Black

Black - the absence of illumination,
A darkness, macabre and disquieting.
It's the total absorption of all light,
A singularity in life from which nothing visible escapes.
But light carries information,
And total absorption illuminates totally within.
Black is not absence, but totality,
All colours and all knowledge collated inside,
Collapsed, compressed, awaiting.
Thus the final blackness is not something to fear,
But an enlightenment, an expansion of knowing,
Through blackness it will become clear.

Ladybirds

Also out today were ladybirds - here a seven spot.

Also a ten-spot.

Another ten-spot.

The insects are out

Bee Fly (Bombylius major), seen out today, as were lots of peacock butterflies, small tortoiseshell butterflies (often sunning on the reserve paths), plus large yellow ones flying down the path verges.

Melancholia

Melancholia, why call it blue?
Those deep summer skies,
Recall warmth, with their hue.
Tropical seas house reefs and bright fish,
And azure winged birds flit around with a swish.
Melancholia is not blue, it is grey, colour bleached,
A destination hopefully most seldom ever reached.

The Almondsbury Interchange

Eastbound at night.

Westbound.

Tiny beetle

This little beetle, 1mm long, was found indoors.

This and the next few photos were taken at around 400x magnification. Here you can see the hairs on the carapace.

The rear of the beetle - you can see the end of the wing covers with hairs, and the rear legs.

Here is a front leg, and you can see the tiny hairs on the end of it.

The eyes and mouth area.

Long range weather forecasts - final review

For January, the average maximum temperature was 9.19C, compared to an average of 7.67 C between 2005 and 2013. For February it was 9.59 C, compared to an average of 8.04 C between 2005 and 2013. So the long range temperature forecast was very inaccurate, although it was somewhat stormy. This was probably a result of the jet stream location mentioned in the original article.