Innit

6°C, clear.

“innit”

Can we skip spring and go straight to summer?

-3° to+4°C, NE brisk.
Spring has been cancelled this year which has made a lot of people very angry and is universally regarded as a bad idea.

Days are about ten degrees below average for Easter. A camping/hiking trip is at risk now. At least cycling is still an option.

Reporting from a country very unhappy with its weather.

Stucked this time.

-2°C, heavy snow.
It stuck overnight, we certainly did not expect this much. Yesterday we hoped for a snow day but got slush. Today, the third day of spring, it’s proper snow, about 3 inches deep. Easterly wind is lifting this dusty snow, it’s drifting.

Related articles

• Britain braced for snow drifts in coldest March weekend for 50 years (metro.co.uk)

Winter marches on.

4°C, grey,
Drawing on: snow forecast for tomorrow, winter is stubborn this year. Yes, we have been spoilt by a string of early springs. Nearly Easter, but the magnolia is nowhere near in bloom.
Temperatures have topped 4°C over this last few weeks. At least I can ride to work, the ice is relatively minor.

Heavy Snow says the Met office. Winds will average 15 mph, so some drifting likely.

Cherry bird cage.

4°C, grey, NE.
What is this? There is a clump of thin branches in this cherry tree. It’s like a deformation, an odd lamp-shade shape. They have been like this for years, but most of the time, hidden by foliage. In mid-winter view, it’s too dark to see the clump.
On my morning dog-walk, I look up and speculate on it’s cause. Has some parasitic life form triggered a reaction in the growing tree. Could it be a fungus, an insect or a virus?

How many…

4°C, clearing. Light wind.
How many comets have you seen today? I have only seen one.
As if to repeat yesterday, I walked up to the Gazebo immediately at sunset to hunt with binoculars again.
It took, maybe twenty minutes before I found it, or the light fading revealed the comet at that time. Maybe both.
Remember that I was on a viewpoint above the city, but the comet was small. Very small. In fact, I could not see it without binoculars. Still, the thrill was strong. It has been about 12 years since last I saw a comet. That time it was Hale-Bopp, a much bigger, brighter phenomenon.
Some articles is the media have suggested that 2013 could be the year of comets. I’m looking.

Related articles

• Comet Photos (and viewing tips for tonight) (tartaninkblog.wordpress.com)

Comet hunt.

-2° ~ +4°C, strong NE.
It was 12 years since Hale-Bopp and Halley’s was hidden by cloud.

This image was selected as a picture of the week on the Malay Wikipedia for the 36th week, 2009. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Rushed home to get out to a good viewpoint tonight. Comet Pann-starr is grazing the sun today and should show a decent tail for the next few days. Awkwardly, it is very low on the horizon just after sunset. That means there is short time between pale twilight sky and and the object setting.
I knew where to look, I had binoculars, but there was still a problem.
A narrow bank of cloud lay over Cannock Chase. I knew where it was, and there were a few gaps in the cloud but not where I wanted one.

Related articles

• Comet Pan-STARRS Invades Northern Skies (news.discovery.com)
• Seeing Comet PanSTARRS is tricky for skywatchers, but it’s easy online (cosmiclog.nbcnews.com)
• Year of the Comets: 2013 May See Brightest Comet Show in Years (space.com)

New lodger.

3C, grey, easterly.
We have a new lodger. I have put in new door locks.

Winter is coming back for a reprise to annoy us. Wood is cut and scuttle filled.
Today- much mending. I planed two interior doors: this is the path to a unique pleasure from opening and closing doors. What else? Fitted a lockable catch in the study door- with was not the most competent job I have done. There is more, but I won’t bore you further.

Van Dyke

6C Cooling.
The Culture Show: did a charming programme about a painting found via the BBC’s yourpaintings website.

Okay, it looked quite horrible before via restoration, but as they cleaned it, the glowing skill and finesse did actually show through. The guy who owned it was reserved and stoic throughout, but the feeling was vivid. I was reminded of my own personal relationship with a picture held in the City Gallery in Birmingham. Henry Fantin-Latour’s portrait of his wife reading. I always in to visit that picture when in Birmingham. It’s a sentimental friendship I have with the painting. I go all wistful and a bit soft in the eyes when I get there. It’s a great shame that I can’t get a print of it to treasure at home.
I’ll have to break in and steal it.