Flaming Tree

Walking to the swimming pool first thing in the morning, now requires me to start in the dark to get there for 7 am.  I still walk through the park and there was just enough light from the moon and lightening skies to the east to see where I'm going.  I managed my best time for the mile, just on 32 minutes, so I'm still getting marginal improvements.

On the way back I saw this tree in a group of three and the sun was just managing to brighten the top growth as it climbed into the sky.  Even though I only had my phone, I decided to capture a few images to combine back at home into a Pep Ventosa style image.  

After getting home it was another day in the loft, putting some items on an auction site and generally tidying up.  I must admit to getting distracted by testing some old HiFi separates I have held onto for way to long.  I connected them up to a good pair of speakers I have had in the loft for 15 years and was blown away by the quality of sound that came out of them.  I don't think we appreciate as everything gets smaller and more computer or device based, that we lose something in the transmission of sound.  I'm no audiophile but I was pleasantly surprised to listen to music from an old fashioned CD player, amplifier and speakers.  The depth of sound was most noticeable.  

I always remember my first CD player, a Philips model I bought from Carrefour and connecting it up to my sound system.  I'd bought two CDs to play on it, Michael Jackson's Thriller and a compilation of orchestral music conducted by Herbert Von Karajan.  The first track on that album was Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001: A Space Odyssey) and I thought there was something wrong with the volume as I could hardly hear anything.  I turned it up, only for the music to climb into that classic crescendo and almost cause the proverbial shattering of glass.  The dynamic range on the CD was phenomenal and completely outclassed the vinyl records I was used to up until then.  Sadly, I only have a few CDs these days having transferred everything onto iTunes many years ago, but I still spent a good proportion of the day listening to music from the CDs still in my possession..