Their Lives on Paper

The stillness of the year returns in Autumn.  The berry-pickers have left the rocky shorelines, and only footprints remain on the sandy beaches of the Stockholm Archipelago. 

Campfires are no longer for marshmallows, they're for warmth to offset  the chill of Autumn evenings.  Marketplaces sell their cloudberry jams, and the thought of searching for mushrooms creates a fanatical glaze in the eyes of most Swedes I know!

With the thesis writing now completed, I want to taking some long morning walks in the woods, while the air is still richly scented with  evergreens and damp moss.  Soon enough, the first icy frosts will crystallize the forests, and my sense of smell with go into deep denial.

The days spent with the little wildcats have gradually transcended from my memory -onto sheets and piles of data, with some 3,200 minutes of their lives now nothing more than permanent impressions locked within my often inadequate words.  I'd like to hope that the research would instill some "training" awareness in wildlife facilities who are still in the process of implementing enrichment programs, or perhaps even go so far as to change the lives of animals in captivity for the better, but the transparency of that thought only reflects my overly optimistic, and sometimes unrealistic nature.  Small steps ...small steps.

So, with the smell of birch wood smoke and morning fog hanging low in the air these days, I'll take a little time to walk into the forest, breathe in all the earthy smells, enjoy the changing colors, pick some kanterelles to later saute in garlic and butter, and then simply sit back and take in the incredible stillness of Sweden's autumn.

Lesson learned:

Light a fire, and keep the windows open