- Taken on a Nikon D3500 with an 18.0 – 55.0mm lens. Exposure 1/1250sec f/5.6 ISO 560
I recently visited Italy, staying with a relative in Umbria for six days. I was amazed by the vast areas of forest and just how wild the habitat was, especially in Ficulli and the other countryside areas. Nearly everywhere I looked was forest, the dark green trees on almost every skyline. Dark mountains loomed in the distance often shrouded by thick fog, especially in the mornings. Stepping out into the warm, dry air early in the morning on my relative’s balcony had such an exhilarating, inspiring feeling that I rarely get here in Yorkshire.
Whilst we were there I was very excited by the idea of seeing the Italian wildlife which included Wild Boars and Porcupines but sadly we never did see any Boars, despite going for walks twice. We did pass a Porcupine on the side of the track one evening but I had fallen asleep in the car after spending several hours surrounded by and playing with large dogs. My mother saw a European Red Squirrel which I also missed much to my disappointment.
The two times that I and my family went walking into Ficulli we were accompanied, to our surprise, by our relative’s neighbour’s dog Stela. The first time she came with us, we tried our hardest to send her back but she ignored us, attaching herself to us the entire two miles into the village. After a while of walking through the streets however, it became apparent that she was not used to the setting and so after a small struggle on my mother’s behalf, I managed to gently convince Stela to let me put my Polaroid camera strap which we had fashioned into a collar and lead, around her neck. After that, we managed to walk through the village with no more fears of her getting run over. The second time, she tried once again to follow us the whole way but under my mother’s instruction I took her back, her attention concentrated more on me than on the others. The only way to get her to accompany me back to the house was to jog with the makeshift lead around her neck. As soon as I slowed my pace Stela would flop to the ground, rolling over onto her back and looking up at me with a cheeky look in her eye as she refused to get up, her tongue lolling out of her mouth.
