Everything is Permuted

I've only got one shot to illustrate the title of this blog, but the reason for it is that now is the time for the annual visit of the Geminids, an annual meteor shower that can produce upward of 100 shooting stars an hour. They are visible on 13 and 14 December and on a clear night can be spectacular. Unfortunately there is intermittent cloud cover where we are tonight, but I did manage to see a small handful. Better yet, I caught one of them on camera. The main constellation in the centre of the shot is Orion. The meteor is caught on the right of the frame.


As for the rest of the day, it was back to Regent's Park. It's still cold (more severe weather is forecast for late in the week), but the water fowl now have a choice of ice or water. These Canada geese were standing on the edge of the ice.


The icy conditions must be hard on birds (after all they can't wear double layers of socks). I felt sorry for this little coot.


The herons are rather more stoic about the cold, and seem prepared to sit it out.


But some birds seem to thrive at this time of year, among them once of our most iconic winter birds, the robin.


No rats today (I looked for them), but the squirrels are still active (I'm beginning to think that they simply refuse to hibernate in London). I caught this one scampering across one of the many paths. And yes, there was even a brief flicker of sunshine when I took these.




Camera note: all daytime shots taken with the EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM. The Geminid was taken with the EF 24-105 F4L IS USM with a 15" exposure at f/4.0 and ISO 1250.