A joy

I am happy to announce that, after living with me for ten years, Minkelina has come to sit on my lap!  I could see she was working herself up to it - she had been doing an approach-avoidance dance for about a week, placing one paw on my lap, then retreating, placing two paws, walking over the arm of the chair to stand tensely on my lap for a few seconds, standing there and putting her butt down for a minute or so before running off, and finally - sitting down and stretching out.  I am so thrilled and surprised.  Now I have hope that someday, before either of us is gone, she will let me hold her.

I went down to Carkeek Park, where the temperature is usually about 10 degrees colder than at higher elevations, to discover that part of the ground was covered with thick frost.  I took lots of photos, but am particularly pleased with this one - I love how the pattern of leaves and stems stands out under the white cover.