to the moon and back

Last night's bivvy and the lunar eclipse have already taken on a dreamlike quality for me after the reality of a day at work and a team meeting afterwards.

I left home just after 10pm in bright moonlight - no need for a torch - and walked over the fields until I came to a high place I'd sussed out earlier which gave a good view to the south and west. All was still and quiet except for a tawny owl calling from the woods. I was tired so it didn't take long to fall asleep, and before I knew it, my phone alarm announced that it was 4.38am. I had pulled my hat, hood and the top of the bivvy bag over my head to keep out the cold (about - 5 degrees C) and I emerged from all those layers to the sight of a sky full of stars and the blood red moon almost totally eclipsed by the Earth's shadow. As if on cue, a meteorite with a long tail shot down from east to west. It was a truly magical sight. 

I watched the moon for about 20 minutes before retreating back inside the bivvy bag, and slept again until woken by planes flying over just past 7am. Then I packed up and walked back to the house. It was cloudy now and the southeastern horizon was beginning to glow pink with a lovely sunrise.

Even before I left for work, however, sleety rain was falling and tonight it's very wet - a different day altogether.

I didn't take a single photo of the eclipse, but saw so many lovely ones on Blip. My photo is of a plate which hangs on one side of our kitchen (a sunny plate on the other). We bought this plate in Kendal about 30 years ago and I am pleased to say that when I looked up the potter (Hans Ullrich) today, he has had a long and successful career.