After a hard days work yesterday, I began at 9:30 and didn't finish till 1:30, I then spent the rest of the day getting over it! Life would have been easier had people not kept coming in to the museum, I considered locking the door at one point as I could not finish the page of the book I was trying to read for people asking questions.
One delightful couple arrived from Idaho to seek out the town's history and wander about for a while enjoying the type of sights they do not see in the wide open spaces of home. Such make life worthwhile in the museum. The ratty ones grumbling because the afternoon talk had to be postponed as the speaker was sick did annoy, especially as they demanded to know why no-one phoned them as they could have taken the speakers place. Not having booked we did not know their number but that apparently was not a good enough reason! She was female...
This morning I woke just before seven. A glance through the stained glass window, stained with dirt that is, showed the morning mist was hanging around. This I thought was a gift from Jesus this morning so throwing on some rags, grabbed the camera and began wandering the streets.
The mist took a while to dissipate and I took a while to wander so we got on well. Passing people speak easily at that time of the day, at least in this small town, and snatches of conversation broke out as people wondered why a madman was taking pictures before the shops opened. One man was eager to get his daughter out for pictures as she was studying photo journalism, a good job I say, but as all 17 year old's do she was glued to her bed, probably until midday!
The windscreens reflected the changing temperatures. One man grumbled that this was the first time he had been out scraping his windows before moving off. Just wait a month and it will be frozen in the mornings, time then for old newspapers across the screen. The good days have passed us by and Autumn is at it's normal temperatures now, little cause for those expensive sunglasses until winter has passed.
'Twas on a Monday morning that the gas man came to call.'
Since that morning several months have passed and the gas mains in this street have not yet all been reconnected. Changing the gas pipes from the old lead ones to long yellow plastic ones has not been an easy task for the workers. Each house requires amendments and not all householders are around at the right time. The changes to the traffic caused by closing the road has been great for those of us who walk a short distance down here, people have however been going round in circles attempting to find their way in to the street. It will all be over by Christmas.
Where are people going this early in the morning I wonder? Some are rushing to get to work, others taking the dog out, or in one case the dogs with cat attempting to follow. Still others pass by engrossed in their thoughts strolling who knows where from nowhere it appears. It is surprising how many people in this small town are unknown to me. Many pass by daily and can be recognised, others pass as if in the night and are never seen again. I could see a short story writer sitting on the bench finding material for a story here. The young, the old, the lonely, the troubled, all pass this way their stories untold and disappear into the mist.
It never ceases to amaze me how spiders create such wonderful feats of engineering without spending seven years at Mechanical University. These tiny beasts, this one clearly hiding from the chill, has managed to build his web without referring to the instructions. It appears near perfect with the dew hanging from it yet if it breaks he (or is it she) will soon be out repairing and mending ensuring that sooner or later lunch will be served.
And they say there is no God...
