shades of gray

did i tell you that it rained a lot in denmark. yes? ok, well, but it really did rain. a lot. in fact i'd say grey was a bit of a theme this summer in denmark. but grey can be pretty. i like grey.

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funny thing, that grey sky and heavy clouds makes a of green. i am always surprised at the lush greens in denmark. the parks, gardens, fields, forests. we have a few months here in israel, by the end of winter, around march and april, sometimes even into may, where it seems green here. but that's only because the last month of summer and fall is so dry, so dusty and the surface of the earth so burned, that it seems like magic when the world gets colorful again after only a few months of cooler weather and rainy days.

when i get home to denmark i remember what green really is. because it's all around and in all shades. even august, or maybe especially in august, if the summer has been so generous on water as this summer was.

....right now, this second the cats we have outdoors just interrupted me. too much excitement on the terrace. turns out they were playing with a mouse. why do they have to do that? i get that they have to go for the mice. that's what cats do. fine. but the playing around first, sitting watching the mouse, then pushing it with a paw to make it move, only to catch it, then let it go again. just eat and move on. no?

and now we're at the wild outdoors that is my garden: for the last couple of days we've had a tiny porcupine showing up. i'm not a specialist, but i'd say it's a baby and it's close to being the cutest thing ever. we fed him snails this evening (sorry snail lovers, he seemed really hungry and he asked for snails). 

by the way, we still only have one chick in the coop. still waiting, impatiently, for her (she's got to be a her!) to get some sisters to play with.

wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

days in denmark

look at that sweater! and the rain clothes! hard to imagine now when we're back and the heat is on. as in really hot.

i'm getting cold feet re the dog. not sure if we're really ready for it. the boys have been busy getting back in to every day life and didn't talk about it either.

we do have a tiny chick in the coop, though. so cute, so sweet. crossing our fingers that we'll soon have more (honestly, we deserve it! the rooster out there wakes some of us - me! - up at 4 or 5 in the morning. i need at least 6 chicks to melt my heart enough to forgive him).

wishing you a wonderful weekend. here it's soon getting started.

a dog or not a dog?

back in may my family was here for ten days. that is, my parents and older brother with his wife and daughters. younger brother and girlfriend had exams so we missed out on their company. still, it was absolutely lovely. one of the days we went to a nearby kibbutz where there are different animals for the kids to pet. it's a beautiful little place.

this summer in denmark we met the new little dog of my nieces. his name is alvin and he is adorable (for some reason i don't have any photos of him, and any way i didn't get around to go through my photos from denmark).

now our boys started talking about a dog. and i think i'm quite against it. i think they are too young and it's too much work and responsibility. if we'd had one from before they were born, but that would have been a different story.

on the other hand, having a dog does appeal to me. we have perfect surroundings for it, living here in the countryside. and i must admit that after the break ins we had in the spring, it makes me wonder if a dog would make us feel a bit safer.

what do you think?