Monday was another warm day here at the monastery. Once again the day was spent mostly indoors, in order to avoid direct exposure to the sun. Even so, I did manage to go to the big church to put more oil into the lamp which I try to keep always burning before the icon of the “Joy of Canada” icon of the Theotokos. As well, it is also necessary to daily trim the wick which builds up carbon, which chokes off oxygen and so extinguishes the flame. Someone had tried to light a candle from the wick and as a result, the wick was covered with wax, and not burning. I trimmed the wick by removing the wax and carbon, then relit the wick, added more Canola Oil, crossed myself and went down into the kitchen to make a sandwich.
On the way back to my building, I spotted Andy and his two dogs. 9 and 5 were running up and down the slope and through the bushes, attempting to capture a rabbit. If I didn’t know better, it would seem that the rabbit was playing a game with them, playing “catch me if you can”. I also noticed an impressive array of yellow flowers (don’t know the name of the plant) which were blooming inside the fenced garden where the large Troitsa stands on a granite boulder. I did manage to take a clear photo of both the Troitsa and of one of the dogs in the process of searching for a rabbit.