a new morning

We woke up early to the sound of birds, chickens, roosters and dogs of our new neighborhood. We were groggy and excited to start a day in our new house, getting familiar with the grounds and unpacking. Last Friday was a day of carrying boxes and heavy furniture with a worried little girl grafted onto my left side while the rest of the body tried hard to participate and mostly accompanied five men, two cars and a truck. That day saw me drive at night with that same little girl asleep in her chair, the cat, the dog and a pile of odd items including stuff from the fridge and flower pots. We made it, and it was worth it.

Thembile, the dog, and Scratchy, the cat, seem to just belong here. They shared Scratchy's first trophy: a mouse, which he puked shortly after he ate its head, to Leila's delight (the catch, not the vomit). Coline is all excited about spotting spiders which size Cristiano brags about. I am split between my inclination to enjoying nature with liberated toes and my fear of spiders that makes my spine shrink when Coline goes barefoot on the grass. Leila has revealed herself as the fire master. She organizes expeditions to gather wood in our jungle of a backyard, sets it up in the fireplace and watches the fire so close she gets red and too hot to bear her clothes. We are adjusting to a much cooler and more humid climate here on our South-facing mountain, to all the bugs that call our house theirs and to not being withing a walking distance from anything, not so much because of the distance but because of the topography. We already had time for some intensity with Coline dislocating her elbow again and soon we are off to our yearly European tour.

  

Yesterday's moon set before sunrise reminds me that it is worth going to bed a little earlier.