It was raining a lot here yesterday. But at one point the sun broke through and there were lots of beads of rain on the trees sparkling in the sunlight.

I went out to try to capture pictures of them.

But my photography skills weren't up to it, I just couldn't get a shot that worked.

Then I saw the lichen on the bench and the mixture of colours and textures appealed.

Yesterday I was getting a bit of cabin fever.

I'd been staring at the screen for too long, Picasa was being a nightmare and Photoshop not much better.

So I decided to stop and take a lttle break.

I strolled to the local library and perused the bookshelves in search of inspiration.

I found a few things then recalled people had been recommending a novel to me...but I couldn't remember by who or its name.

I tweeted and got an answer pronto. Someone else had already borrowed the book.

Then outside the sound of a heavy downpour and the library sprang to life everyone using it as an excuse to chat.

One lady said summers never used to be like this. The weather was predictable back then she said. Some sort of halcyon childhood summers I think she meant.

The rain stopped. The talking stopped.

I went back to the book shelves and then home contented with my haul.

Libraries are great. And I still have to go back to get the novel when its in.