The day we made friends (of the four-legged variety)

In comparison to the last few days, this morning felt like a much
needed break. We sprawled around the biostation catching up on our
daily journals without any real sense of urgency, glancing up at the
mountains whenever we needed a boost of inspiration. Lunch came and
went. We soon set out to visit a local farm in the village of Bol'shie
Koty. A lovely woman named Irina greeted us and gave us a small tour
of her animals and garden. We didn't really know what to expect -- but
as soon as the first cat showed up, everyone was completely at peace.
The cat named Sonia was as old as some in our group, coming in at 19
years young. It's no surprise, since only the strong survive Siberian
winters. We also got to meet some of the other residents, including a
bunch of friendly goats, a flock of turkeys, a family of hares, and
one incredibly tiny dog named Jack. Irina treated us to some fresh,
delicious goat's milk and showed us some of her handcrafted souvenirs
inspired by Bol'shie Koty (because everyone needs a hobby to pass the
time in the winter here). Irina's estate felt like a beautiful,
isolated world away from the rest of the village. Around every corner,
there was some kind of fruit tree, vegetable patch, or animal. The
rest of the afternoon, our group split up to either hike, to catch up
on some laundry, or to do some recreational reading near the shore of
Baikal. We could definitely get used to a life like this.
Hayley and Lyuba