shining bright

I was up at 5 this morning (briefly!) to witness the occultation of Mars behind the full moon. This only happens every 14 years so I thought it would be worth the effort. Looking out, I could see the beautiful moon behind our house shining brightly down on a very frosty landscape and sending a sharp shadow of the house onto the front lawn. Mars was nowhere to be seen, because of course it was behind the moon. I returned to bed and put on a woolly beanie hat, it was so cold. Of course it would have been the perfect night for a bivvy, but I doubt I'd have slept much..

I was in town late morning for an appointment with Joe. It was nice to see him again so soon. Afterwards I decided to go for a sauna and steam at DG1 (our local leisure centre). It's the first time I've been there since the pandemic malarkey. I must go more often, especially in the winter months when a visit to the health suite really does feel good.

I then had a lovely walk through the town to Dock park, and visited St Michael's Churchyard, which has some fascinating monuments - one of these is Robert Burns' mausoleum, which was shining like a beacon in the late afternoon sunlight. It wasn't always white - you can read more about its history here.

Home at last to make the tea..and now it's time to coorie in by the fire :-)