upon which Leaves on the Current insists is the old Russian tradition of making certain the animals are cared for before we celebrate ourselves.
I am not a celebrant of Christmas. I do not want gifts. I will occasionally get a specific gift for someone else, this year only two
- for one son of one of my wife's sisters, a middle schooler who thinks he wants to be a Marine, a history of the Corps from his former Marine uncle
- for my beloved spouse, the complete Inspector Morse Mysteries on DVD
My normal task at Christmas is to help others with their tasks. Today it will include wrapping, at which I am skilled and my wife is not. She will head up this afternoon to that sister's house, where the family celebration will be tomorrow because said sister is an emergency room Physician's Assistant who is working until this evening.
Last night it fell to me to do the animal things. I put out an ear of corn for the squirrels and seed for the birds. When I got up at 6 this morning there was evidence both had been discovered and sampled.
And for our three remaining felines, I opened a can of human tuna in water.
LionEl Tiger, our 14 year old with some mobility problems, came pretty promptly and was purring.
And by this morning both bowls into which it had been placed, had been licked totally clean.
Our felines give us so much - LionEl was probably the first to know Leaves had cancer - he used to lie on her directly above the location of the tumor discovered last january 27. When I am in a dark mood, he will inevitably find me and rub against me, purring, even if he has trouble getting to me. Last night, after the tuna, Elsa was all both of us.
The birds and squirrels provide amusement for the cats and remind us that we are not totally disconnected from the natural world around us.
One important Christmas ritual.
Remembering the animals.
Domestic and not domestic.
Thought it worth a mention.
Peace.