GPE #11 : IDV's Year of the Greengage

I N E X P L I C A B L E

D E V I C E

 

 Yes, it's finally my turn!

 I'm sure you mean our turn, hmm?  After all, whose hands and body - not to mention knowledge and bank account - is used to maintain our garden?  If it was left to you, the Hexenhäusli Device gardens would be a prickly, poisonous wilderness of brambles, apple trees, hemlock, and foxgloves!

 It would save having to go out on the increasingly unsafe Broom to gather ingredients.  Besides, you like those plants.

 Yes, but not just those plants as a garden!

 Oh, fine.  You can get on with the captioning and the like as you're the "expert"!

 I will, then!

Oh, good.  This is turning out well, as usual.

Wake me up when it's all over.

 

 Right.  Now that Witchface and the dratted SubCs have shut up, I'll continue.

 You may have noticed that we've been decidedly absent from the blog this year, which means that there were rather fewer garden updates than usual.  A consequence of that is a glut of garden and allotment photos that are all being dumped here because they haven't yet seen the light of day.  I've tried to include mainly plants that haven't featured in the previous couple of years, and I've smushed some together to make sure this post didn't wear out your scrolling fingers.

 

It may be rather dull and overlooked usually, but when in flower (such as here in early May), I think laurel is quite lovely.

Skyline

  If you arrived here thinking this post is about the entertaining but ridiculous film about brain sucking aliens (or the car made by Nissan), you're going to be disappointed.  Sorry.

 

The Chapelfield Spire sits atop what is now known as Chantry Place shopping centre

 

 

 No, this post just concerns (some of) the skyline of the city of Norwich where I work (and used to live).  I took these photos last June and remembered while constructing this post why I didn't post them back then: I got caught up in researching the various buildings and architecture - so much so, that what was supposed to be a quick, easy post turned out to be all consuming (which happened again this time around, but I managed to break free.  Just). 

 Also, this was going to be a Four Photos post, but I couldn't whittle down the photos I took to just four.  

"Summer Hath Aroused" thoughts of the Infomaniac Garden Photos Event

 Oof!  Nearly fell back into the all consuming "All".  Fortunately, the most recent questing tentacle from All turned out to be little more than a tendril, and is now* eating a cheese & coleslaw sandwich (made by me!) while safely ensconced in the recliner downstairs nursing a gashed shin. 

 So, as Summer has finally** reached the north-eastiest bit of East Anglia (which means it's too hot to be outside doing anything) I find myself with some unexpected free time - enough to whip up a reminder for:

the House of

I N F O M A N I A C

Garden Photos Event 2023

 

* About 11:30ish at the time of writing.

** Summer landed in most of Blighty last week.  Apparently, temperatures in the mid-to-high 20s abounded, but not here.  The cold North Wind (from the North Sea, funnily enough) kept the clouds in place and the temperatures at least 10 degrees cooler than practically everywhere else.

Until today.  It might get as warm as 20°C!

 Ooh, before I forget, in book news, I have finished The Thursday Murder Club, and have started the second book in the series by Richard Osman: The Man Who Died Twice.  While reading a few more pages last night, I found myself thinking that Elizabeth and Joyce are very much like Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg respectively, from Sir Pterry Pratchett's Discworld.  This is obviously a good thing.

 Now, back to the GPE reminder and some photographs of subjects you have (mostly) seen before a thousand times:

 

Love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascenais) flower bud

 As you should all be aware by now, the annual Infomaniac Garden Photos Event is held here, rather than at The Very Mistress's hallowed cesspit knitting blog, The Infomaniac.  (For the forgetful, easily confused, and any newcomers, further information can be found by clicking on the Garden Photos Event page at the top of this blog).

 

 This year, just as in years past, the Event will be held in November, so please set to with your cameras and photograph the luxurient growth of your garden, courtyard, terrace, conservatory, windowbox, house plant (delete as applicable) so you have something to send in nearer the time.

 If you don't have a garden or pot plant but would like to take part, just take a photo/s of a favourite plant (or twelve) from a local park or wild area that you frequent (and I do mean frequent - somewhere you visit reasonably regularly to enjoy the greenery) and send them in, but please make sure you let me know where the photos were taken.

 

 I will publish further haranguing nagging reminders throughout the Summer and Autumn, as well as instructions and deadlines etc. (which are usually along the lines of: email me your photos and captions by the end of October - email address, if you don't already have it, is in my blog profile on right).

 

 As you may recall from April's GPE primer, this year's sub-theme is:

Honeybee swarm inspecting my compost heap

Flora and Fauna

 So, if you can take a photo or two of non-human, non-domesticated animal visitors - birds, butterflies, bees, bugs, and/or bears - to your unkempt undergrowth or manicured green patch, please do.  They can be sent in along with your main chlorophyll-based lifeform photos.

Over the Cusp and Addressing the List

Continued from A Realm Beyond Comprehension and a Shortish List...

 

 "Oof!"  I struggled to extricate myself from the surprisingly prickly rose bush I'd fallen into following a - some would say unnecessarily dramatic - flinch due to a passing sparrow (which had since alighted on the fence and was looking at me with an expression of curiosity).  "Oh, it wasn't Beaky after all.  Where has that dratted bird got to?!"

 

 It had been unnervingly quiet here recently.  Beaky, my terrifying - and extremely annoying - blackbird familiar, had seemingly vanished from the expansive grounds of Hexenhäusli Device, but my survival instinct had yet to dial itself down.  Brushing the muck and bits of rose bush off myself, and sucking on a couple of thorn-inflicted scratches, I headed across the paysho and into my gingerbread mansion to see if the postman postwoman had been.

 "Oh, it's just another cease-and-desist letter from RHS Rosemoor.  They've obviously got the wrong person as I've never even been to-  Hang on..."  But this one contained something that the other three hadn't: a still image seemingly taken from a security camera video - and it didn't paint a pretty picture.  Lurking amongst the azaleas was a witch.  Or, more accurately, someone dressed as a witch.  And rather craply, too, with a parsnip for a nose, and an old measuring funnel for a hat.  "That's not me!  My nose doesn't look like that!"

Well, depending on the light...

Oh, shut up!

 I squinted at the photo for some time until, eventually, I relented with a 'hummmph!' and grudgingly went to fetch my reading glasses in order to make out the details.

 "Aha!" (No, not that one) "Got you!"

To Hoe, Or Not To Hoe?

 Not to hoe, obviously.  I don't ride hoes as I don't want to be mistaken for a warlock (although I do wear hoodies).  Warlocks tend to be vain and self-aggrandising, and a little bit dim fortunately, otherwise - if they stopped thinking about themselves for a mere micromip - they could cause a lot more bother than they already do.

 Anyway, enough about those hoes, let's have a look at how the allotment is doing, shall we?  If you make it all the way to the end, I'll treat you to a couple of hoes, and there may even be a bit of a rake!

14th May

In the fruit cage are some horrible redcurrants.  They're so sour and pointless - I hate them!  Despite pretty much ignoring them, they just keep growing and cropping, growing and cropping.  Bah!

Behind the currants is a cherry tree and a row of raspberries

Young greengages

The tinsel is a dead giveaway...

 Oof!  I'm back!  Well, briefly, at any rate.

 I've had some things to deal with which is why I've been, well, not here...  And despair at the state of the world is only part of it.  Signs of an impending infestation of unicorns, and that little shit Beaky skulking around the garden have been of more concern...

.  .  .

 But first, to accompany your scrolling, here's another almost certainly miserable* song from my favourite glum, beardy miseryguts, White Lies: "Time To Give"

* I try not to listen to the lyrics, remember?

.  .  .

 Anyway, back to the topic at hand: Beaky.

This was the view from my kitchen window this morning.  Looks okay, doesn't it?

Until you notice the blurs of black on the bench and birdtable...

The Birds

 A new day dawned and, as I was awake and it wasn't raining, I decided to go out on Broom to see the sun rise.  I hadn't taken Broom out for a spin in ages - Autumn and Winter are generally too windy, wet and cold - but as there was only the lightest of breezes and the likelihood of anyone seeing me several dozen metres up (because most people would be still in bed, or nursing hangovers from the night before) was slim, this was as good a time as any.

 After some persuading, a couple of choice swear words, and a good kick, I eventually managed to get Broom airborne.  Then, after only a modicum of cajoling, I enticed it back down so that I could get on!

 A rather wobbly ascent to clear the trees around Hexenhäusli Device, and a stomach-churning plummet over the edge of the cliff later, I managed to get Broom steadied just over the beach huts on the promenade.

And then there were two...

 Right.  I think you've all had enough of that Star Trek stuff, haven't you.  So, as I haven't got much else in the way of distractions, here are some photos from the last week or two.
 First up, the End-of-the-Line from just after my second sea swim on 28th June:

Forties Sentinel standing watch

It's A Faaaake! Not The Art Of Star Trek - Brighter Future

 I've been fascinated with Romulan pixmit cards (or pikhmit, according to the Starfleet Museum on Star Trek: The Cruise) ever since they first appeared in Star Trek: Picard. The urge to make a set has been almost over-powering, but life (and laziness) kept finding ways of thwarting me, so I only got as far as cataloguing the cards seen so far.
 That these pixmit/pikhmit cards could be a Romulan take on tarot cards is a good enough reason to finally create some for this month's art challenge (as set by February's winner):

[T]he theme [is] "Looking Forward". Whether it's to the future, to better times, to newer bigger and better starship designs, just something in the Trek universe with an eye toward looking forward to a brighter and better future.

(As with many things on the internet, click the photos to embigulate)

 After settling on a size (9cm each side), I cut out ten triangles from a piece of china coloured card (too thin for proper pixmit but I didn't have any thicker mounting board-like card), and had a play around with pen and ink using the leftover card.  I used a gold metallic marker for the border, dark blue fineliner for the curlicues, and a gold fineliner for the outer text border.  The curlicues were far too big on the trial card, but I just wanted to see if I could do them relatively quickly/easily.  And the border text was too yellow so I had to walk into town to buy a different, darker gold pen.

Did I Win Yet? Grand Quiz Results

 It's the moment you've all been waiting for! Well, the moment that a handful of you might have been idly speculating about...
 Yes, for the nearly five* of you who asked "Did I win yet?" it's time to reveal who actually did win the Dinahmow-sponsored Did I Win Yet? Grand Quiz held in honour of "A Friend", LẌ.

 First, let's have a look at the questions, and the answers as provided by the select Blogorati who could be bothered to enter:

1. We all know that LẌ was Chief Pillow Fluffer for The Very Mistress over at Infomaniac, but what other official service did he provide?

• Personal IT Consultant to The Mistress. (Oooh, this quiz is easy)
• IT services
• Mr von LAX is the Official I.T. Specialist of The Mistress
• LX served as the Mistress's body double in her ill-advised attempt at geriatric porn

The official service, of course, is:  Personal IT Consultant to The Mistress, although I will accept variations on that theme - i.e. those other two answers.  
I don't think LẌ's body-double services were ever "official"...

Have You Won Yet?

 For those of you who have not yet had time - and/or maybe not the inclination, either - to wade through the end-of-year Coven Awards (Ancient Groyne edition), may we present a reminder of the penultimate "The Did I Win Yet?" Award Which Is Masquerading As A Quiz!
 This award was proposed and sponsored by Dinahmow [and heartily seconded by Ms Scarlet and thirded by The Very Mistress] in honour of our friend of the ïmpössïblë ümläüt, LẌ.  However, due to Ms Scarlet's overexcitement for what was then a non-existent quiz, I reimagined the "Did I Win Yet?" Award into a quiz in order to kill two birds with one stone.  This Grand Quiz has taken the form of questions related to the aforementioned LẌ and the content of this end-of-year Ancient Groyne Extravaganza, so I hope you've been paying attention.

 Before you begin, please note: Aside from the LẌ questions (1 to 3, & 13), and number 5's bonus question, ALL REMAINING ANSWERS CAN BE FOUND IN THE YEAR OF THE ANCIENT GROYNE COVEN AWARDS POST WITHOUT HAVING TO CLICK ON ANY OF ITS LINKS* OR WADE THROUGH THE ENTIRETY OF MY POSTS FROM 2019.

1. We all know that LẌ was Chief Pillow Fluffer for The Very Mistress over at Infomaniac, but what other official service did he provide?
2. What is the title of LẌ's unofficial and unauthorised biography which featured in this very blog earlier in the year?
3. Who got LẌ to ask all those awkward questions (and did all his ageing for him since taking on his birthdays)?
4. Which comic strip couple were the inspiration (and basis) for my Not The Art of Star Trek entry, Disco 78?
5. Which two Blogorati appeared first in our adventure over the Cusp this year?  And for a bonus point, what method of transport did they transmogrify the TARDIS-a-like HVMS Infomaniac into?
6. Which member of the Blogorati introduced me/us to 2Cellos?
7. Who was Aljaž Skorjanec's dance partner on this year's Strictly Come Dancing, and which side of him should she be on?
8. Where did "Canable Man" feature?  (And how should it be spelled?)
9. Which month featured a "load of seamen" clogging up the rigging?
10. What does The Very Mistress claim is NOT a competition?
11. What's my favourite cake?
12. How many acres of block paving make up Mogs Mill?
13. Before the wind changed enabling LẌ to use a hot air balloon, what had he asked Ms Scarlet, Beast, Mago, and The Very Mistress to steal for him to fly home on?

(There was going to be a maths question along the lines of "What percentage of Mago's Sunday Musics actually occurred on a Sunday?" but I don't know if my maths is up to getting the right answer?  Perhaps it can be used as a tie-breaker question should the need arise...)

 You can leave your answers to the thirteen questions in the comments, or email them to me if you don't want anyone to peek - my blog email address is in my profile (but if you're one of the few who have my personal email, then please use that).  You have until Wednesday 8th January to submit your answers (although, if anyone needs a little more time, just let me know).
 By the way, I've already had more than one(!) set of answers - one of which scoring over eight points!

 The winner shall have the honour and responsibility of hosting the next Did I Win Yet? Quiz/Award as and when they see fit.  It doesn't have to be tacked onto a massive post like I did with the Coven Awards, or even held at the end of the year.  In fact, I'm not quite sure if it even has to include questions about LẌ (I think it just needs to be a quiz/award in his honour)?  I'll let the very gracious Lady Dinah - for it was she wot came up with the idea - have at it with the rules/suggestions/guidance in the comments (if she can be arsed, that is)...


* You may have to click on a few of the pictures to embiggen them, though.
  

~o~

 Right.  That's that out of the way.  Let's look at some New Year photos.  The first two are from New Year's Day, and the remaining four are from Friday 3rd January.

The Year of the Ancient Groyne Coven Awards

 Good evening, and welcome to the 2019 Coven Awards, with me, your host - but not The Host - Inexplicable DeVice.
 And me, your other host, and Witchface's actual Host.

And us, the oft ignored- 

And unfairly maligned! 

Yes.  Exactly.  Yes.  And us, the unfairly maligned SubConsciousnesses.

 A bit like the title image up there, what little we can remember of 2019 pokes above the surface of muddled confusion, only to be slowly subsumed by the tides of disremembrance.
 So, before it all drowns under the tides of forgetfulness, here are the bits we can remember - i.e.this year's Coven Awards!

Cor, that was a bit purple, wasn't it?
I'll say.  Hey!  We haven't argued yet!

Don't worry, this thing has only just cranked into being.  We've got plenty of time for squabbling.

 Before we begin proper, I would just like to bring your attention to a slight change with some of the awards: Like great ships being launched, some of these increasingly bizarre awards have been sponsored by Ladies of Significant Note (and other creatures) in Blogorati Circles, so watch out for airborne alcohol (what a waste) and flying glass.  Oh, and there's a quiz at the end, so pay attention!
 Hang on a minute.  Remember what I said last year: "And what about the Weirdest Crush, and Most Mesmerising Monster awards?  Not to mention Peenee's Muscle Pussy and those Corgi's that Norma lets shit everywhere."?
 Calm down.  They're all included in some fashion somewhere along the line.  I think...
 Spendid.  On with the show!  Oh, and strap yourselves in as it's going to be a long and bumpy ride...

January: 2019 began with fireworks, and a rediscovery of airborne whales; He of the impossible umlaut was less than flattered by the publication of an unauthorised and unofficial biography; we took our first walk on the beach of the year, and the end of the month saw us in the bloody Midlands(!) which was only saved by a visit to Chatsworth.

February: My take on the #NotADecadeAgo meme lacklustrely launched February.  Two weeks later saw the first of the year's Star Trek fan art posts, followed by some bathroom spying, and getting the keys to my very own gingerbread house!

March: Not much going on here, except: Corduroy covered tubular steel - you'll be green with envy!  A catch-up of things I didn't blog about, and an introduction to Hexenhäusli deVice, aka the DeVice Mansion.

 Thank you for the reminder of the first quarter of the year here, Witchface.  Now, here are the first few awards:

Crikey!  This is all very cordial.

I'm sure it won't last... 

I made some delightful and diverse discoveries this year,

from books - Witch Hat Atelier and

Exploring Calvin and Hobbes: An Exhibition Catalogue

to TV - Fringe and Steven Universe

and Men: of Muscles - Loponder7;

& Allotments - Rob's Allotment;

 & Music - 2Cellos (thanks Jon).

The I.T. Wizard of Oz

Continued from... Visiting the Viridian Village

 "Look!" said Maddie as she hovered just below the clouds above the Viridian Village.  "There's the old Scarecrone outside the palace."
 "Where?" Jon burst out of the cloud, wings outstretched as he scoured the ground below.
 "There.  Heading towards the gates with the others."
 "Oh, yes, I see.  Come on" Jon beckoned Maddie and a couple of her nubile, young flying monkey houseboys, "let's go get her!"

~o~

 "I'm not sure how I feel about this?" Mago pondered.
 "About what, Mr Mags?"
 "About stealing IDV's broom for the wizard.  I just don't think it's right."
 "But that was the deal" Ms Scarlet said.  "The broom in exchange for wi-fi & satnav for me, courage for Beast, and the surgery required to get that tin foil hat off your head!  I don't think Mr Devine will give it up voluntarily, so we'll just have to take it."
 "Oh, nein.  It's not the stealing that concerns me.  I mean: I'm worried that that old broom will never get the Wizard all the way to south-east Texas!"

I think we probably should have featured Broom earlier, hmm?

Oh!  We could have used it to fly off on when The Very Mistress first turned up in Loompaland!

Bugger!  A missed opportunity.
Hang on a minute.  The wizard doesn't escape Oz on a broom, he uses a hot air bal-

 "Quiet, you two!"
 "Who are you berating, Very Mistress?  No one said anything?"
 "Oh, just IVD's and the Host's meddlesome, irritating SubConsciousnesses.  I've been able to hear them since their birthday last year.  I don't know how he puts up with them?"
 Thank you!
 "Wha-?  Who said that??"

Oh, shit.

Shhhh!  You're not the narrator.

Well, who is?  The writing's all in white, so it appears to be Witchface,
but it's all over the shop, so who can tell?

Anyway!  Back to the gates...

 In a flurry of feathers fit for the most fabulous of drag queens, Maddie, Jon, and a couple of minor flying monkeys carrying some sort of wooden contraption, swooped down upon the Blogorati.
 "Aaaaaiiieeeee!!!  They're in my hair!  They're in my hair!!" Beast shrieked like a little girl and ran around waving his hands above his head ineffectually.

 "Shut up, Baldilocks" The Very Mistress said scornfully, rolling her eyes "they're not here for you."  The flying monkeys set down and beckoned her to the sedan chair.
 "Ms Mistress!" Ms Scarlet piped up.  "Where are you going?"
 "The same place as you - to IVD's castle."
 "But...?" Ms Scarlet waved her arm towards the sedan chair and the waiting monkeys.
 "The thought of being stuck in a car for another journey with Beast and his flatulent arse was too much, so while you were seeing the wizard, I called for a lift" The Very Mistress explained as she got in the chair and the flying monkeys prepared for take off.  "Fortunately, there's only enough room for one.  Byeeeee!"

~o~

Saturday Swim: A Wet Witch

 It seems some of you (naming no names) were a little disappointed that the last post didn't contain flagrant nudity.
 Well, hopefully this will go some way to making amends:

 Yes, it's ShadowMe (although, I think the one on the right is the Host's SubC...?)

This is where we stopped for a swim - just before the End-of-the-Line

Up to our nips in it!

Sidestrand Landslide on the Seashore*

 I side-saddled jumped astride Broom like a Man, and dithered along three feet off the ground plied the skyways up to Tower Lane in Sidestrand this morning, to get some arial shots of Wednesday's landslide.  And this time, I've also provided some "before" shots (from 6th May - one of which featured here) for comparison purposes.

Cathedral City Cormorants and Coastal Conveyancing

 Disclaimer: This is not an attempt to cause Ms Scarlet more cormorant-related anguish.

 Well, maybe a little...

 In keeping with the recent general theme of birds - and, in particular, Mistress Maddie's more specific cormorant-containing posts - the first part of this post is my most recent cormorant sighting.
 The photos are a bit crap because they were taken with Phone, not Camera, as I was walking through the city on my way to work.  Yes, through the city!  These cormorants were perched atop the Norwich University of the Arts*, lording it over the mallards and Egyptian geese that were grubbing around on the riverbank beneath them.

You can just make out their distinctive silhouette

 I must point out, that these were taken in February, and I haven't seen a cormorant since.  Perhaps Ms Scarlet has a point, and that England's cormorants have flown across the pond since then?

* Although, when I attended, it was known first as the Norfolk Institute of Art and Design then, in my second year, as the Norwich School of Art and Design. 

oOo

 And now on to other things.  The following are just a few photos from the Bank Holiday weekend's leg-stretchers.
 First up - Saturday (and what a difference from this time last year):

Someone is monitoring my groyne!

Nice day for it

 Right.  Now that Bryce's Bum is out in the open, I thought it was about time to get back to that laziest form of blog posts: photos from a walk on the beach.
 These photos are all from Thursday's foray out into the fresh air.  And talking of lazy, I actually got Broom out and flew down there because I couldn't be bothered to walk!
 As always, click the pics to embigulate.

Broom managed to get to something approaching what one might call "altitude", allowing these photos of magnificent, yet barren, landscapes.

Just look at the strata of the cliffs.  This is easily missed unless one is flying hundreds of millimetres overhead

Still Twitching

Continued from It's That Time of Year...

(which was itself continued, sort of, from In Space, No One Can Hear You Peep)

 "You're dithering again."

  "I am not!"

 "Procrastinating, then."

  "How dare you!"

 "Then how do you explain the crappy constellation post from a couple of days ago?"

  "Well...  Um...  You see..."

 "Ha!"

  "Oh, shut up.  You're just as bad as m-  Look out!!!"

 Broom violently lurched to starboard almost unseating the bickering witch sitting astride it.  Passing to port in their previous flight path sailed a heavily laden flying carpet piloted by a small human of the female persuasion and an even smaller and very excitable dog.  The woman, oblivious to the narrowly averted collision was struggling with a scarf that seemed intent on smothering her and, in the process of disentangling herself from the scarf, elbowed a precariously perched box off the carpet.

 As they gathered their scattered wits, the witch watched as the small black box disgorged dozens of square, black envelopes, most of which fluttered slowly towards the ground.  A few, however, fell with rather more gusto.  Clearly they contained something with a bit of weight to them.  Then realisation struck: They were-

 "My After Eights!" the magic carpet woman shrieked as she came to a halt.  Her distinctive voice brought the witch to his senses.  As did her yapping, bouncy dog.

 "Ms Scarlet?!?" he asked, unable to contain his incredulity as he manoeuvred his broom towards her now hovering carpet.

Ew! This sounds, horrifyingly, like a lewd euphemism.

Urgh.  It does, doesn't it?!  Well, we're not going to change it now.

 "Mr Devine!"

 "What are you doing up here?  I was just about to collect you."

 "Well, I wondered where you were - you're very late, you know - and thought I'd better make my own way there."

 "Oh.  Yes.  Sorry about that.  I got a bit caught up with constellations and rampaging jelly babies et cetera et cetera.  You know how it is?"

 "I suppose so" Ms Scarlet grudgingly agreed, trying not to think of gold leaf, smelly green shorts, and attic-bound nieces.

 "I didn't know you had a magic carpet?" IDV asked trying to get a good look at it beneath all Ms Scarlet's paraphernalia.  "Where did you get it from?"

 "Ah.  Um.  It's, uh...  I got it from..." Ms Scarlet blushed with shame as she tried to avoid answering.  "Oh!" she shrieked as Broom dropped a few feet giving IDV an unimpeded, but highly improper view of the underside of her 'carpet'.

 "It's a...  It's a..." IDV stuttered in disbelief.

 "Boots the chemist" Ms Scarlet muttered.  "Yes, it's an octopus sucker bath mat!"

Constellations from a Nightshade Tarot

  That made you look didn't it?!  Fancy getting taken in by a poncey title like that!
Well, sorry to disappoint you, but there are no Nightshade, and no Tarot - this is just more of the same night sky constellation crap that you've seen before.  Although, I've included some constellations that haven't featured in previous posts - mainly because they hadn't managed to struggle above the horizon during my previous early morning/late evening sojourns.  Oh, and I've amended some of them to look more like what they're supposed to depict, namely: Gemini (the twins), Auriga (the charioteer), Draco (the dragon), and Leo (who now looks more like a lion than a mouse).

  This first set are from 12th February:

Orion takes centre stage in this low view over the horizon to the South East

Angling upwards from Orion brings Auriga and Perseus into view

Watch Out! Beaky's About!

  One good thing about all this snow: Beaky's to-ing and fro-ing is very evident, so one can easily evade him!

  The following photos are from Wednesday lunchtime, after our first proper snowfall of the season.  I didn't go far - only to the promenade and back - because it was a tad on the cold side.

Snowfall over the sea