The first few days of autumn.

These past few days I've inadvertently stepped back from my normal activity. I've not blogged, and aside from finishing The Little Stranger and reading a little of The Grapes of Wrath (which I'm thoroughly enjoying), I haven't been reading as I normally would. Today, and yesterday, I didn't read anything at all, and on Sunday and Monday I watched films in the evening (I very rarely watch films; I don't think it's an exaggeration to say I have only watched four or five films this year). I've also spent a great deal of time taking pictures and playing about with them. This morning, for example, I set myself up in the living room; not terribly professionally - standing on an armchair, camera pointing at the garden, using George's cage as a tripod (I had to put a cushion on the top, and he spent the whole half an hour trying to bite my toes). I think I've taken eighty pictures today (only a few made it to Tumblr, though!). I've made it my mission to get a good photograph of the robin that has begun showing his face. I did manage to get one picture (after a great many attempts, and a collection of pictures of empty spaces!), bit it was slightly blurred, and not really what I wanted. Tomorrow morning, I plan on throwing some bread out (I bribe the birds with bread, of course) and waiting. I do have an actual tripod, so I shall dig it out. Tomorrow, perhaps, I shall get my robin.

The elusive robin.

I also need to spend some time sorting out some junk, which I will do tomorrow. I fall too easily into the "I'll put it there for now" habit, and it's led to a bit of a tip, so a little organisation is required. For one thing, the offending room is where I usually exercise, and there is no space there at all now. It's one of those jobs that feels like it should take a day, but really, with a bit of focus and discipline, it should take no more than an hour.

As I say, I never meant to step away or slow down, I've just been enjoying being out. Out in under the white skies, the pouring rain, the high winds; taking pictures whenever I can (which reminds me, I need a camera lens hood or something to stop water from getting on the lens, as it did with the above robin photo), and coming home, sitting in front of the fire and editing. I miss reading, though, and when I don't read, I find little to blog about, and the two go together and I love them both! I'm thinking, as well as reading The Grapes of Wrath, I'm ready too for Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol. So, tonight, now in fact, I'm going to make a hot drink and head to bed, maybe take a few books with me to look through. I'm also ready to pick up Proust, although I wonder if maybe I should leave it for a while then start again from scratch. I think I'd like to do that, but I'm not sure. But I do like this - I haven't felt quite so free in choosing books for a long time because I wanted to read a lot of my 2012 Challenges this month. Having realised the list was almost complete (with a few changes to the title, though sticking to the themes), I'm now freer than ever!