Nature Notes from Tuscany

Aside from grapes and olives, there are hillsides still covered with forest. On our walk near Radda we walked along a ridge line, then down into the valley below town and along a little stream. The forest changes considerably in different parts of the countryside. Along the ridge line near Radda there were mostly short, gnarled oaks with an understory of Viburnum, juniper, scotch broom, ivy and grasses. I'm not really sure whether the ivy and scotch broom are native to Italy. There's been a lot of Ailanthus along the roads which is definitely an introduction from Asia. Closer to the stream the trees got a little taller and the brush thicker. There is some sort of Rubus with blackberry-like fruits, but they have a more intense flavor than our blackberries. On the drive to Figline there were many multi-trunked chestnut trees, some with plenty of nuts. The forests between Castellina and San Gimignano had more evergreen cypresses and laurels.

I have seen very few birds. The Coop grocery in town has a lot of swallows flying around with nests up under the eaves. I've seen one hawk and a few magpies. Also some house finches and starlings. The only other animal I've seen is a striped lizard or skink that hangs out on our terrace. The same sort of lizard seems pretty common throughout. It seemed to be following ants around and I figured it would eat one, but it appeared to be more interested in the seeds and bits of vegetation the ants were carrying. I never saw it take anything from the ants though.

Finally, there's Neve, the apartment caretaker's dog. He's a tall lean, long-haired white dog whose name means snow. He's usually pretty snowy except when he's been lounging in puddles. He's a friendly dog, but stays on his side of the building.

I saw the caretaker once when we arrived, but I think he's been busy with the grape harvest and olives. The idyllic beauty was somewhat shattered when we saw him out on his tractor spraying something up into the olive trees and along the rows of grapes. So much for nibbling unwashed grapes on our walk into town!