now that winter is nearly gone

[russ]

ABSOLUTELY!!!

Winters here in Wisconsin can be beautifully clear, but devastatingly brutal as far as temperatures are concerned. To me, nothing's more enjoyable than a dusk-dawn session in the Autumn... no bugs, and a lovely preview of Winter's upcoming bounty.

Carol, i'm guessing your Autumn weather is better than ours The general theme for our Autumn is cloud, rain and lots of wind. But the temps aren't bad.

[Talitha]

On average i guess they are, Russ. Considering the clouds here during the past few winters though, i'd much rather be back in England this time of year. At least when the sky clears up, the temps don't drop into the dead zone.

Well, maybe except this past year... i couldn't believe how cold you were in December. Where's the global warming when you need it, eh?

Here's to long, warm, clear nights.

[starstalker]

winters over??? tell that to the snow outside!

[russ]

On average i guess they are, Russ. Considering the clouds here during the past few winters though, i'd much rather be back in England this time of year. At least when the sky clears up, the temps don't drop into the dead zone.

Well, maybe except this past year... i couldn't believe how cold you were in December. Where's the global warming when you need it, eh?

Here's to long, warm, clear nights.

It was a bit nippy back in December. But weren't you recording temps of -20 at the time?

Just interested, what sort of nasty bugs do you get in the summer? About the worst we have is the wasp (or worse still, the Hornet) but that's it really. Maybe the chance of seeing an Adder or grass snake where we hold the dark sky meet. It's all pretty tame on the bug front in the UK.

[Nick R]

I hope winter has nearly gone , but going by todays temp i think it may be back

[G2EWS]

Great news for me all this talk of the viewing getting better!

Will be buying my gear about the right time.

As to winter gone, it was - 1 when I came to the office this morning and it still feels the same out there now! Brrrrr!

Regards

Chris

[S.A.M]

Winter is the best time for me, when the skies are crisp and clear (very little this winter), the downside it can be very cold and limits the time you are outside. As for viewing the sun, anytime of the year as it is done in much warmer conditions, normally!

[Talitha]

It was a bit nippy back in December. But weren't you recording temps of -20 at the time?

Just interested, what sort of nasty bugs do you get in the summer? About the worst we have is the wasp (or worse still, the Hornet) but that's it really. Maybe the chance of seeing an Adder or grass snake where we hold the dark sky meet. It's all pretty tame on the bug front in the UK.

Yes, it was -20F (-29C) a few nights in a row, and we just had a week-long cold snap with daytime highs hovering between -17C and -14C. But at least the bugs are gone.. well, except the ones that hitch a ride into the house with the firewood, they wake up thinking it's Spring already. It's kinda cute to see a LadyBug floating through the living room when there's almost 3' of snow outside.

I've been stung by a few Wasps, and bitten by a number of bugs... nastyugly spiders, disease-carrying ticks, Deer Flies, Horse Flies, and several types of mosquitoes. There's one type of mosquito that can bite without inflicting pain, and they really feast on you. The itching doesn't start until 12 hours later, and by then it's too late to counteract the bite with ammonia.

There's also a tiny little bug, i think it's called a 'midge'... we just call them "No-See-Ums". They're about the size of a grain of sand and bite like an alligator, but there's really not too much of an itch afterwards... not compared to the mosquitoes, anyway. The house lights attract them at night, and they're so small that they walk right through the window screen like it's not even there. I outsmarted them, though. I bought a set of empty screen-frames and put no-see-um fabric in them. It's a tight mesh material they use for tent screens. It cuts the air flow in half, but it's better than being a donor all night.

[shaunster]

Sounds like Russ is wanting to move to Wisconsin

[star_chaser]

still cold here but not to bad

as for m42 i am yet to see it i need a telrad and cannot order one till the end of the month. but i did find the middle star on orions belt then it started to cloud over not long left now and i will have to wait a year. still looking forward to spring tho

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