One summer day, I went to a birch forest to be alone with nature, but nature decided I needed a little bit of country life.

https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/alexanderfluke/23wC5CcecVLp3d34dPwBtwRAB1QCQyVy7xfLPHDfq2zQqsnoVH6GN8KejWPNAheiFYcp9.jpg

I often leave the city for solo walks because I enjoy solitude — not as an escape, but as a chance to step away from daily routine and let my thoughts wander.

https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/alexanderfluke/23tvZiEXHiHzJtvRDWBtE5jyoBum62jYF8KopJk1DRRB2W4x34QA2mL1Ne6Ew3h8YfSZn.jpg

To walk silently in the quiet. To photograph something beautiful.

https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/alexanderfluke/23wC7VDfbqsa4D1uuKyKyqzFaRHstaJypxQc6atyMPephHwQ8KUKmTKaeuPkjuA1cZFcG.jpg

And in summer, these walks are twice as pleasant.

https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/alexanderfluke/23yJCFFKaXXE982AVZK4t8NTubRmGM6G73No7ww7XtyppSUzi1XtXsxtKU38uhTraasHs.jpg

Anyway, it happened a few years ago. I was walking through a sunlit forest, capturing birches, when suddenly a herd of cows and sheep appeared.

https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/alexanderfluke/23wqgR7rPZkh8bwSjjjc4qMzEAhyYJcwP3S9cKqBm5xjNTpmh2MHHJL7DXkytqijo3WLd.jpg

They moved quietly and calmly, with no particular hurry, grazing on the grass, perhaps lost in their own thoughts.

https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/alexanderfluke/23wqbr1wjtR66g22Cnsvr3cpKrpVYSb4TVt1rwSu17uxRLEnTZfHJpCVnighN5wFpsHuo.jpg

Some even stepped forward as if to pose, as though they knew someone was watching.

https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/alexanderfluke/23zRy2fgjgAf2yGqUp91iVcUxWrjopNMoPxbbD6ifZqgyA2zMxHezHGzFKymhSAvLaPAC.jpg

And then he appeared — the shepherd. Young, sitting confidently in the saddle, a whip in one hand and a Bluetooth earpiece.

https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/alexanderfluke/23ywkekyjUp6XBuGTzHq7rgFCfSNPMCxfderFvU5z8zqc2nGMLYRpgHwktzyCJLHvRoBk.jpg

Almost without a sound or any fuss, the herd made its way to the forest's edge.

https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/alexanderfluke/242DJHtoS5brvmsFsJBmYx1iyX5Vy2B7pSufC15E6LaG548Zk4jFp6rxkVW3B7H7y3v72.jpg

Everything unfolded with a quiet rhythm, following its own unspoken rules. The herd walked obediently where it needed to go, and the shepherd seemed simply to follow along.

https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/alexanderfluke/23wqdoiv7GdH784XUJFFA9ouSctKSnS7iyYvb9PB5mo9i1qjpw2XA7detmsBY4ZjPfSxf.jpg

They disappeared into the meadows. The forest grew still again, and I was once more alone with myself and nature. What else is there to say? Anyone who knows how to be alone is never truly lonely.

https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/alexanderfluke/23xozBWNNZ3inz7agn3uvUhdZkiZNB81NtoKDWYyNX9gP6Ph4YEjPhzE5EQKkFU7mMSBJ.jpg

Thank you so much for reading!

https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/alexanderfluke/23wqcBmJetNp4DXFPPWVwg2D13S9fcFewRdW98epsY9BJic9Ti6V6hdE2Bp4182ASq9Sk.jpg

Southern Ural, Russia.
July, 2022.
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Summer