Happy New Year 2020

Monday Mystery

Last week's cropped photo turned out to be a bit of a teaser



Dave and Ragged Robin were on the right lines when they mentioned the Moon



It is a Moon lamp. A hollow 15cm model of the Moon fitted with a colour changing LED inside.

I wonder how you will get on with this object



If you would like to make a guess please leave it in the comments.
They will be revealed, along with the answer, next year (next Monday)

Very best wishes for 2020 to all my visitors.

Sunset

After a lovely meal based around British lamb rump steaks there was a terrific Sunset to finish off the remaining daylight.









Camera set to Sunrise / Sunset setting otherwise all as taken with no tinkering.

Grumpy Cat

Penny's Christmas present



She wasn't too impressed with it to start with

 


but is now a firm favourite for throwing about while I get ready to take her out.

Monday Mystery

No problems with last week's close up



which was correctly identified as



secateurs / garden clippers / pruners, by
Adrian, Ellen D., Theresa Y., Ragged Robin, Dave, Kris and A Brit in Tennessee.
Well done to all.

I was intending that to be the last for this year but in the end decided to leave this for you to ponder over the Christmas period:



If you can identify what it is part of please leave your guess in the comments.
They, along with the answer, will be revealed next Monday.

Merry Christmas

Sunset

Monday Mystery

Last week's mystery object



was no problem for Adrian, Ragged Robin and Kris who all correctly identified it as



a candlestick.
I have several in reserve, along with candles to fit.
When I first moved here we often suffered 1 to 2 hr power cuts in bad weather.

You next task is to identify what this is part of



Please leave any guesses in the comments.
They will be revealed, along with the answer, next Monday.

Not Just Dog Walkers

Most mornings we see other dog walkers but occasionally our timing coincides with two ladies giving their horses some gently early morning exercise. This morning I asked them whether I could take a few photographs. They agreed and both ladies and horses patiently waited while my cold fingers fumbled with the Nikon pocket camera. Poor lighting didn't make for ideal photography conditions but a bit of tweaking in Affinity Photo helped to bring them out of the gloom.







Another day I must find a bit of information about the horses.

Red Sky at Morning ...

Red Sky at morning
Sailors take warning.

Beautiful Sunrise on our early morning walkabout.







Making the most of it as the rest of the day is forecast to be wet and very windy.

Monday Mystery

Mixed results for last week's mystery object.
I showed



My thanks to all who had a go at identifying what it is.
Congratulations to Adrian, Dave, Ragged Robin and Kris who identified




Festive / Christmas lights.
These are solar powered and hang in the front garden.

For this week's mystery object here are three cropped views



of what?

Please leave any guesses in the comments.
They will be revealed, along with the answer, next Monday.

Fleeting Visit

Starkers

It is now the time of year when deciduous trees discard their leaves leaving their branches naked to the world.



That wasn't what had caught my attention though.
At first I though I had spotted a rising cloud formation



but by the time we had ambled to the end of the lane it was darkening and dispersing.
In the end I came to the conclusion is more likely to have been smoke from a fire.

Monday Mystery

Last week I showed these three parts of the mystery object



which was correctly identified as




a wheelie bin aka trash or garbage bin by
Adrian, Kev, Ragged Robin, Ellen and Kris.
Well done and thanks to all who had a go.

Here we have three of these. That green one is for garden waste and has to be paid for extra yearly to be emptied. £40 at the moment. Then there is a grey one for recyclable stuff and a smaller black one for household rubbish some of which goes for burning to produce power and that which cannot be burned is sent for land fill. Those two are free, included in the community charge (local rates), and are emptied fortnightly.

Are you ready for the new mystery photo?
This is part of what?



Please leave any guesses in the comments.
They will be revealed, along with the answer, next Monday.

On This Day

30th November 2019 it is







Could have been worse - 30th November 2017 it was

Night Visitor

Checking for any captures on the trail camera I see a fox made another visit to the back garden





I hope next door's chickens are well secured at night.

Harvestman

The Harvestman is an arachnid related to spiders and scorpions.

 

They are easily recognised by their small body and very long, thin legs.



There are about 25 species in the UK and over 6,650 species worldwide.
Unlike spiders they do not spin silk or produce venom.
Some are predators, catching small invertebrates with the hooks on the ends of their legs.
Others are omnivorous and will also eat fruit and fungi.

Monday Mystery

Last week's object was more difficult to identify than I imagined.



Kris did spot it might be showing the time.

In fact it was part of the face of a 'smart watch'



As well as showing date and time it records how many steps I have walked each day and works out the number of calories burned. A target can be set for walking. In my case an average of 4,000 steps a day. The 'bullseye' graphic shows how much of the target has been achieved as the day progresses. Another facility is to monitor how well one is sleeping. Following a recent update to the software it also continuously records heart rate. When connected to a smart phone it transfers the data and vibrates when the phone receives an email or message. With good eyesight messages can be read on the phone display.

This week there are three views of the new mystery object:



Please leave any guesses in the comments.
They will be revealed, along with the answer, next Monday.

Not Just a Fly Trap

Checking my Venus Fly Trap I was surprised and pleased to find



it  also catches wasps.

I Might Have Known.....

.... the first bird I spotted using the suet ball feeder would be





a Magpie.

These were taken with the Nikon Coolpix S9050 I bought in December 2012.  It's doing a grand job as the photo numbering reached 9999 and started again from 0001 a few days ago. That means it has taken over 10,000 shots. It is still using the original battery which automatically charges every time I plug the camera in the laptop to download the photos.

Rod, Pole or Perch

I wonder whether that title conjures up memories of using Imperial measures in maths lessons for those of a similar age to myself. Relax, no maths today though. I have seen what looks like a few beak marks in the top jar of the peanut feeder. Since I received the feeder I have had some doubts as to how easy it is for birds to actually get at the jars once they are inside the cage. To my mind it really needs a perch or two to make things easier for them. To that end I have installed a length of wood - one of several uses I find for spent rocket firework sticks found after Bonfire Night or New Year celebrations.



If that works I will install another perch near the bottom two jars.

For those not familiar with our old Imperial units of measurement there is a useful web page HERE which gives some insight into their origins. I wonder how many younger people know that the length of an adult cricket wicket is one chain. (1 chain = 22 yards = 4 rods)

On the weather front - I repaired the heater just in time
 

It is hovering around 0C this morning.