On the Perspective of Home and Being Different

Every adventure, every journey begins with the first step. That's what Ms. Kati always says when we sometimes can’t see the way, let alone a joyful view.

How true.

Today it's pouring rain. After snow, the melt is now in liquid form - water.

Actually our element, but this variant only lures with suitable clothing and a thick coat.

Yep, we have that.

Let's go. With the first step. To be precise, today right from home. From our sanctuary.

Have you ever asked yourselves the question: What is home for me? My sanctuary?

Ms. Kati sighs and says for her it's more of a feeling than a piece of land or a specific place.

Hmm... I don’t understand that.

Now is now and here is here. What more is there to say about home?

But wait... when I really think about it. After today’s water games, such a cozy nap on familiar spots, warm and dry, really smells like home.

At least temporarily.

After a short ascent through the Keltengold, we reach the first hill. Right behind the house. What luck. Having such a place behind the house, of course.

Keltengold, says Ms. Kati, because the reverent little forest resembles a burial mound site. When one stays there quietly, connected and reverently amidst the beech trees at sunset, one can feel it. The power of nature since the beginning and its cycles and myths.

Just like with the Celts. One thing is certain. The mouse holes deep in the leaves surely date back to the day before yesterday. Photography is strictly prohibited, by the way. Howgh- the Celts have spoken, apparently.

My home is my castle.

Really now? The stilt hut may be cozy, but it would definitely be too wobbly for me. Many a figure in green and moldy mohair spends years there. Doing what?

Observing. Perceiving. We’ll leave the rest out. Artistic freedom.

'I warned you!' shouts Dietrich with white eyes from afar. Today is hunting day. Let's get out of here. Thanks, Dietrich. God bless you.

Oh how lovely! The little humans have a sense for art. What fantastic architectures will soon enhance our path.

Who wouldn’t prefer to move in there, instead of just waiting for the bus?

We trudge on despite the rain. 'But watch out!' whispers from the hedge.

The timid creature has survived wars. It finds its feeling of home in this ingenious tree trunk bunker.

Well, one must like it.

We nod respectfully to it and reach the tree runner.

'Leave me, I need to go up there!' it waves us off. We watch it for a while. Ms. Kati spontaneously applauds when she realizes that it is a true hero.

Finally, some family members are literally hanging by a thread. Among them the big water, rescue at the last minute.

For a moment, I also drop the piece of cheese from my mouth. I deserved that after all that waiting and observing, Ms. Kati responds.

What a journey, what fates cross our path.

I am exhausted. And wet.

But the most beautiful home is worthless if you cannot live there in peace and tranquility.

Yes, there are so many different homes, and all the inhabitants are just as they are. But not all neighbors are responsible and calm folks.

Some quirky birds and other creatures in the immediate vicinity have definitely cost a few nerves for some two- and four-legged beings.

Perhaps that is why Frieda has retreated to her bark home. 'My hearing is more sacred to me than understanding noisy nuisances' she tells us. And nuisances definitely break their teeth on beech bark.

Do I see a little peaceful flicker in her eyes? She deserves it.

Ms. Kati thanks all the nice beings once more and kindly asks, looking up, if the water could be turned off now. If possible, of course.

See you soon, homey greetings from your Gretl