Hedgehog season and other news

Last week Will and I saw a hedgehog on our evening walk. It had been a while since we'd encountered one. Back when we had a dacha, there were so many that it was hard to walk to the outhouse at night without tripping on them. Here, there just aren't as many around. The next morning Facebook showed me a memory of another one from the same day, 11 years ago. Then we went on our school nature walk that day and saw yet another one. It was in the grass right by the kids when I took the photo above; they could hear it crunching beetles. I told Asya that she and I should have reenacted the eleven-year-old photo.

Ukraine is slowly starting to come out of quarantine. We're in the first step of letting up, which is that stores and businesses can reopen, with precautions. It was a little early for this, but we met on Sunday with our American and Canadian/South African friends. It was very good to see each other after eight weeks. The only photo I took was a silly one of the girls begging for something, desert or a movie? I can't remember.

Also, art school is reopening for one month in groups small enough to fit inside the law, in masks, with temperature checks. So, I have a quiet house for the first time in months! While most of the rest of the world was pining for contact with people, I started needing People. Out. (Mostly I love having them home, and I have actually enjoyed that part of quarantine quite a bit, but it does eventually get old.) Bogdan is back at art for the first time right now, Will took him and will work in his office during class, Asya went with them to sit outside and talk with her friend who lives there, and Raia is on a walk with another friend; Jaan is quiet enough that he doesn't count. It's nice. Of course, there are three other children glued to the window to watch me. I'll join them outside soon. But for now I'm ignoring them.