Heading home we see Saturn, Jupiter and Venus in a straight 45 degree line in the sky above The Rickety Old Farmhouse. Sadly, the supposedly improved camera on the i-Phone struggles with night time shots but you can just make them out. We open a bottle of champagne and stand in the garden in the cold marveling at this strange planetary alignment . Our night time wanderings add fuel to the fire for those villagers who think their friends from the North are a sandwich short of a picnic. There's something rather comforting about standing and watching the night sky at Christmas.
France did 850k 3rd jabs yesterday but there seems to be no understanding, among the villagers, of what is heading towards us in January. The older residents had their third jab early on but the younger ones have adopted that ' I'm too busy ' attitude to the sixth wave. For our part we are slowly retreating to the routines of last December. Sophie still gets her curly croissant ends but they now come from the drive thru bakers. The good baker is too much of a risk with forty or so , largely mask less, patrons crammed in around the bar.
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Yes it would appear that New Zealand's first case of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 had arrived in the country from Germany, via Dubai and Auckland, last Friday, so it has reached our little corner of south Pacific paradise. At the moment 90% of the adult population are fully vaccinated.
The iPhone didn't do too bad a job on the planets. How fortunate to have such clear skies. Here in Aberdeen the Thursday morning cycling ladies are opting for 'picnic' over 'cafe' stop today, a nod to the rapid Omicron spread and made feasible by relatively mild December weather.
Sophie's nose is indeed a wonder to behold!
For a village of just 67 souls your village is amazingly well lit, as is the ROF. Not sure what to make of the new Mayor's decorations, but they are an improvement on previous year's paltry baubles.
I don't know which photo I like best today - the shot of the planets in alignment, the shot of the frost, or the shot of Sophie's shiny nose. Omicron is here, and Covid cases are edging up again in Japan - still just 30 today in Tokyo, but up from 11 a week ago - so I am now quickly doing various things I've been putting off - tomorrow is the eye doctor. My son came back from the US on Tuesday and is on home-quarantine until the 28th, so we're not doing much running around apart from these chores. Charlie is delighted that his family is all together again and rushes home from every walk to make sure no one has escaped while he's not watching. We've learned this is a quality not unique to sheepdogs.
Hari OM
Delightful rendition on the advent singing today... and I share the ROF residents' enjoyment of winter skies; when they are visible. YAM xx
Such a pretty place, such a sweet dog, wish we were there to stand out in the cold night with you.
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