Babies and cats (at least ours) have certain things in common

Timber and Eytan get along well.  Eytan definitely really really really likes Timber, and almost always wants to be near him or see what he's doing or point him out.  Timber likes Eytan sometimes, mostly when Eytan is able to pet gently rather than pulling or grabbing or bouncing his palms on fur... Luckily, Timber can outrun Eytan, so he can basically choose how much abuse he's willing to take in the interest of baby affection.  In any case, the two also seem to have a lot in common.  Both really like to tug on pieces of string, watch the washing machine turn, and bat food around on the floor.  And Timber really likes taking naps on top of the dresser in Eytan's room while Eytan is napping in the crib (note Timber has been really gentle with Eytan and has always opted for running away rather than fighting if he doesn't like something).



I don't have a picture of Timber tearing up pieces of paper, but here's Mike and Eytan doing it together, a favorite pastime for everyone.



And bench presses.



So far it has been a slow spring, i.e. not too warm yet.  Mike and I have planted our garden, but it's not doing much yet.  And meanwhile, we've been trying to do a better job than we sometimes do of getting out hiking.  Our friend Colleen has been on a similar mission and so it's been working well.  Here are pictures from a place called Teanaway Ridge.





By the end of the hike we had even found a little bit of remnant snow.

Oh, and here's a video Colleen took.

In other news, we've recently realized that Falkor is still nursing.  Of our goat babies from last year, Frosty weaned Malki long ago, but for whatever reason Gigi never weaned Falkor.  And 15 months is really really old for a goat to be nursing -- dairy producers usually try to wean by 1 month old at the latest, and most of our other goats weaned naturally well before 5 months.  Falkor is actually already significantly bigger than Gigi, and yet still getting some of her nutrition through her bonier and skinnier mama.  So Mike and I decided to take advantage of this (and hopefully speed weaning) and started milking her again, after a nine month absence.  So far, so good.

Meanwhile, I mentioned last time some new job possibilities for me, which, if they were to happen would mean that Mike and Eytan and I (and Timber, and the goats?) might leave Wenatchee sooner perhaps than we had expected.  It's interesting, because we have really liked it here in many ways.  It's pretty, and rural, and close to hiking and to fruit -- all the things you know from this blog I suppose... physically, it's pretty unbeatable.  But both Mike and I have had somewhat limited job options here, and while we have been happy to put professional concerns on the back burner for a while (except for when we complain about jobs being boring, etc.), we have figured that at some point we should give the idea of more "compelling" work a fair shake.  And in terms of community, well, I suppose we had had pretty high hopes when we first arrived here -- it felt easy to meet people, and to find friends with similar interests... but somehow it hasn't quite panned out quite as we had hoped.  The people who we really like we don't get to see very often -- either because the distances are long and it takes 30-60 minutes to get to them or because, well, I guess everyone's busy... And the people we see more often we haven't clicked with quite as well.

So there would be advantages to moving -- a change of community (although you never know -- that could end up being better, or worse, or equivalent), potentially more interesting work, easier access to services/"culture" etc. (not that we really find ourselves wanting to go out more than we do, or really miss having more restaurants/music/movies/etc. in our lives, but still)... But I'm also hesitant to go back to a more urban/suburban/congested environment.  I think I've gotten used to and spoiled by such proximate access to big Western nature and to agriculture.  I like living in a place where you can't necessarily get, say, whole wheat pizza or good greek salad, i.e. where not everything is readily available, where you have to find alternatives, and where it's easier to appreciate the special-ness of things that, well, are special.  But then again I do really like greek salad.

The last few times I've moved, it's felt like an "up" move, where I've been more excited about the place I was going than the place I had been -- to Peru, to Minneapolis, to Wenatchee.  Each of those places felt new and probably in some ways quaint (we can talk another time about why I might find "quaint" appealing) -- small villages in the jungle or the mountains, midwestern farm houses with apple pie, orchards and big rivers running through town.  And this move would be back towards a region that feels more familiar -- in this case Pittsburgh.  Not that I know western PA at all, or have spent any time in Pittsburgh.  But the geography at least is not that different than other places in the east, and somehow that makes it feel a little staid, even if other things about a potential move would make the whole endeavor quite worthwhile.  Interestingly, to Mike, Pittsburgh definitely has more of both a quaint and an exciting edge to it -- an old steel town, middle America revitilization, etc etc.

Anyway, I won't say too much more about this before we're more sure about it, but I'll fill you in on more details on the options as things emerge...