Changing light

Hiya

Oban is at the edge of Europe, which means that the light changes almost constantly, often quite suddenly. For all the differences, it actually feels a lot like living in the Alps.
Mornings can be spectacular, with the sun lighting up the clouds from far below the horizon, long before it rises:
Later the same day, November 4, I photographed a tiny lenticular cloud hanging over Soroba (you'll probably have to click on the next photo to see what I'm talking about):
Just two minutes later it had blown into a vast arm reaching far inland, with cumulus cloud rising and billowing in from the west. Rain followed a little later, then sunshine returned and we actually had a beautiful, sunny day. Same today, when I took the next two photos:
By about 2:30, however, the rainclouds came in again, with sunlight struggling through
By the time I was ready to go shopping, a shower had wet the street. It was really just a shower, followed by a respite, then a heavy downpour, then another couple of dry hours. As I type, I can hear the raindrops hit a metal sheet inside the chimney flue behind my gas fire, which tells me it must be raining quite heavily just now.
Good night, have a good weekend.

Mini garden in autumn (2)

Hello again!

Today has been a surprisingly warm day here in Bern. The lovely spell started with a Sunday morning surprise: I woke to sunshine trying to penetrate my honey-yellow curtains. Didn't take me long to open them and to let the sun and warm air in through open windows, and then I went back under my covers, just holding my nose into the sun. Delicious!

After breakfast I took these photos -- remember that feisty tomato plant muscling in and pushing everything else out (see my post of mid-October, almost exactly one month ago)? Here it is once more, just to remind you:



Well, it has since succumbed to a few nights of serious frost. But all else is still thriving, I'm very pleased to say:



The rain before the sun had left a few puddles in the school grounds opposite, with the sun catching itself in those natural mirrors:


Although this is almost mid-November, the huge willow is still green. The sycamore maples, however, have shed their golden leaves and are hung with purplish-brown, winged seeds. The wind often carries handfuls of them through my open windows. Wheeeeh!