Autumn Lurks

It's a quarter past nine in the evening, and it's already dark. I really don't want to write sentences like that yet. I mean, it's still August. It shouldn't even be part of it. Autumn officially begins in September... but when I look around, I can already see it happening. And I feel it in the sun's rays. It's no longer the heat of midsummer, it's the pleasant, caressing warmth of late summer that's touching me now. This summer is quietly retreating, and I can tell you, it was far too short! In the garden, the tomatoes are still half-green, doing their best, just like the peppers, to develop their beautiful color, but you can feel it in everything: autumn is lurking. Ready to slap summer in the face. I don't know about you, but I'm not ready for that at all.

Life is TOO expensive

Maybe it's because I seem to have run out of steam. Everything is getting more expensive; nothing is getting cheaper. The days are getting shorter, and the mood certainly isn't getting any brighter. How can that be? You have to have a really thick skin these days, or live under a rock, not to be affected by it in some way. The news is an endless replay of all the conflicts around the world. Everyone's arguing with each other, and decisions made to solve problems always cost more than they bring in. I'm certainly not immune to such a constant stream of negativity, unfortunately. I try to ignore it, but unfortunately, it still manages to seep into my safe corner of the world. It's not all doom and gloom, though, because when I walk through the garden, I see a bunch of tomatoes finally starting to turn red. It's nothing big, it's just a tiny thing, but that one little thing does lighten my mood a bit... because, you know, that bunch of tomatoes hanging there is one we don't need to buy in the store! That's such a small counterbalance. At least something that just keeps going, even when everything else isn't cooperating. It's not just the tomatoes; the peppers are also doing their best, and a few have already developed a nice tan. Let's hope summer can last long enough for the rest of those peppers to get a nice tan, too.

Jealous of Skipper

Skipper is perfectly fine with it all. He doesn't need anything other than just being with you, and his food and water bowl. As long as he has those necessities, and someone pays attention to him and plays with him, he's the happiest dog in the world. Honestly, just between you and me, I'm a bit jealous of that simplicity. No inflation, no political fog, just being outside together, a walk, playing together, and his world is okay. While I'm sitting at my computer writing this, he's sighing next to my chair, his evening long since begun.

And when I look at him like that, and hear him sigh, I sigh along with him. Because what can I write at a time like this? Something great? Something inspiring? I have no idea right now. So let me just be honest, it's an in-between moment. Both in terms of inspiration and in terms of the season. It's no longer warm enough to be summer, but thankfully not cold enough to be autumn either, only in my head it's a bit of both. I really have plenty of work, I have plenty of ideas, and at the same time, I actually have no idea what to write about today. It's a twilight season, so to speak.

As summer prepares to leave, I will have more time to write

Maybe that's exactly why I'm writing this blog now. Just to say it out loud: I'm still here, and I'm plodding along. The tomatoes and peppers are waiting, the days are getting shorter again, the world is a complete mess right now, and yet I still want to make room for a little text, a few photos, and the promise of more to come. Although I daren't say when, how, or what.