I roamed the countryside searching for answers to things I did not understand. ~Leonardo da Vinci
In the end of the every working week Ann seizes the opportunity of the escape from a big city. To change the atmosphere, stop running around like a squirrel in a cage, relax and breathe. I guess it is not a bad idea. But be assured I won’t go anywhere without my Nikki. We are always in the same boat. Where I go, he goes. He has a mission, he provides me with beautiful scenes captured to share with you…
When I go out into the countryside and see the sun and the green and everything flowering, I say to myself Yes indeed, all that belongs to me! ~Henri Rousseau
Countryside life is in trend nowadays. People awakened to the realization that having your own private house is much comfortable and prestigious as well. As who would like to live “under constant pressure of neighbors thin walls”. No one, right! Therefore people are in search of their sanctuary to cling to. Surely not all of them, or vice versa who will stay in that multistory boxes and will spend most of their money on attractions in local parks? Yep, local businesses won’t survive such a loss. Although sometimes (more often than you can imagine) I feel quite irritated while walking home though the corridor of park attractions starting from “have a ride” locomotive driving around not too big park to food tents selling unhealthy stuff. You practically have to maneuver not to touch anything or catch anything. I do not mention electrical cars for children, since none of the drivers have a driving license yet, you hardly can avoid a collision. Surely I admire young driving ladies in pink dresses who look charmingly behind the wheel, but oh my, ladies, please follow the rules of traffic. However, I am not sure that older ladies (still in the same pink, but on high heels) driving range rovers have already learn the rules. Please do not take anything personal, dames, but sometimes I wonder whether SHE learnt anything in a driving school or she just painted her nails instead. Driving is not a joke, your mistake can be fatal. By the way, men, don’t think that I forgot about you, you also drive not better! No offense! I am afraid I was brought in the wrong direction. We are not in the city now, but outside, in the uptown…so turn on the volume, relax your brain muscles and enjoy colors, sounds, smells, tastes…
Nor rural sights alone, but rural sounds,
Exhilarate the spirit, and restore
The tone of languid nature.
~William Cowper
All of a sudden you occurred to be in this field of blooming colors. So many things delight your eyes. The translucent beauty of a green leaf, the lazy drone of a bee as it searched for a tempting little wildflower, the musical calls of the birds in the trees, the blue coolness of the lake, funny mooing of the cows, secret whispers of the wind and utterly overwhelming points where sky meets land. Absolutely blinding!
However, you might notice the other picture as well. Something left behind all the beauty. I mean countryside life is not only all that “wows” and “bubbles”, but also hard work. Kyiv uptown lives its own life different from the big city. Every village outside Kyiv has its own style and soul. Most of them look like compact closed societies with rules and no exit for strangers. You have to be attentive to them and try to follow the wave. Villagers are not fond of citiers, they consider us to belong to another class. I know it sounds odd, but it is. I have relatives who live in the village and I feel the barrier. Maybe for you it really sounds strange, but I am not kidding. Perhaps I should clarify that Ukrainian villages have their own history opposite to Western European. Mildly saying “living in a village was not prestigious”. Many years ago a typical Ukrainian village had one street, shop, one small hospital, a market and a club, that’s all. Thus, when a villager happened to be in a big city with metro and a chain of various shops (not to mention number of streets), theaters and etc., he/she was like a tourist in a completely unknown country. Would you believe it? It is a fact. The only entertainment for villagers was gossiping while sitting at the benches next to their houses. Everybody knows everyone and it is scareful. There is a wish to be not noticed, don’t count on that in a village. There is everywhere a lady who watches you. Surely, it can be beneficial as well. People are more friendly and helpful. Air is cleaner and birds singing louder. Uptown is a little fortress where almost every new life starts, then it grows bigger, need more place and travels beyond. Nothing lasts for a long time, neither relax, nor work. There will be always a point, a dot or …
I suppose the pleasure of country life lies really in the eternally renewed evidences of the determination to live. ~Vita Sackville-West, Country Notes
Happy Summer Sunday!
P.S. As always all the cards presented here can be found at my webshop: http://www.redbubble.com/people/anrostudio/shop
