The iOS Astronomy Wallpaper and Seasons
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The iOS Astronomy Wallpaper and Seasons

Byrichard

If you’re wondering why one of the tags in my post is “Day 388” it’s because I shifted from WordPress to ClassicPress once again. In so doing I lost access to Akismet and Jetpack. By losing Akismet I lose comment spam filtering. I also lost access to the Jetpack app so I lost access to my streak info. That’s why I included it as a task.

Astronomy Wallpaper

If, like me, you’re using the Astronomy Wallpaper on your mobile phones you will have noticed that the shadow over the Northern hemisphere has shifted. It has gone from being a south to North shadow to an East to West shadow from the top of Europe. You can see how parts of Norway, Sweden England and Finland are now in the dark for longer and longer parts of the day. It’s rational that we would see it, but it’s interesting that we can see an illustration of how seasons change the pattern of daylight on earth.

With the Astronomy app on the Apple Watch you can see the same thing, but you can also see cloud cover over the part of the world where you are. In my case it’s Europe.

Gradual change

The changes are so gradual that if you look at your watch or phone every single day you wouldn’t notice unless you’re looking at the right time of day. If we went up to Kiruna now we might see that we’re in constant darkness according to our phones and watches. If we had a Garmin or Suunto device that displays sunrise and sunset we would see that the day may just be a few minutes long, at this time of year. We see this wherever we are, but to be in the arctic circle would be an extreme demonstration of the seasonal change.

And Finally

if you have an iphone play with the app and see what the pattern is like for your part of the world.

Autumn is Coming

Autumn is Coming

Byrichard

Autumn, not winter, is coming. A week or two ago I noticed that a tree was changing from Green to red, as the leaves began to turn from Spring and Summer mode to Autumn and Winter mode. I noticed that the trees as you enter and leave Cheserex are also beginning to turn read.

Changing Trees

As if that wasn’t enough the leaves are also turning on the Jura. It is turning from green to orange, and red, and one or two other colours I didn’t pay attention to. As I cycled from around Haute-Morges to Pampigny I noticed that, there too, the leaves were turning. Not only were they turning but they were falling from the trees. The season of death is returning.

Leaves Are Turning Too Early

Last year, as well as this year, the leaves are changing too soon. They’re changing before they’re meant to, due to the drought. Some trees drop their leaves in anticipation of hardship but others drop them as a result of hardship, so when we see leaves drop their leaves so soon, we know that they are under duress due to the changing climate and weather systems. Now would be a good time to walk by forests, to observe the change, and fly drones, to get an aerial view.

Mud and Dogs

Now that the air temperature has dropped the scary dogs are back on their walks. So is the mud. I loved walking during the heatwave because I was often the only person walking. Dog owners couldn’t walk, because dogs would get heat stroke, and normal people didn’t walk, because they would get heat stroke. I could enjoy my walks in the peace and quiet.

Now that the temperatures have dropped, so dog walkers have resumed their walks. Now I can either overcome my fear of dogs on every single walk, or I could get a gym membership and stay indoors and work on recovering the strenght I have lost over the last five years.

I have a deep hatred for dog walkers. A few days ago I came across someone walking a bunch of dogs and I went down the gap between two fields, rather than walk by dogs. The problem, with fearing dogs, is that dogs know, and want to attack. At the start of summer I was charged, and it traumatised me for two or three weeks. It didn’t bite, but I was convinced that it would bite me. I froze, and luckily it changed its mind.

The damage is done. I already had a fear of dogs. That experience cemented it. This morning I retrieved the walking sticks from the car. I’m considering walking with them as shields, in case of such an encounter over the next few months, when the weather is cold enough for dogs to terrify those of us who are afraid of dogs.

Apathetic Dog Walkers

The issue is that dog walkers are apathetic towards people who fear their pets. They have leashes that are ten metres long, or the dogs are unleashed. If you’re afraid of dogs you’re trapped. Either you overcome your fear or you walk along roads where dog walkers will not walk, with their beloved terrors.

If dog walkers recognised that we are afraid of dogs, and got them under control, then I would feel happier walking by dogs. When I was attacked, the woman just watched. She did nothing to control the dog, until it was charging. If I had run it would have mauled me. If I had not been afraid it would have done nothing. If the owner had controlled the dog I would not have been filled with fear, that was justified, in the end.

Lost Freedom

Now that dog walkers are out in force I will revert to my walks along roads, where dog walkers keep their dogs under close supervision.

Indoor Training or Cycling

Two options do exist. Indoor training, and cycling. The advantage of cycling is that it’s cheap but the bike will get dirty and I will get cold.

The other option is to go to an indoor gym for the first time in years, and resume indoor training. If I went into a gym I would wear a mask. I like the idea of going to an indoor gym but I would wear a mask. Autumn is just arriving, so I have time to consider the situation.

And Finally

Two days ago I walked an extra four kilometres to avoid dog walkers. Instead of walking an 8km loop I walked 12km. I saw a car, with a dog cage, so rather than walk, and be subjected to my fear of dogs, I enjoyed a longer walk, along paths that I walked along for years, years ago.

Grapes and Apples
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Grapes and Apples

Byrichard

I have seen combine harvesters at work over the last two days. Yesterday I saw them harvesting colza, and today I saw them harvesting wheat. At the moment you see grapes that are still in a juvenile state, and apples that look a little more mature, growing on their respective plants.


Apples on an Apple tree
Apples on an Apple tree


When you walk every single day of the year, you see nature change. You see plants flower, the fruit or nuts grow, the harvest, and then the next crop, You see this all year long. At the moment as I walk by the vineyards I can see the grapes growing every day. They were tiny and unrecognisable and now we can see what they are, but we can see that they still need to grow more juicy and filled with fluid. There is no rush. They have three or four more months.


Despite the rains, the ground is dry again, so it is easy to walk without getting too muddy. The rivers, too, despite the flood warning for big lakes, are low again. The soil around here was not saturated.


Today I was at a petrol station and I could feel that someone was standing right behind me so I asked “pardon me, but could you step two meters back, and could you wear your face mask, as I gestured a mask on my own face. I said all of this automatically, without thought or consideration. It was a reflex. I’m old-fashioned. The limit is one metre, not two. I surprised myself with that reaction.


What’s of interest is that I was then thanked by the person at the petrol station because usually he’s the one that has to tell them to wear the mask, so I avoided him that unpleasant chore. I think that it might be the first time, this pandemic, that I say this. I haven’t been in such a situation as I tried to avoid people for the last 470+ days.