Today Stefano and I went birdwatching. Or rather, that is what we were hoping to do…but, as it turned out, there weren’t very many birds at the WWF’s Oasi di Gabbianello (near Barberino di Mugello, for those who know Tuscany a bit)…just a bunch of shivering coots huddled together on the ice (see below)…

But when we reached our favorite birdwatching hut, the first thing I set my eyes on was a group of five big wild boars crossing the pond, which is at an all-time low since it hasn’t rained in ages. Wowers! 

I asked Stefano what we should do if, while walking around the pond, we had a closer encounter with those boars: fall to the ground & pretend to be dead, scamper away as fast as possible, scream like banshees or…or what? He had no idea. Great.

So I just hoped that they wouldn’t mind our being there and taking photos. Luckily, they didn’t!