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:
