21st March 2007
Today the tall one came home from school with a gift from the teacher, a small guide-book to help discover the mammals of Umbria and Tuscany. It's packed full of information about the various creatures that inhabit this area, a few of which seem to live in our garden. Armed with the book (which includes useful drawings of animal's feet and different types of poo) we spent the afternoon walking through woods and abandoned olive groves trying to identify the tracks left in the clay soil. We identified (we think) tracks belonging to porcupines, badgers, deer, boar, hare, rabbits, fox, several small rodent things and an extremely large bird, of which I dread to think. We found the tracks more useful than the poo, all of which looks identical after a few days out in the sun. The tall one pointed out that the book also mentions bears and wolves, and I was happy to reassure her that there is no indication of either in the immediate neighbourhood. However, later while lingering outside with a glass of wine, I found myself staring hard at the high green Umbrian hills and hoping that somewhere in those wild impenetrable forests bears and wolves are still lurking.
Best thing I ate today;
Torta della Nonna - although I'm usually willing to risk it, this can sometimes be a bit of a dry disappointment. However, today's 'torta' was mouth-wateringly moist and had obviously been made by a superior class of Nonna. Lots of 'pinoli' too.
Where to get it;
Pasticceria della Campanile, San Casciano di Bagni
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