The bright shore

This is the second time in a few days that I've noticed how bright the shore can look compared with the dark sky beyond. This afternoon I took several photos that were remarkable mainly for the sky over Bute and over the hills of Cowal; we could see a band of rain marching towards us but somehow petering out before we felt more than a few spots of drizzle. 

Is it inevitable that I should see this particular view as a metaphor for the way life feels just now? The present, small-frame view is my day-to-day life - bright enough, fortunate in that I live in such a beautiful place with so many empty places in which to walk ( and on a day like today there were even fewer people out)  -  but beyond the immediate occupations of life loom the dark and the unanswered questions: how long can we keep this up? What is happening to people's livelihoods? the economy? Why are these benighted islands currently governed by ideologically-driven isolationists who want to question the status of so many of the people on whom life for many literally depends?

You can tell this hasn't been an entirely cheerful evening. The morning was fine - I had an online meeting and two phone calls and then it was time to start this asterisk dough and have lunch. It's after that when the feeling of wasted time seizes me and drives me out to exercise, and that works, a bit. A phone chat with #1 son worked too - though I'm sad for all the exciting things my grandchildren (and my children) are missing this term. And Spooks was grand. But then irritation arrives with the 10 o'clock news and lasts till sleep wins. Last night I didn't get to sleep till well after 2am...

Tomorrow I shall get out the summer duvet.