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...
