Been out of touch since the workload increased as the show neared its opening. In the event all passed off as planned and we were greeted with an extended standing ovation, which was gratifying. Then off to a Gerorgian celebratory feast which stretched long into the night!
It was good to finally enjoy a day off (our first since we arrived a month previously), and on Monday I was treated to a day out in the country with one of the puppeteers and her husband who is fascinated by natural history and who is a hunter, snake catcher and fisherman. We drove south from Tbilisi past the Soviet-era steelworks of Rustavi to a stretch of the Khrami River, winding among pebble shoals and mudbanks and flanked by broken woodland, scrub and still pools. Despite the ravages of gravel extraction diggers and lorries we explored the area slowly and were treated to some wonderful views of wildlife: the sky was dotted with Steppe Buzzards, Marsh Harrier, Goshawk, Sparrowhawk and mobbing Hooded Crows and Ravens. Lizards, mice, crickets, butterflies, dragonflies and a Rock Martin drew our attention with flashes of activity, and the weedy dark pools revealed Moorhen, Little Grebe, a score of Kingfishers, a Little Bittern, a mighty chorus of frogs and a stately Nutria (a small kind of Beaver) padding through thick weed. Most unxepected was a Black Stork dropping in amongst the Great White Egrets and Little Egrets in the river shallows, while behind us in the scrub were Robin, Blackbird, Black Redstart, Tree Sparrow and Green Woodpecker. To cap it all, driving away we stopped to admire an Imperial Eagle in a field no more than 50 metres away. A truly memorable outing, and a testimony to the enormous hospitality deluged on us from this amazing country.
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