threshold
2011-12-28
2011-12-27
2011-12-23
2011-12-22
local speciality
The island of Ischia is famed for its oversized lemons (some as big as melons!), and its traditional seaside produce, including coral harvested from the sea bed. The most prized coral in this region is takes the form of small antler-like branches of a bright red colour. Colours in the region vary, however, tending into pale and slightly purpley pinks. To see a coral coloured sun setting over the headland at Forio was one fine speciment of "local colour..."
2011-12-21
2011-12-20
2011-12-19
2011-12-17
2011-12-16
2011-12-15
2011-12-13
2011-12-12
eclipse o'clock
To make sure that I caught this moonrise-eclipse, I went up the church tower 45 minutes early. With the sun setting, and a constant stream of tourists filing past, it was cold up there, pushing up against the ancient stone, in the sunset, in the shadow of the earth.
2011-12-11
penumbral blush
Somewhat perplexing - according to the USNO data services the moon was to rise in total eclipse, one minute prior to sunset. How could the the planet I was on cast a shadow from the sun I could see in the sky, onto a satellite already visible in the same sky? Fortunately, the moon obliged, by being a few minutes late. A large hill may have had something to do with it...
2011-12-10
dream eaters
Baku (獏) are Japanese dream eating spirits, traditionally depicted with elephant trunks, tusks and the paws of a tiger, like in these amazing carvings on a tiny shrine in Nikko. I first came across them on a moonlit night, when I took a shortcut back from the corner store to the place where I was staying. It was like stepping into a Miyazaki film - the tall pines outlined against the sky, the silvery stone lions guarding the shrine entrance, the bizarre carvings overhead, and a deep silence broken only by the sound of the wind...
Baku also feature prominently in a rather luscious illustrated tale called The Dream Hunters written by Neil Gaiman, and illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano, where they appear alongside one of Gaiman's best-loved characters, the Sandman.
In this case, the baku seem curious about what's going on above their heads.
2011-12-09
2011-12-08
2011-12-07
2011-12-06
2011-12-05
the great cheesemaker...
In September a freak hurricane shoved its way across parts of the UK. In Ireland, plane rides were bumpy. In Oxford, winds were big enough to push over cyclists. After coffee and cake, two friends and I went for a walk around the Water Meadow in the tail end of the storm. Even the clouds were discombobulated.
2011-12-04
2011-12-03
2011-12-02
2011-12-01
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