A few pictures from my walk today

Today was a lovely day. The sky was blue and the air was warm enough to not wear a sweater. I took a nice long walk and took my iPhone with me which has been relegated to just a camera/iPod with some apps that still work with no network (wifi doesn't exist out here!). I shot a few photos of Shamgona to share along with a bit of a description of each one - and a story or two.

The last few persimmons in a persimmon tree. The autumn leaves are about the same color as the fruit.

More autumn leaves on the road

The kiwi trees are laden with almost-ripe fruit

These little piglets were rooting around with their mother
(who doesn't look that big in the picture, but she was huge)
and there are a few geese under the tree.
This meadow is just in front of the river-border with Abkhazia.

This is the border of Georgia and Abkhazia. The river is very narrow and shallow.
I don't know if the rocky wasteland on the Georgian side is from the conflict a couple of years ago or not.
I do know that the area was bombed at that time.

Looking the other direction along the border.
Earlier I saw a man wade across the river to Abkhazia.
The snow-covered mountains are part of Georgia called Svaneti that
I am hoping to be able to see while I am here.

I loved the way this fence is constructed like a basket -
the pruned clippings of the hazelnut trees don't go to waste.

A typical gate into a hazelnut orchard

This is my favorite stretch of road in Shamgona. It is beside the river, so it is very quiet.

This little stand of trees is along my favorite stretch of road.
There is a stone table in the middle of this wood that I like to sit on
and read or work on my laptop or just watch the animals come ambling by......

.....like this pig.

Speaking of pigs - no, this one is not dead; it's sleeping -
do you know what happens when a sleeping pig is startled awake?
Hilariousness!!! The pig jumps up, hooves clawing at the ground
to get away as fast as possible and squealing as if it were just tasered.
As it runs along the fence, it continually bounces off it;
maybe its running with its eyes closed.
The running, squealing, and bouncing go on for a good thirty seconds
before the pig finally realizes it's not in any danger.
Then it stands there with its sides heaving at the effort.

This is Tea's buffalo. Yesterday when it was waiting for Koba
to open the gate for it and the cows, it decided to wander around
the graveyard that is just across the street.

These cows are on their way home. And you can see the condition of the road....
and this spot is not that bad compared to other sections!

So that's a little bit of Shamgona - my temporary home!