The Fog Days of Winter

England is reknowned for fog. Just about every war movie made concerning the European theater has the same scene where "the boys" are grounded for days on end because the fog has the field or the coast or the enemy target "socked in" by fog. Recently we experienced these events in the here-and-now with school starting late 3 days in a row (great for the kids, not so great for their Dad). It was unbelievable how you couldn't see anything past the hood (bonnet) of your car. Much like being in white-out conditions during a mid-western blizzard except there isn't going to be a snowman in your future when it's all over.

Flights at both military and civilian airfields were disrupted as you might imagine. At one point I was parked just outside a field that was an airfield during WWII and if you strained to listen, you could almost swear you heard a bunch of young cocky kids joking about their last flight over Bremmen or Munich or the like. It was just plain spooky a couple of times. As the day wore on the sun tried to burn off the fog and along one stretch of road it almost succeeded.

Almost.

Finally!

It wasn't much, it didn't last long, but it was glorious to stand outside in the crisp wind and be lighted upon by:

Signs of Spring

In typical atypical weather prediction fashion the Met Office is issuing severe weather warnings for wind, rain, sleet, snow and I thought I heard them say flying pigs (but I'm sure that's a mistake on my part) as I'm sitting down and editing photos of Blue Peter crocus that are in full bloom on my back patio. Also in bloom are daffodils and I saw the first batch of snow drops under a tree in the backyard. I just don't understand the weather anymore. Its gone all wonky.

I'm starting to get the "feel" of this nifty little Lansbaby and what it does when you squeeze and point the lens element off-axis. In the photo above the center bloom is tack-sharp while the further away you go the more "slurred" it gets. Don't know if I could make a living by doing it exclusively but it is a neat little tool to add to my optics arsenal. If you're thinking about picking one up yourself, be sure to get the supplimentary telephoto and wide-angle lenses. They really do round out the useful range of the Lensbaby 3G.

Merry Christmas from England!

Just a quick note wishing everyone out there a very Merry Christmas. We have gotten as close to a white christmas as we're going to get this year in the form of fog. Lots and lots of fog.

Remember the real reason for the season.

~James

Snowdon conquers... again!

Back in July as some of you might remember I went to Wales with another leader in our Scout troop to see how challenging Mt. Snowdon, Britain's highest peak, would be to our young men. We were met with a stiff wind and for the final 1,000 feet of the 3,560 mountain was shrouded in fog. Despite climbing the cairn at the top, we saw nothing. I could have been hiking in a quarry for all I new.

Well, the weather was not exactly the same last weekend. It was worse. We hit the cloud deck on the Snowdon Ranger trail at what I estimated to be the 1,500-1,750 foot mark and climbed the switchbacks for what seemed like eternity before again reaching the top in what seemed like a full-force gale with nothing to see but the swirling grey.

Looking back, it was among one of the best hikes I've had in a long time. Sadly it was also my last with the Scouts as family committments consume my limited "free time" and one must set priorities. Be prepared. Hike hard. Smile, Scouts!