Goodbye 2020 Hello 2021

Nearly a Waste of Time

Yesterday Penny made another visit to see her vet to have her blood pressure checked. That failed as she wouldn't calm down enough to get an accurate reading. Try again next week with a longer visit to give her time to settle. I wasn't in the best of moods when we left but that soon changed when I spotted one of the brightest rainbows I have ever seen. Much brighter than the iPod captured it but still looks pretty good. On the second clip you might just be able to make out a second rainbow to the right of the main one.

Peek-a-boo

Nothing much of note yesterday so I took a photo with my iPhone of the Moon trying to shine through thin cloud and a tree.

Monday Mystery

Last week's three views



were all part of



an owl night light. Clear acrylic which has the owl engraved inside the platic. It is barely visible when not illuminated but shines when lit by the LEDs contained in the box it stands on. Different colours can be selected or it can be set to cycle through all the colours, though this effect runs far too fast for my liking.

Well done to Adrian, Kris, Ellen, Dave and Ragged Robin who spotted it was an owl. Many thanks to all who have had a go at guessing this year's mystery objects. I haven't though about what to do for some puzzle photos for next year as yet.

Rook

After yesterday's fleeting visit from Storm Bella so far today it has been brilliant Sunshine. No discernible damage hereabouts from the storm and far less rain than I expected with my weather station only recording about 10mm. I was woken up about 2 a.m. by something clattering outside. Got out of bed and saw it was the door on the gas meter box flapping in the gusts. I quickly dressed and went out to close and secure it before it was torn off and I ended up with a bill for a replacement.

To brighten up the morning even more I spotted this Rook on top of the bird feeder pole.





Penny is a bit better now she has had her medication increased. Also her diet has been changed to include food formulated for lessening renal problems. Still 'leaking' but not so frequently and able to ask more often to go in the garden. In fact I was woken at 6 a.m. by her barking in my ear to wake me up and let her out.

Monday Mystery

Last week's close view



was part of



a folding table, looking a bit grotty after being outside in all weather for years. Well done to Adrian, Maree, Kris, Dave and Ragged Robin. Thanks to all who had a go.

One final mystery for 2020



Three partial views of .... what? Please leave any guesses in the comments. They will be revealed, along with the answer, next Monday.

Christmas 2020

Wishing you all the best we can make of Christmas this year.



On the left is my small raised pond with lanterns and colour changing spotlights, all Solar powered. On the right my little artificial Christmas tree with LED lights. This video was composed mostly using Wondershare Filmora X which has many different text effects built in. The Carol of the Bells tune is a MIDI file played through an electronic keyboard. The Moon was used to cover up the clock which hangs above the pond.

A Christmas Decoration for 2020

I coudn't resist buying this.

A Medical Week

Well, couple of days really. Yesterday I had to visit Grimsby Hospital for a routine blood test. That had to be booked in advance. After some of the reports I have seen on social media I expected the visitors car park to be nearly empty and a virtually deserted hospital. In fact the car park was a good 80% full. No hand sanitizing points seen anywhere. The pathology department is deep inside the main building and all the corridors were bustling with people, patients and nursing staff. One beauty of having a pre booked appointment was being able to walk straight in. All over in a matter of minutes. Cost - a gallon+ of petrol and £2.40 parking charge. No getting away from that as the registration number is collected on entry and you can't get out until the charge is paid as the automatic barriers use number plate recognition.

Today was another visit to the vet for Penny. This time to check urine and blood pressure. No infection but her BP is way over the top so more medication. Another BP check soon to see whether the medication dose is correct. She also had more of the anti itching tablets. Total cost for her visits so far this month £350+. Incontinence problems are still ongoing.

Monday Mystery

I though I was going to win with last week's close view



untl right near the end when it was correctly identified as



a bird feeder by Dave - well done.

I'm scratching my head for a new mystery photo today but I have eventually come up with this



which is part of ..... what? Please leave any guesses in the comments which will be revealed, along with the answer, next Monday.

Red Sky in the Morning

... sailor's warning.



Looked out this morning to see a beautiful red sky. The first for quite a few days. It looks as though the old saying will prove to be somewhat true today as the forecast for this area is heavy rain and a strong breeze for the rest of the day.

Monday Mystery

Last week I showed this IR photo



of



It was correctly identified as a landline phone by Dave, Kris and Ragged Robin. Well done. A thank you to all who had a guess.

This week I have a close view



which is part of what?

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

A Misty Sunrise

As the Sun was rising and the temperature dropped rapidly to 0.3C so the mist rose.



That view didn't last for long. As the temperature started to rise again the mist soon cleared.

Of Incontinence and a Sunset

Can't remember whether I mentioned this before now. Last February (how time flies) I took Penny to the vets as she was becoming incontinent. A urine sample showed she had no infection and the vet said it was a common problem with bitches as they age. Recently she has been getting worse. I have had to change and wash her bedding every morning and evening. Also her skin has been getting very sensitive, ticklish, itchy. On Thursday I phoned the vets and was lucky to get an appointment for Friday (yesterday) as they are reserved for urgent cases. We drove over in the afternoon. Owners are not allowed inside the surgery these days so I had to phone to let them know we were there and wait for a vet to come out and collect her. She had  a blood test - waiting for the results which are due by Monday.. Penny had the honour of being the first animal to have her blood tested by a spanking new machine they have installed. She also has some tablets to stop the itching. Even the first one had a miraculous effect and Penny got her first really restful night for some time. Apart from that Penny has a healthy appetite and is enjoying her walks as always.

On the weather front we had heavy rain twice yesterday. When? While I drove there and again on the way back.Not that it wasn't raining the rest of the day, just not as heavy. Great swathes of water on the roads and lots streaming off the adjacent fields. Today has been dry, so far, with some Sunshine. I just caught a glimpse of the Sunset a short while ago.



I noticed some ice had formed in the water pools on the old pond waterfall. Sign of things to come?

Rook at the Birdfeeders

A hurried bit of video taken in the gloom this morning when a Rook visited the birdfeeders.



At least it didn't try to unhook the feeder.

Spotty Sun

This morning was the first time for days the Sun shone for more than a few minutes. I think yesterday it managed about fifteen seconds. I finally had the chance to photograph the latest large Sun Spot.



There are other spots but the sky wasn't completely free of thin cloud so only one other showed on the photos. Even the largest one may look insignificant compared to the size of the Sun but, as one internet site described it, large enough to swallow the Earth without a ripple. Size is not necessarily important for activity to occur which affect us. A smaller spot very recently emitted enough radiation to disrupt some radio communications for a while.

As always I used a special Solar filter on the lens to cut down the light intensity and protect the camera.

Monday Mystery

Last Monday I showed:



All those cheerful looking berries are on a self seeded plant which has been allowed to grow on.



I am pretty sure it is a catoneaster. They seem to seed all over the place. My thanks to all who had a guess.

I am absolutely sure what this infra red photograph of the new mystery object is.



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

Rook

It has been some time since I last saw a Rook visit the bird feeders. This morning one was trying to look innocent when he saw me watching as it attempted to get near the suet ball feeder.

Stymied by the Weather

One of those non photographic days. While out for our morning walk the Sun was clear of cloud. Great I thought. I wanted to photo the latest large Sunspot. The new Solar cycle seems to be gathering pace as there are three new Sunspots facing the Earth at the moment. By the time we reached home the Sun was nowhere to be seen, sulking behind thick clouds. Teatime I kept an eye on the West for any sign of a colourful Sunset. Nope, none, zilch. Just grey sky. On our final walkabout, just as the gloom of night was decending, I could see a clear Moon. That will have to do I thought. I think you can guess what happened next. Yes. By the time we reached home the Moon had decided to go all shy and hid behind thick cloud.

Another Sunset

Yesterday we went out early enough in the evening to catch the Sunset over the fields. As usual I took lots of photos. These are about the best of the bunch. I tried a few different setting on the Canon G5X. First a normal single shot:



I didn't realise I had chosen the HDR setting for the next one so it was surprisingly good considering the camera was hand held while it took the three shots which are mixed to make the final HDR photo.



Both photos are cropped to remove some of the less interesting foreground.

Turneresque Sunset

J. M. W. Turner is one of my favourite painters. He recorded many magnificient Sunsets in the 1800s. When we went walkabout yesterday evening the bold reds and oranges of the Sunset brought Turner's works to mind. Looking back to the West as we set off:



About half way down the lane I looked back again:



I was annoyed as I had forgotten to take a camera with me so I had to use the iPhone 6S and the Camera+2 app. Photos are cropped slightly to reduce the amount of dark foreground and the overhead telephone cables were 'inpainted' out using Affinity Photo.

Monday Mystery

Last week I showed



which was a close view of



an LED headlamp - literally a light to wear on your head. Listed as a lamp for fishing or camping. It has a central spotlight with an angled floodlight either side. They can be on individually or all together. For cyclists it can be worn on the back of the head as it also has a flashing red light. As is usual these days the battery is recharged through a USB connector. Listed as lasting 4 to 6 hours on one charge. I bought it for the occasions we go walkabout down our lane on Winter nights. There are a few dimish street lamps but no lighting once past the bridge to the cricket field. The lights are quite powerful and do a great job. (£8.50 on eBay)

Ellen D. it could be useful to keep in the car for emergencies. Kris - not sure whether you were thinking of something like this or a vehicle headlight. Dave - it certainly counts as a torch.

This time can you identify which plant produces these beautiful berries?



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

Moon at 800mm

Having read the reviews which were reasonably good I invested all of £102 in a JINTU 420-800mm zoom lens. Obviously at this price it is very basic. Manual focus, fixed apature which varies from F8.3 at 420mm to F16 at 800mm. I wanted it for photographing the Moon or Sun. Here it is fitted to my Canon 70D on its first try out photographing the Moon.



I took severa photos as the manual focus is tricky to get spot on. This is a full frame shot (no cropping)



That wasn't the best focussed shot but the one with the Moon nearest the centre of the shot.

A crop from a slightly sharper photo:



Obviously not as sharp as the Canon £1000+ 800mm lenses but I think it's very good for the price. It has a standard M42 thread and comes with an adapter to match your camera. Needless to say it has to be on a sturdy tripod and the camera operated by a remote of one sort or another. The slightest movement will blur the image.

Intelligent Rook

I was reading The Weaver of Grass' blog entry about watching Rooks and it reminded me of this bit of video I took eight years ago.



Why struggle to get at the suet ball when a little effort makes the job a lot easier in the long run. A few days later I noticed all the feeders in a neighbour's front garden were on the floor. I guess it was putting its new skill to good use.

Monday Mystery

Not too much of a problem identifying this close shot from last Monday:



as being part of:



an old cast iron trivit. Very useful to get air circulation all round things which need cooling down or defrosting slowly. Well done to Ellen D., Adrian, Ragged Robin, Dave, Kris and Kev who were close or spot on.

Another close view for this week:



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

Fishy Request

No, Not fishy as in dodgy but a request from John Going Gently for a clearer look at the fish ornament from my More Wrens post. This is a water fountain type ornament of Chinese make I bought some years ago and never got round to connecting up to a water pump. Now I have set up a small raised pond I will experiment a bit to see how well it works.



From the front you can see the inlet at the bottom and the outlet through its mouth.



I think it's cast resin, measures about 13 inches long by 8 inches high and is fairly hefty weighing in at 4lb (1.8Kg).

More Wrens

I see a Wren dodging around the garden most early mornings. A couple of days ago the lighting conditions were a bit better for taking a few photographs.







A couple of mornings ago, for the first time ever, I saw two Wrens in the garden at the same time. I understand they often roost together in groups during the Winter.

Fallen

As we made our way through the back of the village churchyard we were greeted with a carpet of fallen Autumn leaves:





As we left I turned my thoughts to those villagers who had fallen in two world wars:

Where There's a Will, There's a Way

I have mesh and bars on the birdtable to keep Wood Pigeons out. They tend to sit in there and scare all the small birds away. The local Magpie wasn't going to let any of that get in the way of a free meal.



No sound. Video automatically captured by one of my surveillance camera.

Monday Mystery

Last week's close view



was identified as being part of



a 'feather' duster. It is thin enough to clear out cobwebs from behind radiators and has an extendable handle making it easy to reach ceilings. Well done to Adrian, Ellen, Ragged Robin, Kris, Kev and Debby.

Another close view this week


(Not as clear a photo as I would have liked) If you would like to guess what it is please leave your guess in the comments. They will be revealed, along with the answer, next Monday.

Autumn

A great time for some beautiful Sunsets:



and a time for misty mornings:
Just about able to make out my new wooden planters in the front garden:


The Sun trying to dispel the mist:



and with the temperature rapidly dropping to 1.4C giving an expected frost: