英语博客：An eye for light.

　　As we move into the middle of November, the countryside seems to be changing every day. The colorful leaves that decorate the whole valley are beginning to fall, and preparations are being made for the long, cold winter. I am trying to go for walks as often as I can because the days are so beautiful. As long as you wear warm enough clothes, you can be refreshed by a lovely walk. There is no reason to stay inside, really. On my walks, I take my camera, to capture anything that I can write about. Recently, I have been using alot of space on my camera's SD card for photos of the sun shining through the trees. It's become a bit of an obsession¹. Every part of every tree is different. Each hour that the light changes, everything looks different, and each day, of course, there are marked differences in what you can see. My camera is just a cheapo, digital one, but with a good editing² software ( I use Picassa), you can get inspiring photos. So, on my walks, it's not unusual for me to quickly make my way into an orchard³, or into a hedgerow, to get the shot that I want, before the light changes. I'm sure it looks a bit strange to people driving by. The photo on the blog today, was taken in my back garden one afternoon. From our kitchen, as you look out, there are several trees, one after another. The closest is a red japanese maple⁴, behind which is an aspen. The change of season had made their colors quite dramatic, and contrasting with eachother's. So, I abandoned my cooking, grabbed⁵ my camera and got out of the door before the sun went down. My dogs didn't know what the excitement was all about. They brought me a ball to throw to them, and dropped it at my feet. But I was too busy focusing my camera. I climbed onto the patio⁶ table to get a good shot. So the dogs climbed up too. The three of us stood there on the table: me, totally engrossed⁷ in the trees, and the dogs probably wondering what we were doing on the table. But, when the light is right, you have to forget everything else and focus.
Grammar notes.
Related vocabulary: as long as, a marked difference, engrossed.
1. You can go to your friend's house, as long as you're back by eight.
2. There has been a marked difference in his reading; it is very much improved.
3. The film was so good that we were thoroughly⁸ engrossed.

1 obsession   

n.困扰，无法摆脱的思想(或情感)

参考例句：

• I was suffering from obsession that my career would be ended.那时的我陷入了我的事业有可能就此终止的困扰当中。
• She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher.她会努力忘记对克里斯托弗的迷恋。

2 editing   

adj.编辑的

参考例句：

• The processing of data in random order,not subject to preliminary editing or sorting.未经预先编辑或分类，以任意次序对数据进行的处理的做法。

3 orchard   

n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场

参考例句：

• My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
• Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。

4 maple   

n.槭树，枫树，槭木

参考例句：

• Maple sugar is made from the sap of maple trees.枫糖是由枫树的树液制成的。
• The maple leaves are tinge with autumn red.枫叶染上了秋天的红色。

5 grabbed   

v.抢先，抢占( grab的过去式和过去分词 )；（尤指匆忙地）取；攫取；（尤指自私、贪婪地）捞取

参考例句：

• He was grabbed by two men and frogmarched out of the hall. 他被两个男人紧抓双臂押出大厅。
• She grabbed the child's hand and ran. 她抓住孩子的手就跑。

6 patio   

n.庭院，平台

参考例句：

• Suddenly, the thought of my beautiful patio came to mind. I can be quiet out there,I thought.我又忽然想到家里漂亮的院子，我能够在这里宁静地呆会。
• They had a barbecue on their patio on Sunday.星期天他们在院子里进行烧烤。

7 engrossed   

adj.全神贯注的

参考例句：

• The student is engrossed in his book.这名学生正在专心致志地看书。
• No one had ever been quite so engrossed in an evening paper.没人会对一份晚报如此全神贯注。

8 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。