Feeling a bit ropey today, went into work and left early. Popped into the quack where I sat in my usual chair. Bah.

Nice things today were that Joan sent me two emails full of the fresh air of Ontario. Relayed a story from her sister Gail about a Lynx.

"My sister, Gail, used to teach in Northern Ontario with a couple who now rescue injured or abandoned wild animals. A few years back a baby lynx was brought to them by a trucker who found the baby on the side of the road. Its mother had been killed. It was only a few days old and as tiny as a kitten. They successfully raised it in their house with the help of their dog. When it got too big for the house they kept it in a shed before releasing it to the wild. It took several months to get the lynx to leave on a more permanent basis. It kept returning to them but eventually away she went and stayed away.

Here's (part of) Gail's email from a camping trip they were on last week in Northern Ontario:

Jon also told us about Buffy, the lynx. One year she came back with her baby. However she left the baby on top of the ridge and came down to have a play with their dog and to come into the house and visit them. Then when they gave her food she would go back up to the ridge and share it with the baby. She stayed for about 6 days like that and then disappeared. They haven't seen her since.

I often think about that lynx. Like to get into her mind and know what she remembers of her rub with humans."

Picturing this, along with stories of baby otter feeding, and of Joan taking photos of a newborn donkey and a then snake in her PJs while rembering DH Lawrence, was a nice antidote to reading about terrorists while travelling on the tube. I post the pictures below.

Also, much to my surprise, was emailed out of the blue via Friends Reunited by Tess, who was my girlfriend when I was 16 and who I haven't seen since my early twenties. Seems to be my year of being contacted by old friends.

Lots of talking with MJ as ever about many private and diverse matters. She is a wonder.