After the Party's Over

That's the title of my abstract for this week's Abstract Thursday challenge, with thanks to our ever-faithful host Ingeborg. I'll explain the title anon, but first explain the abstract.

I'd been photographing birds through the window in the magnolia. Rather than select the birds, here I've selected some branches. Then I played with the colour. Then the contrast. Then applied 'dry brush' to it. Then gave the background a Gaussian blur. Finally, I rotated it - changed my mind - restored it to the right way up. And there we have it.

Last Sunday was the UK's Annual Bird Watch weekend. I thought the birds hadn't hidden as much as usual, but it turns out they had. Today, instead of three goldfinches, there were repeatedly seven. And for the first time since we moved in, TODAY I spotted two chaffinches - one male, one female, so possibly a pair. Their belated arrival is the reason behind my title for these abstracted empty branches.

Today, too, I did a job that's been on my list for five months: I cleaned the windows. Before anyone is overly impressed, I should clarify it was only the outside panes that I cleaned. Still need to do the insides. I was tired of having to avoid mucky splodges on the glass when I photograph birds, so even the insides might get done ere another five months pass.

Tonight a comet with a greenish tail passes within sight of the Earth. It's been passing for a couple of weeks, but not visible without binoculars or telescope. Even now, it'll only be visible in the north sky with the naked eye if the sky is clear. At present, it's pretty cloudy, so I'm not holding my breath. Last time it came this 'close' was in the stone-age, and it won't return for another 50,000 years -- which is why a newspaper's "once in a lifetime" (chance to see) headline made me smile.