Hello everyone, it's been a while - again. I've missed you! I'm glad you're here - if you haven't completely abandoned me, already - since I'm not here as often as I used to be. But, more on that, later. Let's walk, shall we?
We'll start from my house; that way,
you'll know where it is, next time you come.
If you've visited me on Instagram, lately, you'll know
that almond blossoms are everywhere, right now.
Their sweet, honey-like scent fills
the air with the promise of spring.
I never tire of this particular spot, near our home. I have taken its picture many times throughout my years of blogging, where bare grapevines take centre stage, while silver leaved trees beaded with olives and bobbles of oranges beaming from another, act as a chorus, harmoniously illustrating how a variety of very different produce thrives so well, in such close proximity to one another, on this island.
In contrast, white mustard, (yes, it's yellow!), has invaded winter vineyards, all on its own. The adorable flowers add cheery colour to the fruitless vines, and every time I walk by this one, I want to merrily run through it, like a little girl, without a care in the world.
Heading out towards the next village, this beautiful branch
of almond blossoms in the distance, beckoned me
to bestow its allure from up close,
of almond blossoms in the distance, beckoned me
to bestow its allure from up close,
thus forcing me to take a new path, deeper into the
Cretan countryside, one which I had never explored before.
Cretan countryside, one which I had never explored before.
Do you see where I'm going with all this?
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| Fields of aloe vera, vineyards, fruit and olive groves form the width of the countryside surrounding our village, while the mountains in the background soar to magnificent heights. |
There are many reasons, my friends, that have been keeping me from posting as often as I'd like, but I won't bore you with what they are. Besides, we probably have a lot of them in common. Just like the rows upon rows of aloe vera in the pic above, most days, my long list of 'to dos' seems endless, so that the components of composing a blog post, i.e., writing a theme oriented (as I tend to do), piece of prose, photographing 'subjects', formatting its text and pics, editing, editing and editing,😓 somehow, gets pushed to the bottom of the priority pile, and thus, days turn into weeks and weeks morph into months!🗓😲 Anyway, it's not like there's a rule that dictates how often one should post, but if you're like me, and really need to reach your creativity quota every few days or so, you could have a problem.
Or not. Enter Instagram! It allows me to post random pics, (although I tend to do triplets with a bit of text), in a few minutes. I really appreciate the frequent interaction with my followers, too; even just popping by to say 'Hi!',😊 is always a sweet gesture! As I've pointed out in a previous blog post, Instagram will never replace my blog process, as I really enjoy being challenged by what a blog post involves, but it is more achievable, for me, for now, regarding time and effort.
Interestingly, this seems to be a timely topic, since recently, I've come across several bloggers who are dealing with similar questions as to why they, too, are not posting as often. Some have explained that they don't have anything to report, or no new pics to share, they are not feeling inspired, or are too bombarded by deadlines in the real world. All good and valid reasons, wouldn't you agree?
Unfortunately, I've lost a few followers the last few months, which I assume is due to the inconsistency of my posts - driving readers away because I've become blasé is too scary a thought! On the contrary, there are blogs that still grace my sidebar which haven't been updated in years, but that doesn't mean that they never will, and when they do, I will dash over to read them and say 'hello' to their authors and tell them how much I missed them and how happy I am that they're back. But if they don't ever appear at the top of my list, as blogs do when a new post is published, I will continue to keep their thumbnails there, like I do old photos, to remind me of their creators and their wonderful worlds.
and you are, no doubt, all walked out,
so I'll say goodbye for now.
But before we part ways,
tell me, are you, too,
going through a phase
of unintentional delays, causing
you 'blogger mystery' malaise?
As always,
thanks for visiting!
xx
Poppy💟