230325 nurture

 Mar. 24

Circle of the sun: I felt so much better this morning, with the pale watery sunlight, the mild air, my first crocus. The neighbours' snowdrops and crocuses bloomed earlier this week.

 Rocky has been sick, lethargic and other unpleasant symptoms. He had me out in the night (midnight, two am, and 4:30, two nights running but last night he slept through and only disturbed me at our usual wake time, needing to barf. He did not eat anything yesterday, even his chicken and rice. His ears have been bothering him too. I took a sample to the vet and there were no parasites. However they did not screen for bacteria or virus. 

It is early afternoon and Rocky is less lethargic. He scampered at a squirrel and has eaten some leftover eggs and later some dog food. I am waiting for the brown rice with broth and prebiotics to cool to offer it him. Why is it that the most dire possibilities come to mind in the early hours before dawn, and on a Friday - the last day of doctors' office hours and vets'? It was the same with children, they are succumbing to some dastardly illness at two in the morning, on a Friday! Rocky is keeping near me for sure, at my feet, if not lying against them. He knows he is unwell, and he knows that I know. I imagine that he knows that I am caring for him as best I can. This is the love part, that a friend mentioned one can always offer a pet, whether or not there is money for (sometimes?) over-zealous vet care.

(I finally understand pre- and pro- biotics. The pre is, of course, the first step - fibre for the biotic things to eat, and after that, "pro-biotics", the afters, the eaters. It was one of those things that, until you need it, you just file away, half-knowing.)

I was inspired to photograph Rocky's shadow - it seemed like Peter Pan getting his shadow back, or a sign of the warm spring sunshine.

Rocky is obviously feeling better. The air is almost, but a few degrees shy of, balmy. I had a pleasant walk with a very good friend (and the dog). 

I prepared a healthy supper - with leftovers from a couple of days. I like it when that happens; it offers a good variety of flavours. Tonight it is Tuesday's red cabbage salad with apples and carrots - enough for three days, yesterday's curry bean soup, a staple at our table always delicious and easy to prepare. It is two cups of any beans, a large bunch of greens, kale or spinach, coconut milk, the kind in a can, and curry. There is usually another veg, carrots or peppers. There was a rice pudding, brown rice, oat milk, raisins and, of course, a little maple prepared this morning when there was time and energy. I also prepared some roasted baby potatoes and a tomato-avocado salad. We enjoy our whole food, mostly vegan diet. Colourful, rich in texture, it is very satisfying. You soon find that, without  oil, butter, or sauces, the plain food is exquisitely flavourful. I use far fewer spices and herbs these days: I seem to want to taste the food itself.

Food preparation, though mundane, is so central to our well-being, we feed ourselves and our family healthy foods putting thought and energy into the nutrition and the nurture.

*****

K and I were concerned about drinking the tap water here in Toronto because we are used to the well water in Quebec. I investigated filters and systems and finally decided to eliminate the chlorine at least, using a free method that doesn't require replacement filters or other expenses. We leave the water for twenty-four hours for the chlorine to evaporate. The dog is also affected by the water, I think, so it is better for all of us. We are not big fans of COLD water for drinking, so this, unrefrigerated because of space, works well for us.

The bottles move to the front of the line as they get refilled.

Robin was home from school today and we fell into doing a couple of experiments from this book. It was fun and very informative as well. The first showed how the chemical that makes red cabbage purple (why is it called "red"?) could be changed by adding lemon juice, and the second was the effect of salt on the luminous substance in tonic water (quinine). We learned about planning, cleaning up, and everything in between. It was good bonding time as well. 

Straining the purple cabbage juice from the processed cabbage and water.

Luminous quinine in tonic water, and how salt breaks the molecules so the luminosity is disrupted: the tonic water/salt/ultraviolet light experiment. The book didn't go into the details of the chemical disruption on the quinine, but I found the information in Scientific American, on-line. 

This experiment (in Scientific American) used bleach as the alkaline substance, instead of salt.

*****

Cooper's hawk! She was calling, in the tree by our house, for a long time. I hope that soon a mate will turn up and call back. Perhaps her nest will be visible to us and she will teach her babies to hunt on our street again. It was such fun, when, in 2020, we could watch the fledglings trying to catch squirrels as they perfected their flying skills and coordination.

Mumma Yaga

On Saturday morning (this morning) I saw a lesser snow goose fly overhead. I have not seen one fore. It seems like an omen for good. It looked like a Canada goose only slimmer and completely white.