Which One Of You Is Loving Toads?

I went to Reith, Upper Austria with my husband to stay with friends in their farmhouse. Bright full moon when we arrived, stars, bats. Next day we swam in a nearby lake, cool and green. Later we met Bruno the donkey and Rosalie the pig. Everyone talked excitedly about the thunderstorms that were coming. One afternoon we walked for hours through the forest, picking blueberries as went. The trees were dancing. White butterflies, yellow wildflowers, baby brown frog, buzzards circling above. There was a lake with a huge carp at the bottom, seemingly sleeping. I climbed up the wooden ladder where the deer sniper sits, waiting. That evening the lighting was purple, then came a rainbow.

Photography and words: Cesca Dvorak