"open, open, open..."

little savu is growing fast and imitating every naughty thing sysi does, so time out is nothing new to him any more. i'm trying to keep both of them busy by teaching little tricks, starting with 'spin' and the 'double spin' i tried on a whim, which they both got on the spot, so they know how to count to two at least. as i'm typing this, savu has gone from trying to steal a can of pringles from my backpack to licking my nose to chewing my sweater because i tried to hide an energy bar under it... he seems more interested in the wrapper than the actual bar.Qrq (he is helping me with the typing, too...)

we had a little bit of daylight today after what seemed like an eternity of stormy winds and rainy, gray skies. it's just about as warm though, as it was cold in june. i could use some below zero days right about now, and some positive news would be nice for a change. i'm really struggling to keep my spirits up lately. luckily the rats make me laugh every day and take my mind off bleaker things. too busy chasing after those two thugs to worry about the world.

this little movie might explain why i still haven't posted those snow pictures... been kind of busy with the wee ones, now that they get free range play time (only in the living room, but plenty of mischief opportunities here...) and have revealed their true, inexhaustible selves. it's been quite the transformation from shy baby and apathetic boy. they are so happy and lively, and naughty! we are starting to bond more, but cuddling is still out of the question. sysi will climb everything, including the baby rat gate, and is constantly being told off or put back in the cage for a time out, so i try to arrange some safe opportunities for juvenile delinquency for him to have fun. little savu is growing so fast, over 50 grams in two weeks.  his specialty is trying to steal entire cans of treats and hiding in silence until yours truly panics.

all my photos are dark and blurry; the bright, white winter a mere memory. i am more worn down than usual, probably because i'm trying to go without dairy and too much sugar until yule, which limits available treats. i did find some cheeses in the fridge the other day and rather than let them go to waste, made sainte maure and parmigiano pizzettas with some cherry tomatoes from a friend. but all i can really think about is the box of chocolates in the cupboard...

we had an instant winter almost overnight, and i am so pleased. it is forecast to all melt away but today was just perfect, on the minus side of zero degrees and totally calm with great light. i took a bunch of pictures on my forest walk and will try to post them this week. this tablet snap of afternoon glow is from my doorstep, which was covered with 10 cm of snow in the morning.

the little rats moved in just over a week ago, and are still getting used to me and each other. they're not as affectionate as i was hoping, hardly interested in me at all unless i have a treat, and quite skiddish when they're not busy sleeping. hoping to win them over with patience and love (and carrot snacks). they both seem to have very distinct personalities, though, and it will be fun to watch them grow.

this photo is a bit deceiving, as the black one is almost twice the size of the russian blue (the light is poor and yellows him out) even though they're only eight days apart in age. they're called sysi (pitch as in pitch black) and savu (smoke). they are so cute of course while they are still kids, but i can't wait for them to become big and cuddly. i have high hopes that sysi will turn out to be one of those 1 kg gentle giants, he is huge for his age already. savu on the other hand is of slight build and will probably remain tiny. but the way he is scarfing down all the food, who knows...

p.s. i am unable to answer comments at the moment, another fun blogger vs. my tablet glitch, but i read and appreciate them so don't feel snubbed out, please!

hi... it's been a long time, i know. some of my blog silence is due to instagram having become my outlet for a lot of 'look at this!' kind of photography. also, it is kind of a pain to update blogger on a tablet. mostly though, i've had very little to say.

a little over a month ago, basu baageli passed away, with the help of our lovely vet. he was two and a half years old, but still as active as he could manage with hind leg paralysis, climbing up to the sofa every day along a ramp of cushions to hang out and be pampered. he had a good appetite and devoured dandelion leaves and blackberries. it was the tumor that grew back and turned cancerous quite quickly, and i had to make the decision to let him not suffer. he gave me a kiss before falling asleep and was gone in a moment. ready to move on, i believe. while it wasn't a surprise, it was still a shock, and i've only just started to really grieve.

i decided not to have any more heartbreakers and then promptly reserved two baby rats. first i tried to find rescues or home-changers but finally came across this russian blue little sausage, and it just felt right. then i had to find him a friend, and got a black rex, just like basu's father had been. a love child from a surprise litter. i am both excited and terrified. two weeks from now they will move in, and it's up to me to somehow make sure they grow up healthy and sane. but it will be a lot of fun, too, and most of all i can't wait to learn what their scents are like. basu and paroni both smelled like oat cookies.

so, i haven't completely abandoned my pineaway, and promise to return with furry friends and hopefully pictures of snow and freshly baked cookies and all those wonderful winter things.

inocybe impexa

summer has been quiet so far, and rather cool, apart from a pulse of heat that took me from my woolly socks one day into newly bought sandals the next. that didn't last long, and i'm not sorry, but the constant chilliness and grey skies has really curbed growth in the garden, as well as the woods. on the other hand, the watering can has had a good rest... and i've been able to dabble with a bit of running. (hard to keep a pace when there are so many interesting things to stop and look at on the road...)

turdus iliacus

the only things disturbing the peace have been the construction of that damned bike lane in front of the house and the redwings nesting in the eaves. the latter make an awful racket every time i walk outside, and make dashes at me. they have their young scattered about the garden, i can spy them getting fed from the kitchen window sometimes. the blackbirds' children are much more grown up already, running around on their own.

lepus europaeus

a while ago there was a brown hare munching on the dandedion in the middle of the yard in broad daylight. i wonder if it is the same one i saw sleeping on the same spot one morning a few years ago. i can't help but feel like it's my late cat visiting, he was similarly alert all the time and loved to eat grass like it was going out of style..

cheliver cancroides

the joys of living in an old house is that you are never alone... this pseudoscorpion is harmless, to humans anyway, and actually very welcome because it preys on possible pests. it's very small, the stripes on the wallpaper are only 5 mm wide. i only noticed the delicate pattern after taking this photo.

fuligo septica var. candida

there's been lots of slime molds in the forest but not much else, until a few days ago. first i found some agaricus in a spruce field, in finnish i would say kuusiherkkusieni, but the exact species kind of eludes me. these didn't have the aniseed-y scent that is commonly associated with them, and they didn't bruise yellow either. i also found at least three different latin names online and in books, so i'll just leave it open. i ate them, though, and they were delicious. i did use due caution, though!

these do slightly resemble the deadly amanita virosa, the destroying angel, but the gills and specifically the spores mark them apart. amanitas have white spores, so the gills stay snow white, whereas the above mushrooms clearly show staining, starting from pale pink and turning to purplish brown/grey. amanita virosa smells like raw potato, these didn't smell of anything but mushrooms, but the agaricus essettei/silvicola/abruptibulbus generally have a sweet scent much like aniseed and/or almond.

(it could also be that i couldn't detect the scent, because this summer i wasn't able to smell apple blossoms, either. perhaps i have lost part of my olfactory system, if that is possible.)

yesterday i took a longer walk and some tiny chanterelles and boletes had popped up. i made a creamy sauce and ate way too much on one go, all of it in fact, with quinoa. today i had fairy-ring mushrooms from the yard in miso soup with rice vermicelli for lunch. maybe not mushrooms for dinner, just for once...

here is basu baageli last night in his new, crocheted pod on the sofa. he is fast becoming fond of it, as he tends to find something tasty inside every evening, come couch time. as i'm typing this post, i keep tippy-toeing over there to check on him. he climbed out of the cage on his own, which he doesn't usually do in the middle of the day, and wanted me to lift him on the sofa (old age has caught up with him) and he is sleeping there now. completely new behaviour so i'm a little alert. i made a ramp from some pillows so he can get down on his own. last night he slept by my side under the blanket all through american idol. usually he wants to go back in his 'room' a lot sooner, once the treats are all gone and he has tolerated my pawing long enough...

the reason why i'm not on said sofa at the moment is that my little laptop finally got burned out after about nine years of heavy use. can't really complain, but i almost lost a year and a half worth of photos with it. luckily i was able to start in in some kind of 'safe' mode with limited features and fish those files out. turns out i had saved my 2014 in pictures onto the external hard drive, but then somehow also deleted it. phew. and so now i am typing on what seems to be a huge keyboard, in my dad's study, on his computer.

i peeped in, and basu is sleeping in his petrol blue pod like a baby. i would love to share that with you, but don't want to wake him by showing a camera up his face. he gets plenty of that, and frankly would do with a lot less if you ask him. he seems to be dreaming, because his front paws are twitching slightly, so let's leave him in his slumber. he is probably eating something tasty there, according to the bliss face...

it's midsummer's eve here in finland, and rainy and cold as usual. lilacs are in full bloom and the scent is heavy even on a wet day. i made a strawberry cake with toasted white chocolate to mark the celebration, but i'm staying at home with no special plans otherwise. just cake and a bit of drinky-winky, maybe.

the rat and i stayed at my mother's in town for ten days, from weekend to weekend, last week. i was so exhausted i pretty much stayed comatose on the mattress most of the time, but basu got all excited and kept running around like a young rascal. the above photo perfectly sums up his whole stay. he quickly learned that my mom would be the porridge maker in the morning, and started to boss her around. she loves basu, him being the closest thing she has for a grandchild, but still has a little bit of fear that he's going to bite. they got along just fine, though, when i was away, although mom claims he was naughty and testing the limits and giving her the evil eye...

here you can see how beautifully the scar on his rump has healed, but the fur is still growing back in. as soon as we got back home, he reverted back to his old man self and keeps sleeping all day long. today he didn't even come out for breakfast, although he has been eating everything else i've offered, so i don't think he's ill. it's just puzzling to me why he gets so lethargic here, with more room to roam and all. if he's not happy, i'm not happy... hopefully the weather will summer up a bit on sunday so we can have a little picnic in the garden. he is so into his dandelions these days.

well, i completely forgot to post the above yesterday, what i made with the false morels. creamy spaghetti sauce, of course... it was delicious! the gluten-free pasta gets its golden colour from turmeric, which i seem to be putting everywhere nowadays. porridge, yoghurt, sweet and savoury things, tea, you name it. cinnamon and black pepper are never far behind. i love spicy food, but lately i've been making a lot of japanese style dishes also, with minimal seasoning that bring out the flavour of the fresh ingredients. guess spring will do that.

speaking of spring, it has been doing its magic in the garden. i especially like these fritillarias that are slightly lighter in colour than the rest. i planted loads of white and patterned ones a few years ago, because i was told they would deter voles (they do not...) but also because they are really beautiful and easy. the white ones are down to two, and i think i know why because both of them are all but eaten already. i wanted lots of them, with just a few purple, checkered flowers thrown in for interest, but things don't always go as planned.

primula veris

this red cowslip is a mystery to me. it just kind of appeared one year, and i don't know if it came as a seed from some neighbour's yard or if it mutated from the regular, yellow one that we have. that one is growing clinging to the side of the flowerbed, like it might have once been planted on purpose, but it could also just be a wild specimen. no one has confessed to transplanting them, yet. i've been dividing the red one and it seems to produce red offspring from seed, too. quite lovely, especially since this is a protected species native to the area but i've never actually seen it in the wild.

this white beauty is another mystery, even though i probably have sown it from seed myself. it's a small plant with very fragrant flowers, and i just spotted it growing on the stone wall. it's neither of the two white flowers that i've tried to get to grow there, unless i've had the wrong seeds. so far no luck with finding out what this is. anyone? any guesses even?

[edit: thanks to hilja, we now have a name for the plant, it's a rockcress, arabis sp. welcome to the garden, pitkäpalko, wherever you came from!]

i've been studying japanese on my own, off and on, for a few years now, thinking i could never learn, but all of a sudden it seems i've got quite a few useful sentences down. i even learned the numbers from one to ten, which was the hardest thing for so very long. i couldn't even get past two. then within one week i got to three, and in threes up to ten, and then backwards to zero, even. learning, remembering, it can be funny sometimes.

i've been avoiding the rest of the number stuff, because japanese has insanely difficult grammar for the amounts and order of different things, not to mention how numbers are put together. it really drives me nuts, but whenever i get mad at the japanese for making it so complicated, i have to admit that my own native tongue isn't exactly in the easy to master category, either. and japanese has a lot in common with finnish, even though they aren't that closely related. i suppose in time i can learn it more and more.

for now my method is to memorize phrases and sentences that have personal meaning, everyday talk with the rat, for example. they are easier to remember, and for me it's a good base to build and reflect upon. it's a dream of mine to live in japan for at least one year, to travel across the islands and just take it all in. before that i want to have a basic grasp of the language, though. and my hiragana could be a lot better. my local library might have some children's books in japanese, that could be a sort of organic way to learn. and i should get back with the habit of transcribing my japanese magazines.

the trouble is, there's so much i want to do that i still just get frozen in the sea of possibilities. for twenty-five years at least i've tried and triend, and have very little to show for all the energy i've wasted. i constantly watch people have ideas, try and fail, yet produce amazing things, while i keep on thinking about maybe doing something some day. at times i swear i will let go of even trying, but the anxiety always remains. something in my brain just won't switch on and let me function properly, which frustrates me to no end. being a perfectionist, being too hard on myself, is only a fraction of the problem when i can't even keep up with washing the dishes because i'm too tired and confused from all the frantic thinking that my brain constantly churns out on me.

i suppose nothing but flowers would've been the witty choice here, but i really feel more like this:

so it's poison mushroom season again. false morels are popping up and i keep hearing them calling. i only go on warm days, because when boiling the toxin out of them i need to be able to air out the house properly. with a little furry critter on the premises i am extra vigilant with that. this was only my second forage, but now my freezer is stocked with a year's worth of gyromitra esculenta, so i don't think i will go looking for more. i would love to find actual morels, though, but they are elusive here.

false morels aren't always that easy to find, either. but sometimes hey are hard to miss. here are some examples of both cases:

i have been making only short trips to the nearby woods lately, and while i love them dearly and there is always something new to find, i'm planning on a longer hike to explore some new territory beyond my usual haunts. overnight camping is not an option because i can't take the rat along, nor leave him alone, but he sleeps most of the day so an afternoon's adventure is soon to happen.

today i tried to take basu out on the lawn, to take a nice photo to send the vet a thank-you card. it was sunny and warm, but somewhat windy, and basu got a bit unnerved i think. he sniffed at the dandelions from my lap a little, but then crawled back inside my shirt where he thoroughly bathed himself before falling fast asleep. all the while i was crouched in an awkward position, getting chilly sitting on the damp grass. so i just took him back in, no use trying to force it. i'll send that silly yoghurt-nosed shot i posted earlier instead, and basu can only blame himself...

back indoors, basu decided he wasn't sleepy after all. he ate his leftover breakfast porridge and had another long grooming session. i took tons of photos of him in action and some of them are just too funny. here, i think he is sneezing while scratching his nose. i'll just leave you with that, i have no words...

there were some iffy, not so great tasting cherry tomatoes withering away in the crisper of my fridge, so i decided they might benefit from being cooked. solution: pizza. my gluten free pizza dough is the same as my scones recipe, which i have posted about before, but here it comes again:

2 dl of any gluten free flour(s combined)
(today i substituted about a tablespoonful with quinoa flakes)
a pinch of psyllium powder
some smoked paprika
1 ts baking powder
a bit of salt and some honey (both of which i forgot this time!)
a good sprinkling of grated parmigiano reggiano
1/4 dl olive oil (or any good oil)
1 dl nut milk, milk, or water

i combine the ingredients quickly by hand. the consistency tends to vary and can be sticky. i use wet hands to mold the dough on a baking sheet already on the baking tray, for pizza i like to make it very thin.

on this particular pizza i first spread a mix of sambal oelek (chili paste) and regular ketchup, then topped with slices of goat's cheese and halved cherry tomatoes (i put some on top of the cheese rounds). i added some parmigiano, ground black pepper and chopped up ground elder, bistort and one yarrow leaf. on top of the tomatoes not resting in a cheese nest i pressed fresh thyme tips. then i added some more parmigiano.

the pizza baked for 15 minutes, low in the oven, at 200—225°C (i had to raise the temp a bit midway to get a crispy crust.) to finish it off i chopped some chives and one fresh ground elder shoot. and it's all gone already.

today i heard the first cuckoo of the year and he sounded like he had in fact gone a bit cuckoo. very intense and persistent. guess we are moving more towards summer. there hasn't been the usual may heat yet, in fact it's been quite chilly, woolly scarf weather still. but the first of the tulips i planted last fall have opened up: tall, creamy ones. they look great next to the burgundy of the peony shoots. soon the deep purple ones will follow, i think.

more and more of the forget-me-nots in the garden are white, and many blue ones start off pink. it could have something to do with the acidity of the soil, but it's kind of nice, even though i'm usually more into uniformity. it's a great herb as well, full of potassium and pretty in salads and desserts.

i love this old guy so much i can't even handle it sometimes. he's given me a lot of worry lately, but i wouldn't trade this bagel for anything. since the last post there has been some more trouble, but he has bounced back from three transient ischemic attacks, and fingers crossed the worst is over now, because the past few days have been just lovely. to see him running about and being goofy fills my heart with immense joy, all i want is for basu to feel good and be happy.

my favourite butterfly is the mourning cloak, and especially so the first one each year, a bit tattered and worn but gorgeous nonetheless. we are starting to have some warmer days finally, and i saw one basking in the sun where all our late cats and one mouse have been buried, so it seemed extra meaningful.

another fave of mine is the white grape hyacinth, muscari botryoides 'alba'. we've got lots of blue ones in the garden and they scent the spring air so sweetly, but these pale, tiny pearls are what i most wait for.

the intense rain ceased today and it did me a world of good to be out in the woods. this past week has been demanding and exhausting, and i've barely been able to leave the house. the rat had surgery on wednesday last week, the tumor began to bother him, and i had to decide between waiting until it becomes unbearable and it's time to put him down, or getting rid of the lump but risking sudden death because small rodents don't handle anesthesia very well. since basu is so perky for his age, i decided to give him a chance at a more comfortable old age, and the vet agreed to operate.

the lump removal itself went smoothly, but there were some complications after. it took him forever to wake up and i had to wait without seeing him for hours. then when he finally started to come to, they brought him to me, but he started to have trouble breathing and was taken back for extra oxygen and medication. half an hour later we were sent home, with an ampule of fluid removing stuff for me to inject under his skin in case his lungs didn't clear.

the first night i stayed up trying to keep basu alive. he stopped breathing a couple of times and i shook him and rubbed and lulled him until finally the second injection worked and he stopped drowning from fluid buildup. then he crawled around and around in circles for i don't know how long. i had to give him water by the drop to keep him hydrated until he finally was able to gnaw on some cucumber.

in the morning basu was still groggy but had regained command of his hind legs finally. i had to constantly watch him so he didn't chew his stitches, because you can't put a cone on a rat, nor do band-aids stick to the fur. he was so patient with me, though, when i kept blocking, but obviously there was no way for me to do that 24/7 and long story short, he ended up with a gaping wound the next day. one moment he was eating porridge in the kitchen like it was nothing, then suddenly ran to my lap in panic and pain and raw in the flesh.

i panicked also, and further so when i couldn't get the frantic rodent to any vet for mending. i was told to treat it as an open wound but i couldn't see how it would ever heal with basu constantly moving and licking. during the weekend he went from hyperactive to really tired and wanted to just sleep under my shirt, which he never had done before, and he got really hot. on sunday i kind of broke down, when he tore more stitches and bled. on top of fearing he would come totally undone (the scar runs the length of his lower back) i had to consider his already compromised kidneys might not cope with the pain medicine. i booked an appointment for the next day, just in case things got worse, so i knew i could at least take him to get euthanized. i bawled my eyes out, i was sure i would lose him over a few stupid stitches after he'd pulled through so much. he stayed against my skin, on my heart.

then on monday the vet, who is like an angel, reassured me that everything will be all right, that the wound will heal even if it opens up altogether, and basu is progressing well. she even revived me with a glass of water when i got dizzy from the sudden relief, and the visit didn't cost a penny. i'm so glad to have found a veterinarian who is good with both animals and people. we came home, the sun was shining and butterflies fluttering, i could hardly comprehend the good news. basu was so good at the vet's even though his sore back was poked and prodded at, he just huffed and puffed with his head hid under my shirt. back home, he fell asleep on my lap and dreamed of the vet, i think, because he kept twitching and making the same sounds.

little by little we are both recovering. i've been sleeping whole nights through and basu isn't glued to me anymore, which is bittersweet... since he got his nest box back he has barely cuddled with me, too busy redecorating i guess. it's amazing how fast rats bounce back. his open wound still needs attention and he is on antibiotics, but luckily we were allowed to change from hideous baytril to the kind that he licks straight off a spoon, so no more wrestling matches twice a day. we have another check-up on monday, fingers crossed everything will be scabbed up by then...

so, after all that i really needed the recharge. i was up so early today that i ended up in the woods while the still rising sun was steaming the rain off mossy ground. picked some false morels which emerged super early, and reindeer lichen, photographed tiny mushrooms, and witnessed a bunch of squirrels frolicking, still in their grey winter coats. practised breathing again. still waiting for that proper sigh of relief.

tonight is the eve of vappu, a spring celebration, and i usually always make mead in advance but all that has had to be put aside lately. i think i'll make my mead once dandelions flower. and cowslip, i want to try that too. i am so ready for warmer weather already, but at the same time: where on earth did april go?

yesterday was really warm all of a sudden, first no overcoat day for me. grumpy bumble bees were everywhere, little black ants had woken up and there was even a butterfly in the garden. i saw a bunch of cranes meet, apparently greet, and then after a few rounds go on their way in pairs to their homes. i like living under a migration route, the coastline for sure plays a part in it, but sometimes it feels like there is a major intersection right above the house.

it's the time of year, again, when i notice that i take the same photos over and over and over... so i tried to find some new angles at least. i will be replanting some of my doubled snowdrops, 'flore pleno' i think they are called, because while they do thrive, i'd like to see them in bloom a little earlier. last fall i planted the plain kind under the kitchen window, seen on the background, which faces east and gets the morning sun, and i will mix a few fancy ones with those. hopefully they will cross-pollinate over time and surprise me...

there's no escaping this one, sinivuokko, the blue anemone, or liverwort. it has had many scientific names, from anemone triloba to anemone hepatica to hepatica nobilis. i have originally learned the middle one, so that is what i still use, even though the last is probably the accurate one. ants carry the seeds, so they pop up here and there, often in unfortunate spots in the yard, so i often move them. i'm tempted to try the hydrangea trick and plant some in chalky soil to turn them pink, i only just learned that it's possible... i do love them blue, though.

i went looking for adders in the sunny shrub, but came across some susuwatari eggs instead... (remember those soot sprites from 'my neighbor totoro'? makkuro kurosuke?) that is my best estimate at least. i have no idea whether this is a fungus or ripened slime mold or something else entirely.

it was so warm that i took basu outside to sniff a little fresh air. at first he wasn't too sure, but after a few minutes he was chillin' in the grass like it was nothing. he was acting cool, but the truth came out -- from his butt, in the form of a giant fear poop... that cut our adventure short because the loose stool was all over his furry behind (okay, his giant, fluffy balls) and had to be rinsed off before he smeared it all over me, because basu still wanted to climb on my lap every now and then for reassurance. i was nonetheless impressed how quickly he took to being outdoors, i don't know whether he has ever walked on the ground like that before. last summer i took basu and paroni out with me in the cage but they just slept.

i feel like i must add a disclaimer that i don't recommend letting your pet rats loose in the garden, or even taking them out of the house unnecessarily. being prey animals they are prone to flight behaviour when scared and could easily get lost. they might not enjoy being out in the open in the first place. we were by the side of the house and i sat right there with him, so he could turn to me for safety. also, i didn't just plop him on the grass, i let him take his time to feel comfortable before making his own decision to jump down. judging from the photos i posted on my instagram, he wasn't too unhappy...

nature boy
spring chillin'

there are lots of yellow crocuses growing in the garden, and i don't like the colour of them at all. that prompted me to test out yet another feature in the new camera, the monochrome setting. much better. i really wish they were all white instead. the balance of shadow and light is also nicely emphasized.

plenty of stuff to forage already, i picked some ground elder shoots, nettle, and bistort for my noodle soup. today it's raining so i am expecting an explosion of green in the coming days. next week will also be my big sowing seeds extravaganza, because so far it has been too overcast and dark to even bother trying. all my feb and march seeds are still waiting...

this is yesterday's sunshine, for today we are having none. i finally started reading the luminaries by eleanor catton, and basu continues to love his box full of wilted grasses. i have eaten three chocolate eggs since midnight, and a handful or two of jelly bean candy, which quite frankly has gone to my head. what a sugar buzz, i can just about feel it rushing through my veins now. it's also making me feel sleepy...

i enjoyed my first bites of chocolate after lent along to the honest guys' mindfulness meditation, which made even kinder-egg chocolate taste amazing, even more so than just the long abstinence. their youtube channel is almost as good as chocolate, all in all. i have many favourites among their guided meditations.

it's time for me to bake and cook before tonight's studio ghibli movies, totoro and laputa: castle in the sky. forgot to buy lemons, which was my staple for all that was planned, so i have to wing it now. i'll probably take the easy route of rice noodles and mushroom stock. ice cream for dessert!

to surprise basu baageli, i sprouted some wheatgrass and timotei in his travel box. it doesn't take very much to make a rat happy. he slept in there all day.

i have proper video footage of his happiness, but turns out my new camera makes a video format that windows doesn't understand, instead of the standard, so i can't edit or watch them on my laptop now. i will look into converting the files later...

tomorrow is the end of my chocolate break. 40 days without, no slip-ups! i am so proud of myself. the first month was relatively easy but after that, it's been a struggle. i did eat sugary things that i wasn't supposed to, and crisps too, but my aim was never to be a saint.

yesterday at noon we enjoyed a partial solar eclipse. it was slightly cloudy, but clear enough to see the sun wane into a crescent and to notice the light changing. this made me happy, since usually whenever something exciting is happening in the skies, they tend to be heavily overcast. i taped together a makeshift filter from several layers of some kind of exposed film i happen to have acquired over my years of hoarding possibly useful stuff, and it worked perfectly, i didn't go blind. the clouds actually helped with taking photos. it was very clear when the sun was at its slimmest, like a boat in a cave painting, and i couldn't get a picture of it then. somehow the cloudiness created a better photo by filtering the light even more.

birds got very restless even before my bare eyes noticed any chance in luminance, and then got quiet when it was the dimmest. lots of crows flew away from the sun, to the north, making upset noises. one lone raven went the other way and later returned, calling to alarm me as it flew past. bullfinches whistled on treetops to each other. it was a powerful experience, a reminder of how awesome those orbs of light in the sky are, in reality.

a lot has been going on up above lately. i missed the aurora borealis of the decade because i didn't read the news the day before. the one day i don't, so typical... i did however see two shooting stars the next night, and looked at jupiter with my telescope. its four moons were aligned in a curved line like they were hanging by a thread.

a few days ago i went to hang my duvet to air out, and four sea eagles were circling above the yard. i ran to fetch my camera but they had already soared farther away so i didn't get very clear shots, but it was a good opportunity to test the zoom this time. better than before, not amazing but usable.

the dumptruck came while i was ogling the birds and i pointed them out to the guy and we chatted a bit about them. the eagles have become more common than, say, ten years ago, when i probably saw my first, but it's still always a sight to behold. i'd never seen four at once before. i think they looked like young ones, so they must have been in search of territory and partner.

there is supposed to be snow again tomorrow morning. it was cold enough today. i hope my tulips won't get frostbite, there are red budding tips peeking from the flowerbed already. i planted the bulbs last fall, and i can't wait to see how they turn out. hopefully they will bloom before the peonies swamp them. fingers crossed for mellow spring weather...

today was the first day of spring. blackbird sang in the woods, all kinds of bugs and flies awoke, i spotted the first blade of chives peeking from the earth, it was warm and sunny... almost all the snow is gone from the yard. there is still a fair chance of more, but winter is definitely on its way out. first crocuses opened up in front of the house where it is the warmest. i picked up some fallen branches but it's still too wet and muddy for raking. foraged a broken juniper branch, which is just wide enough for me to dream of one day carving little sugar spoons out of it.

our pond/puddle is looking a bit overgrown and sad, but i still hope to have it bigger and full of ducks, also one day in the future... here's hoping that this spring there will be tadpoles.

oh, hello there, new growth! it always feels almost unreal, the winter is so long and you forget... this is alchemilla mollis, lady's mantle, but with a few more days of sun there will be baby nettle to pick, too. i try not to get too far ahead of myself, it is only march, but after such a disappointing winter, i am so ready for the next season. a part of me is concerned though, and still wants to stay indoors and sew and knit, because i am behind on all of my projects as usual.

basu baageli has been super energetic but i have no photos to prove it, because i've had my hands full with the furry blur of a critter. he's even more cuddly, too, than he was before, now that there isn't another rat to do the grooming, and he really knows which strings to pull to get his dose of pampering when he needs it. not that it takes very much with me. it's a win-win situation. i couldn't pick just one picture so i made a little collage of cuteness instead. in the bottom right there, i am really ruffling him up and he's leaning hard against my hand, just like a dog, really. but he also loves it when i very gently trace his face with my fingertip.

i still sometimes worry about basu being the only rat, but i can honestly say that he doesn't. it's been three months since paroni passed away, and after the initial grieving and adjusting, basu has been living his ratty life as usual. he gets all the food for himself now, which must be awesome. i haven't noticed any signs of depression, on the contrary. overall he seems more relaxed, and with the winter behind us, there is a new spring in his step, even.

every so often i do consider adding some babies to the pack, but even though i've fallen in love with some, i've resisted. i for one don't have the energy for such sparklers, nor is this house suited for tiny rodents. they'd be in the walls in no time, there are so many open holes. i'd take another mellow, old boy left without company, but so far haven't found him. i'm sure basu would accept a new friend despite his age, but it would have to be the submissive kind. basu is quite bossy.

i got a surprise dental check-up this morning. i know rats can do that, but basu has never before shown any interest beyond pulling at my lip with his teeth. suddenly he just shoved his head in my mouth, very promptly held it open, then cleaned my teeth and licked the insides of my lips very intently. i know for a majority of people there is not much more gross than that, but he was so matter-of-fact about it the animal in me felt at ease. the human thought it was a bit awkward, to be honest.

i've never thought of any animals in my life as pets in the sense that they somehow belong to me as objects. they are just housemates who happen to be a different species. they are family members who aren't human. it's that simple. they get the same respect and dicipline as anyone would. communication tends to be on the energy level more than any other, it's all about being open to it, listening with all the senses. for the most part, we are the same as our pets, and they have so much to teach us humans about living in the now, for example.

as today's lesson, basu is demonstrating absolute contentment after receiving a thorough massage: