sunset

16:15 GMT, looking west

sequestering carbon, one Christmas at a time VII

His ’n’ hers Christmas presents:

sequestering carbon, several books at a time CII

The latest, pre-Christmas, batch:

There are several books accompanying “Great Courses” lecture series – there was a sale on; the individual lectures make a nice half-hour session to eat lunch to.

outclassed

Usually pigeons eat up the seed discarded by the birds on our feeder.  Today, something larger got in on the act (pic hastily shot through the kitchen window, so some relections, unfortunately):

hungry pheasant stares down hungry pigeon

view from a hotel window

I’m in Aberystwyth for a PhD viva.  I am reliably informed by the locals that Aber is most definitely not “the back of beyond”, nor even “the middle of nowhere”, but is rather “the edge of nowhere”.  It was a 7 hour train journey (with an expected stopover at Brimingham, and an unexpected stopover at Shrewsbury) to get here yesterday, and will be a 6 hour (hopefully) train journey back this afternoon.  It’s not that far, actually, it’s just that the local trains are so very slow.

But one advantage of being on the edge of nowhere is that I have a view over that edge: a lovely sea view from my hotel window (visible only after breakfast, once the sun had deigned to rise):

the view westward, out to sea

looking more to the south, along the bustling sea front (it is 8:40am, 25 minutes since sunrise)

dressed tree

We got our Christmas tree today.  I think this is ridiculously early to get the tree, but if we wait until a civilised time (like Christmas Eve), they will all have gone.

We also bought another set of lights, and a few more baubles.  We have enough lametter to survive the collapse of civilisation.

freshly hunted tree, captive indoors

properly be-decked