After mid-March, spring arrives early in Ibusuki. Although there are some cold nights, it becomes much easier to be active during the day. We were able to set up a desk safely in the atelier, Satsuma Kaihoku. The lover's lodge has been transformed into an atelier.
Actually trying to draw here made me realize once again that my ability to concentrate is greatly affected by the sounds of my surroundings.
Since the national highway is nearby, I can hear the sound of cars, but the chirps of birds and the sounds of insects help me concentrate and stay relaxed for longer. I've tried drawing while listening to those kinds of natural sounds on YouTube, but I still prefer live music. At my new desk, I rarely play music anymore.
Previously, I was working from home, and my cats would come in every few hours. I thought I was completely alone in my new environment, but recently, two cats have started stopping by my studio.
The brown tabby is a male, and I've been seeing him around for about two years now. He'll be threatening if I get too close, but he'll come inside the house asking for some crunchy food.
The grey one is probably a female, and I've only just started seeing her this year. At first she was a bit nervous, but since she started coming with the brown tabby, she's become very relaxed.
They don't live in the studio, but it seems to be a place where the two of them pass by.
I have a cat at home, and I don't have the financial means to welcome two cats into my family, so I'm always unsure of how to keep them apart. This studio is not my property, I'm just using it, so I don't have any decision-making power.
I've thought about it a lot, and I'm still worried about it. But even so, if I come across an emaciated animal, whether it's a cat, a dog, a raccoon dog, a crow, or a badger, I want to feed it something to help it survive. But that could mean feeding other wild animals, and they could breed too much, causing the decline of other native species.
But I believe that thinking in this way, worrying and building relationships is what "coexistence" is.
For now, we hope that those of us sharing the same rented lodgings can continue to peacefully coexist, albeit with an ambiguous relationship.
We limit the amount of dried food we give them and are careful not to overfeed them. We have also stopped using herbicides because of the risk of accidents. We want not only the cats, but also the other animals and plants that live here to have a good time and feel that they have had a good life.