Women workers....and winter, too. Those are my W's. This photo was actually taken last year, but it reminds me of a scene that was common when I first came here 35 years ago when you saw lots of field work by hand and horse, and few machines and tractors.
In an earlier post, I showed you some snow globes, one of which contained a tiny version of these pinnacles at Djavolja Varoš (DJAH vole-yuh VAH-rush) or "Devil's Town" in Southern Serbia. I have visited this place twice, and am looking forward to returning. It's hard to tell the scale here, but the 'towers' are anywhere from 6-30 feet tall.
Back in Belgrade, but this fence is from farther south in Serbia.
I can hear you saying 'Awww....." 
HDR-ed this one, but since the Theme Day is 'postcard-worthy' and postcards are often retouched, so....
Yesterday we saw Baka Jelka's (YEL-ka) pigs, who are unknowingly awaiting their sad fate.
Went out to my daughter-in-law's grandmother's home last Saturday. "Baba Jelka" (YEL-kah) made us homemade soup with her homemade noodles, mashed potatoes, meat, her own cabbage salad, homemade bread, and dessert. This lady is a wonder. She has a number of chickens and three pigs. I'm sorry to say that despite all their cuteness, these little porkers aren't going to be around long... :( They'll probably end up like this.
I'm not a gardener by any means, but I am fascinated by the devotion many show to their gardens. The above couple is planting (gosh, what is it...carrots?) in the blazing hot sun and occasionally carrying buckets of water for their thirsty crop.
Meet Jan Nemcek, an ethnic Slovak, who lives in the village of Kovacica (Ko-VA-cheet-sa) about an hour's drive from Belgrade. Kovacica is home to several artists and artisans. Mr. Nemcek has been making violins all his life, maintaining a tradition in his family of several generations. That long instrument is a kind of Slovakian flute.
Hungry? This is what my friend and I had for lunch in Southern Serbia, in a small village near the town of Leskovac, where a rostiljijada (ro-schteel-yee-ya-da) or grilled meat festival is held every year in September. I've said before , for example, right here that Serbs are big meat eaters. I'm not, but enjoy it from time to time.
This is a mother stork who appeared to be cooling her baby (babies, perhaps; but I only saw one) by beating her wings furiously above their nest. Storks are said to bring good luck to the house they nest on.
Unlike the rest of Eastern Europe after War II, Yugoslavia fell under the leadership of Marshal Tito and remained independent from Moscow. It became the only country in the Balkans resist pressure from Moscow to join the Warsaw Pact and remained "socialist, but independent" right up until the collapse of Soviet socialism in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Here we are at the ethno-village Stanisic (STAH-nee-sheech) in Bijeljina, Republika Srpska, where I traveled two weeks ago. Once again I thank Vlada from Fotkapofotka for the HDR program he sent me. Vlada, whom I've recently met, told me his mother has been after him to take her to this place, so Vlada, get going! It will be Mother's Day this Sunday, at least in the US!
It's been so nice recently that I took a trip down to the village to see my little traveling buddy, Radovan, who has traveled with me to Greece, the US, and India. He was all excited to show me this little 'lizard,' as he called it, that he found in his yard. He also complained that all his chickens are missing....
I continue my Pennsylvania journey down Memory Lane. For me, this image reminds me so much of the Sunday drives in the country we used to take when I was a kid. Some things don't change much.I came across these chairs and tables at a fast-food place, but because everything was wet, there were no sit-down diners. Liked the colors....
