I seem to remember that the first Monday in January is, for most people, the most depressed day of the year. Christmas is over, all you’ve got left are the debts, mornings are still dark and the weather is still dreadful. So I’m counting my blessings. We’re having a cold snap, but that means the temperature has dipped to about 12 ºC at night. It’s now 19 ºC in Santa…
Good riddance 2020. How dare you? How dare you threaten the people I love? But you know what? You failed, you scumbag year. Everyone I love is still here and you’re gone. So I win. You lose. Fuck off. I’m normally more positive about new year and life in general, but last year finally got to me the last week or so. I expect to be more cheerful soon. Since…
I made time to go and see the conjenction of Jupiter and Saturn. I’d originally planned to drive half an hour from home to Llano del Jable, on the island’s spine, but the observatory webcams showed that the clouds were higher than usual, so I went all the way up to the observatory. I haven’t done that for quite a while, but it was worth it. The longer drive meant…
And a very merry Christmas to both my readers. I’m going to take some time out to pay atention to my family, cook, and eat far too much. I hope you get to spend at leasst some time with the people you most care for, and that next year is better all around.
For years I’ve taken bus-loads of tourists to the viewpoint at San Bartolome and every time I’d see the signpost for the “Mirador de la somada alta” (Viewpoint of the High Lookout) on the other side of the main road, pointing up a steep track. On Thursday I took a day off writing and finally went. Did I mention that it looked steep? It didn’t feel any less steep walking…
It’s rained quite a bit this last week and the island is juicy again. That means lots of fungi in the woods. I found this tiny one near Pared Vieja . I never noticed the bug on it until I started taking photos. Both the fungi and the bug are seriously tiny. I took a photo with my fingertip for comparison. The photo below is a blusher, Amanita rubescens, again…