It's a funny ol thing, blogging. I love writing anyway and as Ken says, keeping a blog is quite addictive. If you choose, as I've done, to not have Sitemeter or any other means of checking who reads your blog or to find out how many read it (or don't!) , you feel free to post your thoughts quite openly, without fretting about turning people off. I hate being monitored so wouldn't inflict that on others.
If you also choose, as I have, not to censure comments, you accept that others can criticise you openly. So, I suppose that's the difference with keeping a personal written diary - there's knowing someone may read your stuff and knowing that they may comment on it. I like that not-knowing that anyone else is even bothering to read what I write and it's always a bit of a surprise when they do comment!
So why does it feel suddenly intrusive when your blogging gets posted on a forum? Perhaps because it does away with the last pretence at a blog being personal. You may have had a good, cheerful day, or a fed-up rant but when taken out of the context of the diary it stands alone, naked and chilled.
So, I wonder - should that stop someone from writing a blog - fear of being left exposed? I don't think it should. After all, I do a lot of copyright-free illustrations for people and risk having my work ripped off left, right and centre. I guess I must just accept that opening your opinions and thoughts to others, like falling in love, is a risky venture. If I try to live by the principles I believe in, I needn't be afraid of others.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
What a morning!
I looked out the window this morning at 6.30am and had to leap straight out of bed, it was so beautiful. Lots of snow, sunshine through the trees, blue sky - lovely! My dog loves the snow, though it does make him look a bit scruffy cos he'll never be as white as that. He snuffles madly in it, getting his snout all covered and rolls over and over like a puppy.
(My computer won't let me post a photo right now so I'll try and add one later.)
A nice family on their hire boat made snowmen of each of them on the roof before setting off. It's very peaceful here with the sound of woodpeckers up in the branches overhead.
(My computer won't let me post a photo right now so I'll try and add one later.)
A nice family on their hire boat made snowmen of each of them on the roof before setting off. It's very peaceful here with the sound of woodpeckers up in the branches overhead.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Stocking up
I travelled on a fair bit today, stopping at Rugeley to stock up with food. The dog had started eyeing me up - always a reminder to buy him some food quickly. I'd run out of bread a couple of days ago so I made some and it was sooo heavy! I made a nettle and goosegrass and lentil soup (all comes under the generic term 'hippy-slop') which was ok and put some sprouting potatoes out of their misery, but it really was time to rejoin society and splurge on fresh-ish veg and Frys chocolate creams and bourbon biscuits and a couple of bottles of Weston's cider , for a few days at least.
At Kings Bromley marina, that massive house on the waterfront is still empty. There's room for 3 families in there. That and another estimated 700,000 empty houses in the UK, not to mention unused factory buildings and offices. It's madness to talk about building 3 million new homes and pretend they can all be carbon-neutral. The government clearly doesn't have a clue what carbon-neutral actually means. Talking of houses..
I took a photo of a brand new housing estate full of diddy doll's houses made to look like olde worlde cottages, with plastic window frames and 2/3 cars to every house, all framed within the giant backdrop of Rugeley power station. The horror, the horror. I'd better not put up the picture as it's too depressing and is bound to be someone's dream-home. Shit, I'd rather live in a tent.
I'm in a beautiful wooded place now, which calms me immediately. I spent half an hour watching a little mouse grooming and skittering about on a tree stump on the opposite side of the canal. Then watched tree-creepers flitting spirally up the trunks of alders for insects, dropping back to the bottom and starting up again. I have a pair of binoculars but only one eye of them works so I have to squint at things. After half an hour, you come away with blurred vision and a squint - most attractive.
Later, I checked out lots of trees and came across a duck nesting right inside the bole of another tree stump. I distracted my dog so he couldn't disturb her. There was a felled beech and I counted the rings - it was 150 years old. Some parts have been roughly carved to make a couple of lovely unpretentious seats, which made me very happy. Someone altruistic out there. There was a bank full of tiny holes that I saw were home to a sort of bee but my insect book offers me too many looky-likies for a positive ID.
Tomorrow I must go down the weed hatch. I picked up something dodgy today and kind-of ignored it as I was able to keep going and steer ok, and because it's a nightmare getting to the hatch with no head room to lever the plate off. But tomorrow will do.
At Kings Bromley marina, that massive house on the waterfront is still empty. There's room for 3 families in there. That and another estimated 700,000 empty houses in the UK, not to mention unused factory buildings and offices. It's madness to talk about building 3 million new homes and pretend they can all be carbon-neutral. The government clearly doesn't have a clue what carbon-neutral actually means. Talking of houses..
I took a photo of a brand new housing estate full of diddy doll's houses made to look like olde worlde cottages, with plastic window frames and 2/3 cars to every house, all framed within the giant backdrop of Rugeley power station. The horror, the horror. I'd better not put up the picture as it's too depressing and is bound to be someone's dream-home. Shit, I'd rather live in a tent.
I'm in a beautiful wooded place now, which calms me immediately. I spent half an hour watching a little mouse grooming and skittering about on a tree stump on the opposite side of the canal. Then watched tree-creepers flitting spirally up the trunks of alders for insects, dropping back to the bottom and starting up again. I have a pair of binoculars but only one eye of them works so I have to squint at things. After half an hour, you come away with blurred vision and a squint - most attractive.
Later, I checked out lots of trees and came across a duck nesting right inside the bole of another tree stump. I distracted my dog so he couldn't disturb her. There was a felled beech and I counted the rings - it was 150 years old. Some parts have been roughly carved to make a couple of lovely unpretentious seats, which made me very happy. Someone altruistic out there. There was a bank full of tiny holes that I saw were home to a sort of bee but my insect book offers me too many looky-likies for a positive ID.
Tomorrow I must go down the weed hatch. I picked up something dodgy today and kind-of ignored it as I was able to keep going and steer ok, and because it's a nightmare getting to the hatch with no head room to lever the plate off. But tomorrow will do.
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