Category Archives: Skies

Sundog at Sunset

sundog atmospheric optics

This is a sundog. Like a little round rainbow, red side towards the sun.

How are the sundogs doing where you live? We seem to have loads at the moment. In the picture above the sun is way over to the west outside the frame of the picture.

The photo below shows the real sun lurking behind clouds to the right of that chimney.

( A sun dog is also known as a mock sun, false sun, or the 22° parhelia. )

If you want to know more about them visit Atmospheric Optics and revel in the images that are sent there from all over the world; for how sundogs are made and some extraordinary images click here, and don’t forget to explore the rest of this fabulous site. Have you ever wondered why light forms strange lines (caustics) in water? And whether that strange black halo round the moon is caused by aliens? Many of the answers are on Les Cowley’s site. Here is a link to his gallery of images. When I grow up I’m going to take photos like these…

There are more things in heaven and earth……

Dalewards!

Yorkshire Dales: Creative commons courtesy of Chantrybee http://www.flickr.com/photos/chantrybee/2911840052/

This morning we are heading North to the Dales of Yorkshire for a baking get together at Martin’s Manor with some old and some new friends! I’m thinking about making sourdough croissants, pasteis de nata, Mick‘s chocolate brioche – can you see which way my thoughts are going…..?

On the way we are going to try and visit the loaf in Crich and say hi to Andy Aulda and hope to get a glimpse of the Viaduct at Ribblehead.

If you want to see what’s going on, you could try checking in on the Dales Dough Do and hopefully there’ll be some pics there over the next couple of days. Robinaccio has a new phone though and might post on his blog, so that will be worth checking too!

And we’ll be thinking of Rick at Mairs Bakehouse who hosted last year’s event where we had such a brilliant time making cottage loaves and stotties and all manner of fun breads.

Are you travelling somewhere this weekend?

Back to the Garden – Mid August

This robin has worked really hard all summer and apparently it’s quite normal to look like this during the moulting season.

The bird has probably been involved in some territorial fighting; it’s very common for robins to pull out each others’ head feathers; these should regrow once the moult is complete. She is friendly and inquisitive (the bird watcher’s term for this is ‘confiding’) and is a great observer of humankind, knowing when the feeders are being filled up and will come to Brian’s hand for scraps.

On one of our recent hot days I was trying to wash something down outside and she flew over and dashed through the spray from the hose. I stopped what I was doing and gazed after her.

She sat in this tree and dipped and bobbed her head at me.

I thought for a moment, then I pressed the trigger of the hose again and arced the water in a fine mist as before; she flew straight back through the spray. She did this several times before flying off to sit in the ivy.