Alex and Ausma came back from their short evening stroll. They showed us a photo of the lake with snowy hills in the background. The lit up town on the left on the hill side behind the lake is our town of birth! Lovely to see it so lit up and bright on the snowy hills.

Our town of birth

The best moments so far have definitely been those with Alex and Ausma. Snuggling, relaxing and exploring all together.

Reminiscing: time with our humans

Our humans started talking about 'work' again today. We don't really know what 'work' means but our humans end up sitting all day long tapping away at a strange looking board and staring at a square black thing. How are we supposed to know what these are when we aren't even allowed to nibble at the board, the square black thing nor the interesting looking long string (seems to be called a 'charging cable') it is attached to. When we try, they just say 'NO' - spoil sports!!! All there is left to do is watch, snooze and maybe there will be more clues as to what 'work' means. Sometimes when our humans aren't looking we do get a little nibble at the charging cable - mmmm chewy....

The thing called 'work'

We both love to hide under the stool when Alex puts his shirt on it. No one can see us there!

No one can see me

I know we said underneath is always exciting but on top as well. The hoover robot was doing its round so Alex put the arm chair on the coffee table. Excellent vantage point for us, as well as a good play area.

On top is also exciting

Reflecting on all of this evening's excitements, we are glad that we did chill and snooze plenty during the day while Alex and Ausma were working.  Otherwise we'd be rather more exhausted after the excitement from playing with the green ribbon and trying out new furniture.

Importance of chilling and snoozing

The under floor heating is lovely when it is cold! Best is the bathroom floor. Toasty!

Under floor heating

Today I (Gruyère) was very happy to see that Alex has learned some of the most comfy positions from me. We had some good chill time together!

Most comfy positions

I (Gruyère) had the most awesome jumping and spinning session. I adore the twisted yellow and black pipe cleaner toy. Lovely to grab hold of and chew.

Jumping and spinning

This week is long - lots of sitting around in comfy spots during the day (under the bed, in the tunnel, in the corner of the mezzanine level)....until some play time in the late evenings with Alex and Ausma.

Waiting and chilling

We are happy to welcome the new member of the household, Loona :) Now we just need one more...

Three Birman household news!

Acrobat

One of our toys is a yellow string with lots of little knots tied into it. A lot of fun trying to grab, swat, swipe and catch it!

Yellow string

A few days ago I (Nutmeg) nodded off on the sink downstairs. It is a bit of a funny looking sink (strange design) but it is perfect for a power nap.

Nodding off

I (Gruyère) usually cross my front paws. But actually there are multiple ways I can cross paws :)

Crossed legs

Weekends are definitely for relaxing together.  Here are some photos of our post favourite relaxing time this weekend.

Weekends are for relaxing together

There are so many comfy spots in our house. Be it the sink, on top of th dry clothes in the tumble dryer (Ausma seems to be really careful though to check we aren't in the tumble dryer nor in the washing machine before she turns them on. She always calls us with fish cubes first to verify we aren't inside), Ausma's pillow, Alex's lap, Alex's study desks...ah...bliss.

Comfy spots

We were super bananas this evening - had a HUGE romp around the bedroom and bathroom - in the shower, under the laundry, running under and over the bed after the new yellow banana...we are ready for a good night's sleep now!

Even more bananas

We love exploring new places. Latest places we have explored thoroughly are the drawers and the wine rack. 

Exploring

I, Nutmeg, love to jump head first into the cleaning bucket and then I wriggle around and .... POP I come out head up :) sometimes while I do it, the bucket falls over...but then I just stay like that with my head in the bucket.

Cleaning bucket

We get a lot of Great Crested Grebes around here. Saw them last year in March-June and August-September. We saw them doing mating dances and building nests early in the year. Unfortunately the one nest I saw was flooded so in the end we did not have the pleasure of seeing baby grebes. This will be the challenge this year - particularly seeing the baby grebes on the mother grebe's back.

Great Crested Grebe

Dare I say, Loona is lovely. A good play mate and nice to snooze with. Although sometimes a little too energetic and noisy!

I do like Loona

Loona is a bit like a super-lady, with her often outstretched arm. A snuggly one.

Snuggly super lady

Our canal has turned into a lush wildlife heaven. Even difficult to see the swans gliding through the long grass.

Lush

The week was very long as Alex and Ausma were very busy. No blogging because we rather spent the little bit of time in the evenings playing all together. But finally we can catch up with the blog. The other night we played with the yellow fish and had some fun launching our rocket.

Yellow fish

We love a little rampage around the house! Look at our playful tails and our big jumps, ruffles and tumbles!

Rampage

Sometimes Alex and Ausma get very soppy with us...understandable....we are so fluffy and cuddly. And we just snuggle deep into their arms. Good quality time together. 

Snuggly Cuddles

We had a great day snoozing under the bed - in the room in which Ausma works. It really is one of our favourite place. After our morning romp around we always retreat there for a long snooze in the world of dreams. We dream of bird flapping, flies buzzing and us chasing a load of yellow toy banana skins around. We emerge from under the bed only when Ausma calls us during her occasional breaks.

More snoozing under the bed

When Ausma cleans our toilets we like to supervise. Although we must say she always cleans them impeccably. Still, we like to supervise and test the toilet cleaning process at every stage, by sitting in it: Once Ausma has cleaned the bottom bit - WE SIT IN IT. Once Ausma has put the plastic bag inside - WE SIT IN IT. While she fills the toilet with cat litter, WE SIT UNDER THE LID. As soon as it is done we ruffle in the cat litter. And then: DONE. Quality control passed! Sounds a little similar to what Ausma does at work with her 'quality assurance' (whatever that actually is) job...

Supervising

Often you can hear the woodpeckers pecking away in the forest by the canal near our flat. However difficult to spot them. A few nice sightings recently!

Woodpecker

Autumn colours and impressions

We love the evening air! Sitting out there the three of us: bliss.

Evening air

Exploring underneath things is always a lot of fun. You always find unexpected items. Especially under the sofa there are often some toys we lost ages ago or just some fun dust balls.

Underneath is always most exciting

One of the best spots for a snooze is right on the edge of the mezzanine level. With paws dangling over the edge.

On the edge

Continuing our reminiscing: we do LOVE small places. When we were tiny, we could fit into almost any space. It is getting more and more tricky but we are rather flexible so do still manage pretty well. Here some photos of some of the best small places we have fitted into since we have been living with Alex and Ausma.

Reminiscing: fitting into small places

We know we aren't meant to go into the cupboards but do sneak in sometimes. I (Gruyère) jumped in today while Alex and Ausma turned their heads  - had a good thorough explore. A little tricky to move around as the cupboard was quite full.

Exploring the crockery cupboard

I (Gruyère) love helping Alex think up some theories and solve some complex problems etc. I just LOVE thinking long and hard and so does Alex. We make a good team.

Thinking up theories and solving complex problems

I (Nutmeg) love my snuggles with Alex :) cuddly!

Snuggles with Alex

We had been waiting for a whole long month until finally yesterday we received our February Meow Box (subscription box) with lots of goodies (cat nibbles and drinks) and toys...and this month some additional eye wipes and paw balm. We are very greateful to Alex and Ausma for signing us up for this box. Lots of natural healthy meaty/fishy/veggy treats. And oh my...the rustly crunchy toy banana skin is super fun! I (Nutty) already slid across the room on it after accidentally stepping on it!

Meow Box (Woof Box)

We know we look cute. It's because we like to sit/sleep in such funny (but comfy) positions. We are masters of that!

Looking cute

We do have our little ruffles and scuffles but we truly love each other. We are brothers after all. Therefore everything is done better together. As you can see from these photos, we have always loved to do as much as possible together (playing, exploring, snoozing).

Togetherness

A few weeks ago Ausma painted some bumble bees on our crow's nest. We love them!

Bumble bees

Alex and Ausma went for a cycle today and when they got back they told us all about it. Apparently they ascended around 140 times the height of the stairs up to the mezzanine level in our house to get to where we were born (Villars-Burquin). That sounds very tiring! But the view from there looked very nice. We are proud to be from there!

In and around our town of birth

Our humans think we are cute. We keep being cute to relax them in between work.

Being cute

We spent our birthday afternoon chilling on the balcony. It was just the right temperature to be able to snooze off on the balcony with music in the background and Alex and Ausma also chilling near us on the sofa - perfect birthday.

1st birthday - chill

DIY requires careful thought and reflection. Never do DIY in a rush! Best to sleep on it an then take action.

Ah what copfy places there are in our house - we gradually find more and more - never becomes boring to chill.

Being comfortable

We love helping Ausma make the bed. We like jumping on the duvet and digging ourselves into it - so cosy. And for sure it helps Ausma make the bed - she always starts laughing when we come and help like that.

Helping make the bed

We love weekday mornings - getting up, preparing for work and then getting to go into Alex's or Ausma's home office room.

Weekday mornings

I (Nutmeg) love shopping bags. I like to sit in them and be carried around. I also LOVE jumping into shopping bags in the bike trailer when Alex comes back from a shopping trips. 

Shopping

Loona joined us last November. I, Nutmeg, very quickly took a liking to her. Gruyère was a little suspicious for a while longer but now we are three great buddies :)

Three Birmans are best

Post-prandial nap

What a dare devil! Thank goodness Ausma lifted him off! *shudder*

Foolishness

12 & 13-Feb-2022

On this particular walk a friendly robin accompanied me all the way along the canal to the lake and posted nicely in the sunshine :)




Little friendly robin

Gadwall ducks are rather timid. We saw them last year quite a lot (April-May and August-September) but it is difficult to get decent photos as they swim away if you come too close. 

Gadwall

We tested strawberries for the first time yesterday. Not yet sure but gave them a good lick...

Strawberries

Today I went also briefly to the park by our house. The cormorants are continuing to be busy, building their nests. It is rather a challenge to try and catch a good photo of one mid-air with twigs in its beak...Additionally, a Great Crested Grebes enjoying floating in the sun and a heron hiding in the long grass. Also the dandelions are making the path along to the lake rather pretty and spring like.

Busy cormorants

I went out for a walk and every insect and bird I came across seemed to be sunning themselves on this lovely and warm day.

Sunning

Today I (Gruyère) got to go on a BIG adventure in our new rucksack! We tried it out at home and then Ausma took me on a walk and train ride to the vet to get my teeth checked. So cosy in the new rucksack. Much nicer than being jolted around in the old cat carrier. Also it was a treat to see the vet. He is very kind and my teeth are very healthy thanks to Ausma brushing them a few times a week. Also today the vet brushed my furr with a special brush which relieved me of a lot of excess hair I had grown over the last months. Lucky us, Ausma bough the same brush to brush us with at home too. I feel so light and fluffy now and it was a great massage!

When I got home again with Ausma, Nutmeg greeted us. He had missed me a lot and couldn't leave my side for quite some time! I was also glad to be with him again! And then Ausma tried out the new brush on him as well - by golly Nutmeg is now also lighter and fluffier again and really enjoyed the massage. Much better than the other brush we used to be brushed with.  

What a great day!

Adventure

During lunch time Ausma usually shuts her work room so we don't chew the long black strings (charging cables). After having our snack we wait as patiently as we can to get back into the work room. We have figured out that when Ausma opens the door, we can run WAY faster than her and sit on her work chair before she gets there. All she can do then is move her desk up and use it as a standing desk instead while we sit on her chair. Score!

Sneaking in

I (Nutmeg) found a new comfy spot - in the glass recycling bag. When I jump in, the glass makes a lovely clinking sound.

New comfy spot

A few days ago Ausma hung a big sheet across some chairs. Oh what fun we had. First, I (Nutmeg) jumped straight on it from the stairs and made it sink to the floor. Then both of us had a right romp in it!

Fun with the laundry

Ausma told me today I looked like a swan, with my furr ruffling in the wind. Don't know what a swan is but it felt nice in the breeze on our balcony.

Like a swan

We are gradually learning all the different ways one can use a bed: sitting on the bed head, sleeping with head on the pillows and even crawling under the covers. We now appreciate why Alex and Ausma like sleeping under the bed covers - so cosy!

Using the bed like a human

I (Gruyère) now understand why the humans like to be under the duvet. Nutmeg doesn't seem to like it as much but I like it - nice and cosy. However, we both do like to play in, under and on top of the bed covers after they have been washed. 

Bed covers

Oh my, we recently got such cool fluffy fur/leather toys from Alex and Ausma. They have a wonderful wild smell to them (sheet, rabbit, buffallo) and are super fluffy and bounce around nicely as we throw them.

Fluffy fur toys

Loona and me (Nutmeg) can easily crawl into Ausma's printer drawer. Well ok, Loona fits more easily. But for me it is a bigger accomplishment! ;)

Printer drawer

Of course there is a large variety of ducks all year round.

Ducks

I was so excited to see a spoonbill in August last year. Just saw it for a few days where the canal flows into the lake. It was slowly walking around, feeding.

Spoonbill

Love to spot nature's art. Just look around and you spot it.

Nature's art

Today I went for another lunch time walk to the neardby pond. Had the pleasure of seeing a Woodpecker pecking away as well as some Tufted Ducks and Red Crested Pochard and of course swans.

However, the best today was a sighting of two male Northern Shovelers. These are apparently vulerable in Switzerland and on the Swiss red list.  They have distinct, large shovel-shaped bills. 

Woodpecker, Tufted Duck, Red Crested Pochard, Northern Shoveler, Swan

We do LOVE bathrooms. They are so wonderfully white and shiny and it is fun sliding around the shower and bath. Also there are some nice small spaces to fit into in bathrooms. Here some photos of our best moments in the two bathrooms at home.

Reminiscing: our love of bathrooms

We promised we would tell you what came in the box with the green ribbon. Some new furniture for us! Alex placed the furniture under his work desk for us. We are SO excited as we can snooze there and have an EXCELLENT view of Alex while doing so.

New furniture

When our humans 'work' they may not be as fun as when they aren't but they do let us sleep under the bed or on the desk in the rooms they 'work' in. We can snooze the whole day and watch insects to our heart's content. And sometimes our humans take so called 'coffee breaks' - these are the best as we get snuggles and also some snacks then :) If our humans pick us up during 'coffee breaks' we try to make ourselves as HEAVY as possible and also claw gently into their shirts so it is difficult for them to let go of us. However unfortunately they have to go back to 'work'. But we cherish these snuggle moments and give our humans as many little purrs as possible to show them we like them. And we feel as we snuggle with our humans it seems they relax a lot as well which makes us feel like we contribute to their 'work' day.

A typical work day

Here are some photos of us soon after we started living with Alex and Ausma. Gosh, can't believe how small we were then! We have definitely matured!

Reminiscing: when we were young

These are our absolute favourite treats. Freeze-dried meat/fish cubes. Tasty! More please!

Meat/fish cubes

We literally flaked out after work today. Been SO busy.

Flaked out

Nutmeg blocked the actual crow's nest today by spreading out in it, so I (Gruyère) had to sit on the plank instead. Actually this was a great spot to catch the afternoon sun! If you look carefully you can even see Nutmeg's ear poking out behind me on the left :) in the crow's nest he was in the shade and completely missed the warm sun!

I (Nutmeg) particularly like to play along the back of the sofa.

Sofa play

I (Nutmeg) found a fabulous place to jump into - the glass recycling bag. I love squeezing in so that the glass bottles clink.

In the glass bottle recycling bag

Over the weekend I (Gruyère) jumped over the baby gate into the pantry - it is lovely exploring there. I thought I was very quiet but Alex and Ausma found me and extracted me!

Pantry

I (Nutmeg) have found a new hobby: Acrobatics with Alex! Oh what fun it is to be picked up by Alex, climb over his shoulder onto his back and then strut around on his back. I'm the king of acrobats! And if Gruyère comes too close, I swipe at him. Alex's back is my territory. But then I have nothing to fear. Alex let Gruyère onto his back as well once, but he was much less confident than me. I think this my well be something that Alex and myself can work on nicely together - a double act!

Acrobatics

Alex and Ausma got us some very thick, soft, fluffy bathroom mats to sleep on. We used to just sleep on their bathroom mat in the bathroom, but clearly they wanted that one all to themselves. But this is better anyway - now we have our own. The white one is particularly fluffy but we also have an orange one. This moning we decided to cosy up together on it and it was like sitting together on a puffy white cloud :)

Cosying up to each other

May - August 2021

One of the perks of living by Lac Neuchatel is that you can see beavers. We have seen them so far between May and August both years since we have been living here. Last year we even saw one or two baby beavers. Unfortunately one died in August and after that we did not see any baby beavers for the rest of the year. Let's hope for some nice sightings later this year and some baby beavers surviving.

Beavers

29-Oct-2021

No idea how I spotted this little one on a tree across the canal. Combination of the sound of it tapping a seed and the movement probably. Cute little thing.

Nuthatch

Swans

This is our last reminiscent post as we have now put up posts on the best memories so far. Here some flash backs to cosy times snoozing while Alex and Ausma worked. Pretty relaxing.

Reminiscing: work

We are the snooze experts. Watch us and you will learn how to power nap anytime and anywhere. 

Snoozing

The rug is even more fun when it is rolled up. Very comfy.

Yesterday I (Nutmeg) did not want to let Gruyère into the crow's nest at first. Then Ausma placed him next to me in the crow's nest to teach me to share. And actually it was REALLY nice to be together. We had a nice snuggle and clean in the afternoon sun. Later we even snuggled together indoors in one of the wooden boxes. So cosy!

Brotherly snuggles and cleaning session

For a long time Alex and Ausma kept the curtains tucked up as we tried to jump and hang on them when we were little. Now they seem to trust us more, leaving the curtains down all the time. We are even allowed to play behind them!

Curtains

When Ausma changes the bed linen we like to get all wrapped up in it and pounce on each other. This time I (Nutmeg) sat on top of Gruyère who was under the sheets. Once again a little blurry as we are just so fast when we jump around.

Under and on top of the covers

I (Gruyère) particularly love the tunnel Alex and Ausma got us ages ago. It is nice for running around in, jumping over but also just for chilling in.

Tunnel

We joined Alex in the study today for some web design - he is learning how to make a more fancy website for us. Today he migrated all of our images to AWS. Do you notice the difference? No? Good. That means it is working :)

Web design

I (Nutmeg) like to sit in the tunnel/play tent, wherever and whenever...even when Alex and Ausma put it up on the chair while the hoover robot cleans the living room.

Always in the tunnel/play tent

Tonight we went utterly crazy with the long tailed mouse toy - hadn't played with it in a while, so it was very exciting!

Long tailed mouse

It is definitely the best time of the year for snoozing on our windowsill. The sun shines a lot more again and it just warms our windowsill perfectly. When it is particularly warm Ausma also opens the window so we get the lovely fresh air and scent of all sorts of interesting things. And we can watch the birds and insects fly past. To top it, our windowsill is covered with the softest pillows ever! Snuggly!

Windowsill of heaven

Humans often cross their legs when sitting down. We tried it and it is very comfy indeed. I (Nutmeg) learned how to do it from Gruyère and am pretty expert at it now.

Human poses

We LOVE tunnels!!!! jumping, pouncing in an around them :) thinking up new games....

Tunnel fun

Here some snaps of us juts being ourselves.