I haven’t even watched the entire movie, The Sound of Music, and I burst into song. On the inside, mind you. Nobody needs to overhear my croak.
I have a list of things to do, and whenever there’s something cool to share, I have a list of people to do that with. Grammarly has already nixed multiple permutations of my next sentence, so I’m not sure whether the big G makes it to my list. Anyway, having things to do and people to love are conducive to good health and happiness… here are a few of my loves:
iNaturalist app: when the fungimap observations were redirected to iNaturalist, I pouted because I dislike change that isn’t of my own making. I liked having a dedicated website for fungi! But this has grown on me, much like a wart, and like all warts it’s a conversation starter. Only, this time not with my GP. Too much information, sorry. If you have a garden full of insects you can’t identify, and you’re the sort who really needs to know more about your tiny visitors, (or larger, wild, stationary or mobile species), then give this app a go!
BirdsInBackyards: we really need a Shazam for bird calls. This isn’t even close, but has helped me rule species out. If I’ve actually seen the bird, I can go to the bird finder page and narrow it down. Then it’s a process of elimination, and I confess that I don’t always have the patience, but when I do, odds are that I find the wee bugger.
Book-loving friends and neighbours: not a ‘thing,’ but totally a thing. I love getting recommendations, bookshop catalogues, book reviews, and loans of private property from these wonderful people. In return, they receive praise, gratitude and biased opinions.
When things go right: there’s nothing like the buzz I get from something going wrong, wrong, then wow, it’s gone right! It’s worked! I’ve achieved a thing, good lord, let’s party.
Nature: you might know this already, but I’m kind of into it. Which means I like reading about it, studying it, daydreaming and romanticising it, then getting a grip. I’m currently reading a rather flowery novel that is, to my mind, OTT about nature, and it makes me happy. I want to talk about it, blog about it, share quotes and draw pictures about it. Even though I’m critiquing and in some cases, rolling my hay-feverish eyes. I love that the book has been written, and delighted so many people. I love that others, slightly more cynical or worldly than myself, have critiqued the heck out of it. To misquote Oscar Wilde, the only thing worse than being criticised for writing about nature, would be if nobody noticed you were doing it.
Grammarly didn’t even bat an eyelid at that previous sentence. Perhaps they fell asleep.
The freaking internet: At times I kid myself that I can do without, as I did merrily for most of my life without dying. But it’s the first thing I turn on, even before the kettle, and the last at night. I love that if I read about a fantastic singer based in the Faroes, I can quickly look her up to check whether she’s fictional. Then, if I am blown to smithereens by her voice, I can share name/video clips instantly, with people I’d otherwise need to write snail mail to, or (let’s face it) step outside my front door (the horror).
And I’m tickled that the internet is right up there, intertwined with nature and things going right.
Today’s picture was obtained from Pexels