diff --git a/commands/serve.go b/commands/serve.go
index f52ddcb..2c2151d 100644
--- a/commands/serve.go
+++ b/commands/serve.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package commands
 
 import (
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"io/fs"
 	"net/http"
@@ -79,21 +80,31 @@ func setupWatcher() (*fsnotify.Watcher, error) {
 					return
 				}
 
+				// some events can be received for temporary files, e.g. .#backup files generated by emacs while editing .org
+				// when events regarding such files arrive, discard them here instead of triggering a faulty rebuild
+				if _, err := os.Stat(event.Name); errors.Is(err, os.ErrNotExist) {
+					// path/to/whatever does not exist
+					// FIXME change for debug
+					fmt.Println("ignoring temporary file", event.Name)
+					continue
+				}
 				// chmod events are noisy, ignore them
 				if !event.Has(fsnotify.Chmod) {
-					fmt.Printf("\nFile %s changed, triggering rebuild.\n", event.Name)
+					continue
+				}
 
-					// since new nested directories could be triggering this change, and we need to watch those too
-					// and since re-watching files is a noop, I just re-add the entire src everytime there's a change
-					if err := addAll(watcher); err != nil {
-						fmt.Println("error:", err)
-						return
-					}
+				fmt.Printf("\nFile %s changed, triggering rebuild.\n", event.Name)
 
-					if err := rebuild(); err != nil {
-						fmt.Println("error:", err)
-						return
-					}
+				// since new nested directories could be triggering this change, and we need to watch those too
+				// and since re-watching files is a noop, I just re-add the entire src everytime there's a change
+				if err := addAll(watcher); err != nil {
+					fmt.Println("error:", err)
+					return
+				}
+
+				if err := rebuild(); err != nil {
+					fmt.Println("error:", err)
+					return
 				}
 
 			case err, ok := <-watcher.Errors:
diff --git a/site/site.go b/site/site.go
index d9f023b..68595e0 100644
--- a/site/site.go
+++ b/site/site.go
@@ -123,14 +123,8 @@ func (site *Site) loadTemplates(srcDir string) error {
 
 	err = filepath.WalkDir(srcDir, func(path string, entry fs.DirEntry, err error) error {
 		if !entry.IsDir() {
-			// I've seen issues with temporary files, eg. .#name.org generated by emacs
-			// I'll just ignore changes to dotfiles to stay on the safe side
-			if strings.HasPrefix(filepath.Base(path), ".") {
-				return nil
-			}
-
 			templ, err := templates.Parse(site.templateEngine, path)
-			// if sometime fails or this is not a template, skip
+			// if something fails or this is not a template, skip
 			if err != nil || templ == nil {
 				return err
 			}