cramming lots of things into each day so far. I just love to capture these images. I do it for myself but I like to share too. I guess my thinking is that everyday can be filled with new and exciting things if you want them to be. That is if you seek new things out.
I realize that I am on overdrive (for me) when I am traveling. I curse myself for letting days slip by at home where I don't do much. I feel like I wasted a day if I am tired, decide to sleep, stay in. Perhaps I need the down time.

The wild boar...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_boar
( I added this link after I wrote what is below so now I know they have teeth..and rather nasty ones. )
Before I left on this trip, the guns were blasting away like mad. I could hear the dogs with their bells and yelps in the woods tracking down the boar. It seems as though fall is a much better time for hunting than spring. Probably the boar are larger. But, I had  yet to see one boar shot by a hunter, and I have yet to see one boar live in the woods. I see evidence that they were there, their digging a rooting and getting all the good mushrooms.
Seeing the dead boar, actually seen them at last was a bit strange. These were very large, like a big dog, but meatier...they are also very dark in color, with bristly hair and huge hooves for digging. I wonder if they have teeth. They must. Seeing them made me think about how they live their live. They are dirty , wet , digging and lying low all of the time. I know nothing about boar so was fascinated to see them and how big they are. It was certainly gruesome but I am of 2 minds. One is that I hate to see any animal hurt or killed, but two, men have been doing this for ages , and they eat the meat. So, I was at a shocked stalemate when I came upon this scene.
All the Italian men were watching me to see my reaction. I took my pictures and stood kind of shocked...they wanted me to see more...and then the dogs.
So, all and all, it's just another part of life that I had never seen before and was thankful for it. Thankful that the men invited me into it.

The mushroom hunt was something else, glorious for me. I was alone in the woods with mushrooms to find. It was cold, the leaves were scarce but there was a thick bed of brown leaves everywhere.
The rock is very interesting in this area. Big bolder stuck up out of the ground covered in thick healthy green moss. The slope was a it downhill and you could hear the little creek flowing. Each discovery of a different mushroom was a little gift to me. I have no idea what is edible, so I am fearful of even touching them. I would uncover them with a small stick. I did touch one of the big ones to get a spec of dirt off. It oozed a shocking orange liquid on to my hand and I had a little start.
What if the mere contact of the fluid from a certain mushroom seeped into your skin and killed you? My mind flew in that directions.
They are so interesting though...they look so much like coral, on the undersides. It's also so interesting that they are fungi. They grow from damp and rotted materials. I wonder I'd every year a similar type comes up in the same place...if they leave spores. There is so many things that I don't know.