# Every once in a while I'll remark upon the passing of time, how that passing creeps up on us, surprises us - is it such-and-such month already? How can that be? This has never been so apparent as today.
It's September! How? That just seems impossible.
It's been a chilly start to the day (up at 5:30 for a 6:30 start) and the evenings have been getting noticeably darker. I'll be taking our youngest daughter back to university at the weekend and the pressure is really on to get a new job before the impending return to office. Everything tells me what time of year it is yet, with how 2020 has been, it's still almost unfathomable.
I wrote in the latest muse-letter about how it is so easy to fall into a routine, or more precisely a rut, and that has never been more the case than now, this year, with everything that has been happening. I'm almost minded to use that famous Ferris Bueller quote but have already done so this year, even before lockdown started. And here I am, six months later, having let so much pass me by.
Perhaps I'm being too hard on myself, the whirlwind has been enough to knock anyone off their stride and I know I'm far from the only person feeling like this but I can't help feel I could have done more, been more proactive, not settled for how things were.
Things will never be normal again, at least not the old normal, so we must adapt and make the most of what we have. More importantly, we should not take anything for granted; as has been shown, what we think of as immutable can be taken from us just like that (snaps fingers!)
And when I say 'we' I really mean 'I'.
# I have allowed my morning pages routine to fall away.
I have not written my night time summaries and gratitude lists.
I have allowed my meditation practice to falter.
Only I can do anything about it.
# We have been talking about getting a bird table for a few weeks now. We usually see pigeons and magpies but it would be nice to encourage other birds into the garden and help them out during the winter months.
Over the past few days there has been the very notable addition of a new bird call in the mornings - a great tit. Perhaps its presence is an indication that autumn is just around the corner.
So, instead of just a bird table we may need to get some hanging feeders for seeds and nuts to cater for our new guest.
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# I received my invite to OnMail earlier so have signed up for a free account just to take a look around. I liked some of the features in Hey but wasn't sure if I'd be willing to pay for them, plus they didn't have custom domains on launch. OnMail has and I'm intrigued as you can link an existing domain if you sign up for one of the paid plans (starting at $4.99 a month.)
# It's a chilly one this morning. On days like today frost sits on the top of the garden fence and when the sun comes up it evaporates in an aggressive flurry making it look as though the fence is on fire. It's quite a sight. The great tit has been in fine voice but this has been a day of firsts. There is a nesting box in the tree behind our house and I have often wondered if the tit uses it; well, I have now seen it go in the box so am very happy with that. About a week or so ago we bought a new bird feeding station but the weather has been pretty bad. It usually takes a few days for birds to realise a feeder is there and to trust it, this morning was also the first time I have witnessed the tit using it. Hopefully this is the tit claiming its territory and we can look forward to some fledglings in the spring. # Doug Belshaw, who I have linked to a number of times on the blog, turns 40 today and has 40 things he's learnt during that time. I especially like number 22: "You are a human, not a machine. You don’t need to sound grown up, or professional, or ‘respectable’" but we should pay heed to them all. Many happy returns Doug.
# It's a chilly one this morning. On days like today frost sits on the top of the garden fence and when the sun comes up it evaporates in an aggressive flurry making it look as though the fence is on fire. It's quite a sight. The great tit has been in fine voice but this has been a day of firsts. There is a nesting box in the tree behind our house and I have often wondered if the tit uses it; well, I have now seen it go in the box so am very happy with that. About a week or so ago we bought a new bird feeding station but the weather has been pretty bad. It usually takes a few days for birds to realise a feeder is there and to trust it, this morning was also the first time I have witnessed the tit using it. Hopefully this is the tit claiming its territory and we can look forward to some fledglings in the spring. # Doug Belshaw, who I have linked to a number of times on the blog, turns 40 today and has 40 things he's learnt during that time. I especially like number 22: "You are a human, not a machine. You don’t need to sound grown up, or professional, or ‘respectable’" but we should pay heed to them all. Many happy returns Doug.