Spring day in the Russian village

Laura Williams writes: “Hello! My name is Laura. I have lived in Russia for over 20 years, most of them in a small village (pop. 10) in the Bryansk Forest. My husband is a Russian wildlife photographer and quite famous blogger - shpilenok. True, now he is in the North on a photo expedition. I am also involved in conservation. I'm also a writer, which allows me to work from home and be close to our two boys (age 9 and 12). I write articles, books, recently started a blog - llorax in Russian and English. Welcome to my world: Chukhrai village, Bryansk region. This is an essay about one spring day, March 13th.

(Total 39 photos)

1. On weekdays, only children go to work - in the third and sixth grades. The village school is located 15 km from us along the forest road, so we need to leave at 8:30 in the morning. Accordingly, I get up at 7:30. Our dog Nika meets me in the morning on the phone screen.

2. I feed a crowd of hungry pets (there will still be “street” ones): Gosha the cat, Ryska the cat, Nick the dog.

3. At 7:45-8:00 children wake up. You have to go to them several times to wake them up. I'm still heating the oven.

4. I feed my children breakfast, usually scrambled eggs, cheesecakes or pancakes. If my husband is at home, then sometimes I feed him too, but in general I have already “trained” him to cook breakfast myself.

5. I send children to school: the first one has gone (the second one has already gone). Usually the husband takes the children, but since he is not here now, I take them. The black cat, by the way, is the neighbor's. But we are already used to the fact that every morning he crosses the road for us.

6. Nika accompanies us every morning.

7. Today our third grader studies alone. A classmate is sick.

8. Now the whole house is mine! I drink tea, throw laundry in the washing machine, check email and blog posts. Today we still have to finish an article about wild tulips in Kalmykia for an American magazine. The writing chair is calling!

9. Worked a little, but the weather is so gorgeous! The sun is shining bright and warm. Lures you to the street. There I check the tawny owl, which was brought to us for the New Year: the train knocked it down. She miraculously survived, but her wing was broken. Live with us for now. I'm checking to see if she's eaten the chicken gizzards I've been leaving her with since last night.

10. An owl peeps out of a hollow, but it only comes out at night.

11. Nika is waiting for me to take a walk with her. Okay girl, walk, so walk!

12. The ground is already soft. I decided to thin out the old strawberries and transplant them into new beds.

13. Removing straw winter shelter from the high beds we made last year.

14. From under the straw, it is clear that garlic is already waking up from hibernation.

15. Horses came from the forest. They graze with us all the time in freedom, except for the summer, when they need to be closed so that the vegetable gardens do not trample on. When they come, I always give them oats. Our portrait with Zorka.

16. I give kitchen waste to chickens, but a strange cat brazenly climbs into their basin.

17. I collect eggs in the chicken coop and take them home.

18. Yard work completed by 12:00 o'clock. She threw wood into the stove.

19. Soon the children will come from school, we must prepare food for them. When my husband is away, I spoil them with typical American dishes such as homemade pizza or tacos (they are both quick and tasty). My husband doesn't eat this kind of food. When he is at home, I cook borscht, meat and potatoes, chicken, salads.

20. Lynx asks to go home. She enters only through the window. I'm just a porter to her.

21. The children are already at home, I feed them lunch. I'm just a cook for them.

22. While washing the dishes, admiring the view from the window. We built the house ourselves, it took 10 years. I talk about it here.

23. While the children are riding bicycles, I decided to ride Orlik into the forest.

24. Orlik and I against the backdrop of the village.

25. On the way I meet our neighbor, surprisingly today he is sober.

26. In the village, the beds are waiting until the local grandmothers wake up from hibernation.

27. Pine forest from the back of a horse.

28. In the forest, I admire the tops of the trees.

29. There is no further passage: the border of the Bryansk Forest reserve. Orlik and I are going back.

30. In the village, I hung a jar to collect maple sap. Oh how delicious!

31. I like to collect local "antiques".

32. It is necessary to transplant the flower that was presented to me on March 8th.

33. And water the seedlings - flowers, broccoli, tomatoes.

34. Children sometimes watch TV after school, but today the hall is empty. All in the yard.

35. I sit down to write a blog post.

36. I am in my office under the stork's nest.

37. In the evening I cook dinner while the children (with the cat) do their homework.

38. Sunset in the village.

39. Lights out between 10:30 and 11:00 p.m. Tomorrow everything will start again.