A beautiful piece of writing as always. Love your description of how animals take up subconscious space, how we expect to see them in our peripheral vision even when they're not there. I find that with their sounds too - after we lost our last dog I expected to hear the patter of his feet on the kitchen floor, such a strong expectation becomes almost a certainty, so you're convinced you've heard it/seen them even when you haven't. Kudos on using the opportunity to delve into the murky area of the ethics of domestication. And the line "the chirpy meow she reserves solely for intentional wrongdoing"... so accurate! 😅 I love your blog posts; whenever a new one drops I stop what I'm doing to read it... the digital equivalent to 5 mins with a cosy blanket and a hot drink, moments to savour these days!
Thanks so much Kate, that's lovely to hear! So true that the expectation extends to sounds - a dog's paws pattering across the floor is such a specific and comforting one, too ❤️
A beautiful piece of writing as always. Love your description of how animals take up subconscious space, how we expect to see them in our peripheral vision even when they're not there. I find that with their sounds too - after we lost our last dog I expected to hear the patter of his feet on the kitchen floor, such a strong expectation becomes almost a certainty, so you're convinced you've heard it/seen them even when you haven't. Kudos on using the opportunity to delve into the murky area of the ethics of domestication. And the line "the chirpy meow she reserves solely for intentional wrongdoing"... so accurate! 😅 I love your blog posts; whenever a new one drops I stop what I'm doing to read it... the digital equivalent to 5 mins with a cosy blanket and a hot drink, moments to savour these days!
Thanks so much Kate, that's lovely to hear! So true that the expectation extends to sounds - a dog's paws pattering across the floor is such a specific and comforting one, too ❤️