A Short Stay in the Country

So here I am, house-sitting. Outside, the rain is coming down like Noah forgot to turn off the taps. Across the valley, the mountains are shrouded in clouds.The birds have gone to ground or to bush would be a  more exact phrase. All I can hear is the sound of the washing machine in the utility room. I wore my white pants yesterday and managed to get them dirty when I checked the flowers to see what needed dead-heading. So it's a white wash today.
Being in the country has many attractions.  For one thing, there are far fewer distractions. Peace and quiet broken only by the chirping of the starlings as they feed their chicks in nests on the roof or simply watching the song thrush toddle about with its mother are all uplifting. Who can get into a tizz over something trivial when you've got Nature on your doorstep?
And I've read three books since I arrived here a fortnight ago. Most enjoyable book? Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty definitely. I had seen it in the bookshops but somehow thought it was one of those weepy novels which are not my cup of tea. Instead, I stayed up late reading it and was sorry when it finished. And yes, I know it is a series on HBO and they are doing a second series, although the novel is so complete in itself that I think trying to do a follow on is not a good idea. I don't intend to watch the first series, either. I much prefer to stick to reading novels and forming my own ideas of how people look and anyway, you can't get that atmosphere on to the screen. One of my favourite novels is To Kill a Mocking Bird. I recently watched the film with Gregory Peck and, quite frankly, it missed so much of the style of Harper Lee's story and of the atmosphere of the times which she so expertly depicted. But there, I'm getting on my hobby horse!
I should be writing. I did quite a bit yesterday but made the classic mistake of finishing one chapter and leaving a blank for this morning. The golden rule is, as many authors know, to stop in full flow so that you have something to continue next day. Hey-ho! I'd better stop here and try to get my mojo back on track.