Grace

First of all I have to say that I've been completely overwhelmed by the response to the last few blips, especially the black and white efforts. I've been honoured by a number of new subscriptions, as well as lots of favourites. Trouble is that it's coming at a very busy time for me and, once again, I've not had any chance to get back to people. I feel bad at about that, but I've an important meeting tomorrow and I need to be prepared. I'm usually one for winging things, but this one calls for me to know what I'm talking about! There's only so much bluffing that I can do these days ... so I've had to work all evening to get ready. Wish me luck.

I've really enjoyed the dabbling with monochrome. I've always been looking for an opportunity to use black and white, but so far, with just one exception, whenever I've tried it I've always ended up preferring the colour version and reverted back. But I'm beginning to see how once you start using this medium you can get well and truly hooked. It would have been very easy to have gone that route again tonight with some canal-side industrial shots, but short of time I've decided to go for something very different. I don't want to get typecast!

After a period of absence my family of swans is back at the spot where they took up residence earlier in the summer. The canal was like a mirror this morning and that calmness seemed to have descended upon the swans. They never minded me much before but today they were almost oblivious to my presence. I'm curious to know if they actually remember me? They are such graceful creatures that it's easy to forget how vicious they can be. But not this one today. I definitely got a sense that it was posing for me.

I chose this title not just for the obvious reason, but also because I feel like I'm being graced with my blips each day at the moment. I've had very little time recently, and often left my blip until very late in the day, but something always pops up. It appears to be quite extraordinary - but is probably just a matter of being more acutely aware of the magic that is around us all the time, going largely unnoticed. To become tuned in to the ordinary magic of life like this is the true grace here.