Friday 23 January 2015

Clear Skies

 The clear skies over recent nights have been ideal for star-gazing.  We were on the look out for Comet Lovejoy C/2014 Q2.
I took these photos on 19th January when the comet was between Pleiades and Aries.
 Jupiter was also visible.
 We moved from our back garden, to get away from the street light that shines way too bright at the back of our garden, to an area nearby.  The Orion Nebula was visible to the naked eye.
 Using binoculars we could just see the comet as a fuzzy white object; too faint for my camera, but I am still happy with these photos that show the main constellations.
 The clear January skies have meant cold, frosty mornings.
 This morning was just such a time and I decided to wrap up warm, grab my camera and go for a short walk to the village pond.

 I love to see the leaves and
  seed heads covered in ice crystals.


 A few rose hips are still brightening up the hedgerows.
 It was so glorious out there that I decided to walk further afield.

 I left the village and climbed over this stile
 to walk along the footpath beside the old park pale.
 No sign of deer in the fields this morning, just a frozen hoof print in the mud.



 The footpath leads through into a second field.
 Sadly this field may well be built on it the near future, as plans for housing have been proposed.
 I left the fields and walked through the neighbouring village, past some lovely thatched cottages and headed home.
Time for a hot coffee and some knitting/crochet.  I have finally settled on a pattern for my 7th blogiversary giveaway.  The giveaway is still open, until 29th January, so please feel free to join in by adding a comment to the blogiversary post.  I'm looking forward to announcing the winner on 30th January.
Best wishes, Pj x

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