A Pleasant Spring Day in Zagreb, Croatia

When Zmajoljupci call, we ride. The summons arrived on Friday: Žuža and Žare, ever faithful disciples of those lying meteorologists, chose to believe the forecast – and by Saturday morning we were already in the car, reasonably well stocked with kites, pointing ourselves towards the Croatian capital. The day turned out splendidly. Spring at her … Read more

A Castle in the Clouds (of History)

This is from Nomina Defunctorum, the Book of the Dead Benefactors who donated property to the Chapter of Aquileia (now in the Diocesan Archive of Udine): Nomina defunctorum is a simple list of the dates on which this or that benefactor died (so their souls could be duly prayed for on the correct day), and … Read more

Rewilding a Tamed Wilderness: People vs. Ljubljana Marshes

There was nothing. There was no ‘there’ there. A hundred and fifty square kilometers of void. To be fair, only one species of animal thought that; millions of others were quite happily enjoying this purported “void,” thank you very much. And even the detractors once lived smack in the middle of it, back when it … Read more

The First Relaxed Kite Flying of the Year!?

No way! Yes, way … This year has been decidedly odd (and the weather has, for the most part, shown a marked aversion to kites). It’s March already, and we have managed exactly one (1) kite aerial photography session and this single, blissfully relaxed kite-flying outing – our grand total for the year so far. … Read more