It is not just me. Confirmation of my own stirrings as subtle shifts in our natural surrounding herald the changing of the seasons abound.
Such confirmations abound chiefly in the status updates of the people on Facebook whom I call my friends. They are a diverse and much beloved bunch scattered across the globe.
Although the northern hemisphere/southern hemisphere dichotomy exists, behaviours are remarkably similar.
(Not a Facebook friend.)
For one, there are the active types. The change of seasons (whether from warmer to colder weather or vice versa) seems to induce in them the need for greater activity than normal. Two are sweating it out in the gym; one has just completed her first half-marathon.
Then, there are those who have had a new surge of conscience as regards their personal health. One is in the throes of trying to give up smoking again. Some are giving her encouragement and support. Others are telling her by way of warning that beer does not taste the same without a cigarette. Neither does anything else, sweetie.
Another has posted images of rabbit food. Sorry, that was a bit rude. Let me rephrase: another is enthusiastically trying to lure the rest of us into joining her on the latest, greatest healthy-living diet, and has announced recently how many days she has been following this regimen.
Then there are the active, but not necessarily health-conscious. This is the time they choose to take their holiday – when almost everyone else has finished theirs. They are busy climbing mountains, visiting monasteries, riding bicycles over dodgy terrain, swimming in far-flung places, or posting pictures of pubs and other leisure centres with fantastic monuments in the background. Or finding incongruous objects in their milkshakes in between visits to world-famous art galleries.
The gardeners and nature lovers in the southern hemisphere have shared pictures of fruit trees blossoming and blue skies. Hmm, no new babies, lately, although the odd poem or new idea crops up here and there…
Some have recently finished projects, or chemotherapy; others are embarking on new ventures. The mostly silent ones suddenly start talking again. Life goes on in all its glorious variety, and optimism, despite everything, accompanies our vision of the season ahead.
What am I doing? Amongst other things, I am trying to restore my preferred sleep pattern – the one which does not involve siestas, and getting reacquainted with the comfort of my favourite jeans without breaking into a sweat.
No doubt, all the above activities will become briefly more frenetic under the light of the full moon just starting, and – as invariably happens – more people will make more friends during the next few days than at any other time during the month.
Allison
That elusive pair of jeans 
Cleverly written wit and wisdom. Thank you.
And thank you for following.
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Thank you for the compliment. Having recently discovered a “new” button on my digital camera purchased five years ago, your clearly written blog has motivated me to explore all the functions available on this machine. It can only result in better – or weirder – photos!
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I’m glad that you are becoming familiar with the features of your camera. That will give you more control, should you want it. I recommend an incremental approach with the introduction of one or two new features every 6-8 separate shoots. In the world of photography there is room for weird, although we like to call it “creative”.
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