We Have a New Pet! My Daughter's Rescue Kitten.

Just two days before going back to the city from the summer house in  a remote village, we found this creature. My daughter saw her at the beach and came to pet, and the kitten followed her. I thought it was our neighbours', but no - nobody claimed the poor thing. Nobody expressed the desire to take her, too.

Malnourished and dirty, but full of courage and incredibly cuddly - she starts purring before you start petting her - she won our hearts immediately. My daughter was very sad that someone could throw the baby cat away, she just could not believe someone could do it on purpose. "Most likely, she is just lost! Wandered away!". Of course, I don't believe a small kitten would have wandered away from her mother. Most likely, someone decided to get rid of her.



We just kept feeding her and cuddling with her to make her feel safe and protected. My daughter was hopeful that we could keep the kitten, but I had my doubts. We live in apartment in the city, no garden or yard, and we have a large dog. Can we keep the cat or her life would be deficient?

I do some volunteer work as a photographer for a rescue, and I know that it is not easy to find good families for kittens. There are just too many. Actually, I also know that I can adopt out almost any animal (without grave issues), but it takes time and promotion efforts. Sometimes it takes months. So, keeping or giving away?

 

We did keep her, after consulting between ourselves. She does not need much space or food; as for the boring life in the apartment, we will try to make up for that by frequent visits to the summer house and maybe some walks in the city parks later (the latter is dangerous, too much infection). Right now her life is not boring, she keeps exploring the flat and terrorising the dog. My Malinois with jaws of steel is extremely tolerant and clearly the kitten is safe with him.

We call her Wing Chun - Chinese martial art. She moves softly and strikes hard like Yip Man. In these photos, she is still very thin and her eyes are sad. She has gained weight now and looks much happier, I will share new photos soon.

I am quite happy about my daughter's behaviour. At 10, she already understands that pets need to be cared for, every day, consistently, and that a responsible and good person would never abandon a pet. She cleans the litter box and feeds her "baby"; they play and sleep together. So, probably keeping the kitten was not a bad idea. The dog's life is not boring, too.

Back from Vacation!

We are back from vacation which was long and wonderful. We spent six weeks in a small village in the mountains, far from the city of Tashkent where we normally live, and it was really good for all of us, including the child and the dog.

We were walking for hours, exploring this very special place. It is called Bogiston village; it is very old, dating back to the 6th century, but very small nonetheless. People who live there are all Tajik, not Uzbek, and they speak Farsi (Persian) as a mother tongue. Fortunately for me, they speak Uzbek as well, or I would have difficulties communicating.

This is a very clean place, full of walnut trees, huge rocks, thyme and ice cold water. You can drink from any spring there, the water is delicious and definitely healthier than bottled one. At least I believe it is.

Before we left in the very end of August, the signs of autumn were already visible.

This was a small irrigation ditch, full of the same clear and cold water.



My Malinois Jager looking at the village from the hill.

Water in Uzbekistan is scarce; in the summer you can feel very clearly how special and valuable it is. After walking in the hot and dry mountains for hours, I am always very happy to find a lovely stream to drink from and wash my hands and face.

It is always difficult for me to resume my work after being away for weeks. I am bracing myself though. Took photos of a dozen of items today and will be listing them in my shop in the nearest days. Actually, I have already listed two beautiful vintage Russian shawls that you can see there. Moe to follow. 

Happy Mother's Day!

This is my Mother and me, about 35 years ago. I am very fortunate to have the most kind, loving, patient, forgiving and appreciating Mother. She is also beautiful and intelligent, and, frankly, I think she has no shortcomings at all. My only wish is for her to be healthy, happy, and to live a very long life.

Our Walk in Botanical Gardens

We have had a wonderful walk in the Botanical Garden today. It is still almost bare, but beautiful nonetheless, with plenty of new fresh grass, violets and some trees in bloom. Those trees stand out against the dark brown and gray background and it is a lovely view.

Right after the entrance, we were greeted by the arrow-wood. I have never seen it in bloom before, because I do not go to the Garden that early in the spring. Next year I will. The arrow-wood has the most wonderful fragrance.

My daughter and sister skated around. Madina (daughter) is still getting used to these after the child's model she used before (with wheels in two rows) and falls from time to time. But overall she is doing well. Has not hurt herself, and enjoyed the ride.

I spent several minutes with the violets, still covered in raindrops after the night rain...



...and then ran to catch up with the others.



Then I was delayed by this lovely tree. I am not even sure what it is. Looks a bit like cherry tree...

This... I do not know what this is, either. The white ones are lady's purse, and what about the blue ones? We have a lot of these in the cemetery, they always seem gloomy to me, but here in the meadow they appeared more cheerful.

We played frisbee, and then I took a break to take a couple of photos.

Madina's emotions are priceless! She is 8 years old now.

Katherine is always cool, calm and collected. With her Black Belt in Taekwondo, she has stunning muscles. She was awarded the belt just recently. Katherine is 14 now.

...And after play the family decided to have a rest on the grass.





I think Madina does look quite like her Papa, especially with this grumpy look.

Why buy a pillow when the Papa is there?

...And then it was time to go home. These several hours were very well spent, and we agreed to visit the Gardens again in a couple of weeks to see new flowers that will be there by then.

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