Black forest

I've always been a stargazer

In the beginning of May I went to the country, and of course I couldn't miss the chance to look at the stars. I'm not a pro in star photography - you can't set too high ISO sensitivity, as it would cause tons of noise, and if you have a long exposure (longer than 30 seconds), it would cause some blurring, as the Earth's rotation makes the stars seem to move. Of course, one may take interesting photographs, setting a very long exposure (hours), but that wasn't my goal. But still, here's my result.

The well-known part of the Ursa Major (Big Dipper) and a pair of stars from Canes Venatici (Hunting Dogs) - Cor Caroli (Charles' Heart) and β Canes Venatici (Chara), forming a "southern dog" together.

Roll over to see two constellations.

She wears a shadow

I'm sorry I'm not updating this blog regularly..

Viva! - She Wears a Shadow

Our little adventures

I've decided to post some digital photos I've made this summer, when me and my friend went for a spontaneous night walk to "the island". I call it so, but actually it's a pond which was constructed in the 17th century around a piece of land, "the island". There's a church and some tennis courts and playgrounds there, which are rarely used and look quite abandoned and unmanaged.

The weather was quite cold that night, but we went there anyway. It was a little scary, but exciting, we laid down on our backs, on the grass, and stared at the sky, and then went around the whole park. The thing is, one part of it is well lit, and another is completely dark, the road goes under the trees, there were some little ponds, fallen branches and plenty of dirt on it, so first we decided to climb up onto the football field, which borders the road. I thought we could go across it and exit through the gate, which turned out to be closed. We heard some stray dogs barking somewhere behind us, and it was the scary part. I'm not afraid of dogs in general, but those could be protecting their territory.

So we had to brace ourselves and go back, giggling nervously and making jokes about this weird adventure. Soon we got back on that road, very dark, so we couldn't see a thing. I've turned on the flash on my mobile, and we walked very fast, with this jumping light guiding us.. The adrenaline spiked again, but it was a good feeling, because sometimes a little bit of shaking up is needed. Finally, we got back to where we entered - the bridge across the pond (the second, leading to the football field, was on the other side), and rushed home.

Waiting for the snow

This autumn I've discovered IKEA's lingonberry concentrate (basically it's just juice preserved with sugar). They suggest mixing it with water, but I've been adding a little to my usual black tea, and it's perfect for it - a little sour, but not too much, with nice berry touch. I've ran out of it already, I wish IKEA wasn't that far away from me. You can see the bootle in the background.
I've collected some maple leaves again, to dry them between the pages of big books. Wish they've stayed that bright as they once were.

Under this weather

It feels like I'm slipping into winter hibernation.. It's been snowing already in the end of October, and though everything melted down, the weather is cold, most of the time it's cloudy. Sometimes it rains, and I feel drowsy, so I turn the light on even during the day, trying to get away from this dullness outside. It always feels like winter came too early, but perhaps I just don't remember which time it starts usually. It's just sad to think that there are at least four months of grey, cold and depressing weather.

I just want to hole up in a warm blanket on my couch, watching movies, drinking tea and dreaming, without feeling lonely and sad.

Dogs and socks

My dog often sleeps with his tongue stuck out, and that looks ridiculous!

Lately I've been into sock knitting, at first it wasn't easy, as I wasn't familiar with all techniques and didn't have a proper "strategy" for a good sock, but I think I've finally managed to find a good formula and nice yarn. Maybe I should put some on etsy, hah. Another view is here.

And I miss rainy days

July has come to its end, and there is only month of summer left. I miss rainstorms, it's too hot in the city, and I spend a lot of time at home, where I can at least turn the air conditioner on. I guess my little trees (an oak and several firs) aren't happy, either. I've been planning a large trip for August, and I hope that everything will happen as I want, but right now I feel a little ill and also I have a headache, and all my future plans don't seem so bright..

Dreams burn down

L'ombres de l'eau

It's about uncertainty

The weather is so unsteady today - it was sunny when I went out in the afternoon, then I spent 20 minutes in the underground to get to the center, and when I got to the surface, it was snowing already. I nearly ran to the hairdresser's to meet my friend (partly because I was late, but mostly because freezing cold wind was getting under my coat, making me shiver). As I was sitting there, the sun hid and showed several times.

I got a haircut and some color refreshment after my friends, he waited for me and after all manipulations were done, we went to a café. It was nice to be with someone, once in a while. I'm not a very social person, and I spend most of my time with myself, but sometimes I crave some company and a little chat.

When I got home in the evening and went for a walk with our dog, the sky almost cleared out again, and I could even see the stars among the clouds, especially Capella in the west, which was amazingly bright today (it's the third brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere).

It's still chilly, but I feel the spring - it's not only in the calendar, but also in the wind, in birds' chirping and all those little details one can't help but notice, if has at least some attention to the surroundings.

A photograph from July 2011

Spring has come

I've been neglecting this blog for such a long time I'm almost angry with myself. At least, I could be posting some everyday pictures, if not writing text entries. But I really hope to change this and update it at least once a week.

Spring has finally come here, but it didn't bring the warmth and flower blossoms right away, as usual, we'll have to wait until April, when everything starts to melt and trees cover in little leaves. The only thing I don't like about this period is that it's too short - one day you're walking down the street and look at those ugly piles of dirty snow lying in shadows, and two weeks after everything is covered with grass and fresh leaves that grow so fast, too fast even.. And then it's summer, and I'm already thinking about its end, like in that Doors' song, "summer's almost gone".. I don't know why, but it always seems to be so much shorter than winter. Maybe, because nights are shorter and all those days flow and roll towards August, when those leaves begin to lose their fresh color and slowly wither, and it's already a shadow of an approaching autumn.

Meanwhile, there are little trees growing on my windowsill. I'd bed them out in a forest or somewhere around our summer cottage, when they become stronger.

Sunlight is a rare guest

Dorset hearts

Raining every day

It's been dark all day, and it never stops raining, from light drizzle to cold showers, and I didn't want to go outside. I even decided to skip my last class, which was supposed to begin at 9:00, but yesterday I set my alarm on 10:15, as I thought it's going to be at 12:30.. And only in the morning I realized I was wrong, and, as it was already too late to go, even if I went right away, I woke up, had some breakfast, and spent the entire day doing nothing. It's only 7 pm here, and the light is almost gone already and the sky turned dark blue.

I feel kind of sad, as two weeks of study are over, and it feels like I don't have anything else to do. I don't have enough money to go travelling, and when I'm looking for a job, I can't find anything suitable, as most of them demand higher education (and mine isn't finished yet), or some professional skills, or years of experience. I wish I found some job at a coffee shop, or some cute clothing store, where it's not required to work 12 hours a day (how is that even possible, roaming around the hanging garments all day long?). I guess I'm too fastidious and have too much demands.

Weekend

Yeah, weather forecasts were true: yesterday seemed to be the last warm day of autumn, with sun, golden leaves and blue sky. I had several classes in the morning, so I saw the first rays of sun breaking through the clouds while driving to my university (I decided to take a car on Saturday, because it was a weekend and roads were free from traffic jams.

After my classes were over (luckily, earlier than everyone expected) I headed home, had a quick meal and then went to the park, as I decided earlier, for a walk. I don't know why I took three cameras with me, I regretted it, as they were very heavy and not comfortable to carry. Also it was almost hot (at least, I felt like it was summer, dressed all October-y), so my walk wasn't very long. I took some photographs with both digital and film cameras, but I didn't like digital ones, so I won't show you any from that day, maybe when I'll develop the film.

And today was much colder than yesterday, I woke up late and heard the rain, I've opened the window and sat on my bed, still sleepy (I guess that rain and cloudy weather do something with our brain, and also pressure changes, so we sleep more and feel drowsy), listening to its sound. Trees looked brighter, in contrast with dull sky and wet trunks and asphalt. I spent the entire afternoon watching films and drinking tea, and only around 5 pm went outside and headed to the same park I've been to yesterday. It was getting dark, and my hands were freezing, but I took some photos, saw a squirrel, but didn't take any hazelnuts from home, though I had a few. Maybe next time. This was a short stroll, as it was already evening, and in this weather it was pretty dark in the forest, so I went back home. I always enjoy this feeling of coming inside the house, so warm and light, and there's also hot tea and food! :) And here are some photographs I've taken today (digital, as I decided to take only one camera today, he-he).

No Indian summer

Autumn is unevitable, and with every gust of wind, every leaf turning yellow and falling down, with birds flying across the cloudy sky, I feel it. There were a few days when sun came out, and it was almost warm, but weather forecasts are quite sad.

I feel a little bit ill, but not sure yet. Hope it's going to pass.

I have 3 weeks of school starting 26th of September (less than a week), so I got to be cool and ready for it. At least, I have to go to sleep earlier, and not at 2 or 3am.