Monday in Mordor

No, it wasn't gloomy all day - and I've used a collage to remind me of the brightness of the morning before the clouds rolled in. I actually popped out in the middle of putting a loaf into the bread maker to take the first photo of a bright autumn tree, still clinging to its leaves when most are gone, beyond the sombre green of my rhododendron. By the time I was leaving for Pilates, the sky had already darkened and I wondered which would arrive first - the rain or my lift. In the event my friend and I got to class dry and immediately launched into a pretty testing hour of stretch and strength work: our teacher says we're her best class, but I suspect it's more in terms of longevity and perseverance! (I cannot for the life of me lower my full body weight from my outstretched arms to an elbow plank and maintain control ...)

Back at home, with Himself now out at his class, I allowed myself the indulgence of coffee and the paper in an easy chair, followed by a lengthy phone call with an old school friend who is still a part of the same world of Firth of Clyde Piskies as I am. But I had more to do, so after lunch I was signing papers and walking to the post office to post them safely - and that's when I took the second photo above. It comes from the incongruous woodland that has been made into a burn-side park alongside the main road, which is where I prefer to walk to the Co-op (where the PO is now housed) instead of beside the traffic. This was the only golden tree there, probably because it was pretty sheltered from last week's gales.

And that was it, really. I came home to do my Italian and upload some more of my photos from Puglia into Flickr. I've just watched a little of this week's programme where Stanley Tucci explores Italy - it's in Puglia, and made me long for the food and the light again. But that won't be for a while, if ever, and tomorrow I have to see the physio about my back. And now the moon is shining brightly over the Firth, and if it was daytime it'd be sunny. Not all Mordor, then ...