Life lately: Summer musings

Summer makes most people happy but I think that by now you know that I can only tolerate temperatures of 30C happily. Anything above that and I turn into the worst grump imaginable. We've already had two major heatwaves, both of them lasting well over ten days. But the temperature is tolerable right now so I'll leave it at that.

I've been away from my blog for a while again which makes me wonder where I want to go from here.

The future of this blog

To be honest, I no longer know whether this blog has a future. Readership keeps dwindling and I seem to have neither the time nor the inclination to do anything about it - which is sad, after all these years but, like I've said in the past, people are more inclined to read blogs that offer some advice or information rather than those that exist solely for the joy of making connections. Maybe I'm wrong but it sure feels like that right now.

So many people whose blogs I loved to read no longer update them any more and it has left me feeling strangely stranded. Other people's motivation and creativity helped fuel my own. I feel as parched as   Maltese field at the beginning of August after 4 or more months of drought - not a good thing.

Writing

Believe it or not I am finding it harder to write. My thoughts seem very fragmented and writing at length about a single subject is becoming harder. I've taken up micro-journaling because a couple of sentences every so often is all I can manage at the moment. I am finding it strangely liberating and it is teaching me to be concise.

Reading

My reading is progressing at a steady rate. I have read 27 out of the 35 books that I pledged to read during 2022. I'm running our of books now so I see a book-shopping spree on my horizon. Once again, I have read many books inspired by WW2 but it is time for me to pick up other genres. Reading only helps one grow when we pick up books outside our comfort zone. Otherwise. like all things, it becomes a mundane activity rather than one which expands the horizon of our imagination and knowledge.

All the reading I do leaves little time for blogging, unfortunately. I haven't even done the first two quarterly posts about the books I have read. Shame on me. One more thing I need to put on my 'to do' list.

Photography

Photography, like writing, requires the right frame of mind and heaps of motivation, both of which I'm sorely lacking right now. I've already talked about Malta's over-development and it just keeps getting worse. Village cores have been changed beyond recognition, more of the countryside keeps being eaten up by ugly blocks of 'apartments' that look like modern slums and it seems I am constantly taking photos of the same things, the ones which haven't changed for centuries (and which I've randomly scattered throughout today's post). They're all taken with my phone so please forgive and blurred edges.

What next?

So, what next, dear readers? Perhaps I'll use these slow and sultry summer months to recharge my batteries and come back with bigger and better ideas. Or perhaps I'll just give up. I really don't know at this point. All I know is that all the algorithms in place on Google and Instagram and everywhere else on the internet have killed creativity and since they ensure that only the 'big fish' are found by search engines. Everyone else is forgotten. It's a sorry state of affairs indeed.