h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

First night of proper inky darkness before leaving work, tonight. Of course, that's partially down to timekeeping jiggery-pokery, but a seasonal thing nonetheless.

My dog is a season barometer, too. He's a different character in summer and winter.

Trains are also a good guide to the seasons, of course. Mine was late today because of "insufficient track adhesion".

SotS: stubbly wheat field! (Driving through some bloke's farm, coveting my neighbour's land.)

The sky black with the birds gathering to leave for the winter.

Awww!

It reached -6° last night. Looks like a cold winter ahead!

I got an Indian recipe for tea which has a most curious warming affect throughout the body. It feels like it's actually raising your body temperature. I think it will prove useful!

We need that recipie, in a guide entry

Its looking like a spring/summers day outside, here yet again (at least from behind* the kitchen window), very* warm sun stremaing through.... I'll find out if this is reflected with how it actually* feels outside, soon, as I'm heading out, about lunchtime, into town

Yup, frost on teh car this morning, and also on the grass in the garden (makes it easier to lift dog poo........)

Ohhh now there's the idea I'm going to use on Dragon's Den!

Little handbag/pocket-sized liquid nitrogen canisters. Give the dog's sculptures a quick squoosh, freeze them, and lift them cleanly, quickly and easily. Genius!

I'm really enjoying these cold, crisp, dry nights! They really put a spring in your step, I find. Bea, don't you find it great weather for running in?

Still quite a lot of leaves on the trees, but mostly in various shades of brown.

It must be November--the parking lot at the harbor is full of stacks of crabpots.

It must be easier to catch crabs in November.

This is just about the end of the season for them here, I think. They start catching them about March or April. It's impossible to walk a dog passed a line of lobster pots. All business has to stop for half an hour of sniffing.

Commercial (as opposed to recreational) dungeness crab season starts December 1st, assuming it's not delayed due to sample crabs being too small, so November is when crab pots get hauled out of storage, checked, repaired if necessary, and loaded on the boats. It's one of our few industries now, so when the docks got completely destroyed by the tsunami in March 2011, it was kind of a big deal. Vastly overshadowed by what the tsunami did to Japan, of course! As it should've been--but that doesn't mean it wasn't important.

There a murmers of possible snow for next week in the UK...

http://blogs.channel4.com/liam-dutton-on-weather/uksnow-week/5320

No sign of the snow.

Meanwhile, sunrise today is at 7.58, and sunset at 4.17pm. Poinsettias are appearing and the city Christmas lights went on on Saturday.

It will soon be time to decide where to spend Christmas, and stock up on special beers and cheeses. And stollen.