Been watching the stars this year. First Auriga, with its bright star, Capella, then Persius, Andromeda, Aires; later, the Gemini twins, horizontally entwined, rising over Ali’s Cypresses. And Orion after that, and Taurus; the order starts to escape me.
Over in another quadrant, over Peter’s house, the Swan and Lyra (with the bright star, Vega). Cassiopeia.
And then the Plough aligned, tail-down, vertical above the studio. We had some really clear nights and, for the first time, I saw the Plough become the rear-end of the Great Bear, Ursa Major, as I added in the rear and hind legs, and then the head. Lost in pathetic wonder, I was. That opportunity presented itself quite a few times during the year and each time was almost as good as the previous.
And then you have a cloudy week or two, and the clocks change, and you go away to Italy and return two weeks later and look up the sky and it’s completely changed and it takes you ages to work out where everything’s gone and how can it have moved through nearly 180 degrees?!