Happy New Year!

I wish a very happy new year to all of you and hope that it´ll turn out to be a good one for all of us!

Lola, my new flatmate

Unfortunately my gorgeous dsungarian dwarf hamster (aka winter white russian dwarf hamster - Phodopus sungorus) had to be put to sleep, after weeks of trying to treat her inflammation of the eyes without success.
Browsing some websites it seems to me that this is a very common ailment in this species. I´ll try to dig deeper, once I can find the time.

As I really like those little guys * the search began for another Hamster.
(*Probably cause I sometimes can be a bit of a mugwump, too - Soulmates?).
As pet shops and "breeders" were not an option and the closest hamsters in a shelter were 120 km away I tried the internet.

With the help from "Cati" and "FairyLy" from the Rattenforum, to whom I´ll be forever grateful, Lola from the "Tierhilfe Jülich" arrived here safely on the 23rd of December.
So, here she is:The photo doesnt´do her justice, I didn´t want to use a flash and scare her, so I had to use Iso 1600.
She´s a self confident, fearless and very curious character, excellent!

Winter has arrived

Mustard - Sinapis

is cultivated in Winter as green manure

Snoopy

Hoarfrost

Wild geese and swans payed us a visit when the river Ems once again flooded this corn field