Early autumn, close up

 Although there's no heatwave going on, the skies can still bring delight when the clouds part. Autumn is most definitely here. This morning started off foggy and damp but the sun managed an appearance, although the temperature failed to break any records, peaking at around 16°C in the mid-afternoon.

Below: a colony of honey fungus (Armillaria mellea, opieńka miodowa). Edible if cooked thoroughly, though I wouldn't chance it.

Below: dew on a cobweb. The whole thing was shimmering in the breeze. Long exposure.

Below: fly agaric mushroom, Amanita muscaria, muchomor czerwony. Do not eat! Toxic!

Below: a group of shaggy ink cap mushrooms (Coprinus comatus, czernidłak kołpakowaty). Various sources online suggests the species is edible; I'll steer clear, thank you.

Below: on the underside of leaves of an oak sapling, four gall apples. These are induced by gall wasps, which lay single eggs in developing leaf buds. The larva's secretions modify the oak bud into the gall, a structure that protects the larva until it metamorphises into an adult wasp.

Below: I pull apart an oak apple to find, as expected, the larva of a gall wasp wriggling around inside.

Below: under a canopy of maple leaves on the footpath running along the border between Machcin II and Gaj Żelechowski.

Below: not a close up, but a photograph from today's walk that I just had to post. New house on the edge of Kozłów. The sky, the clouds, the trees, the house, spark one of those exomnesia flashback anomalous qualia memories. I saw this scene in a book or magazine as a child and I immediately recognised it as familiar, though not from my life. Fractal patterns in time?

This time last year:
Last hot day of the year?
[23°C then, a mere 16°C today]

This time seven years ago:
Warszawa Zachodnia Peron 8 to reopen
[The north entrance to the station, since renamed W-wa Zachodnia Peron 9, was finally opened last month]

This time eight years ago:

Learning to fly (swan pics)

This time 10 years ago:
Scotland's answer to the Hoover Building

This time 12 years ago:
In which I don't vote in the mayoral referendum, thus helping to save HG-W's job

This time 13 years ago:
Gorgeous cars from Czechoslovakia

This time 14 years ago:
Donald Tusk and Co. get re-elected 

This time 15 years ago:
Poland's wonderful bread

This time 16 years ago:
An October Friday in Warsaw

Strengths and weaknesses

 A couple of phone calls and an online meeting yesterday and today made me realise something vital when it comes to our careers.

It is essential to know what you are good at. Objectively, not what you think you are good at.

Having a deep and accurate insight into your own strengths really helps, as well as knowing how those strengths compare to what’s out there on the job market. The corollary is also true – you need to know what you are not good at.

Once you’ve sorted that out – then what?

And this is where I have found (all too late in my career, alas!) what to do. Don’t bother trying to balance out your strengths and weaknesses by working on the latter to pull them up to an average – work on improving those areas at what you excel.

In the autumn of 2024, I initiated an event on the future of HR. I was moderating a panel about the tools used to assess candidates and employees. The research I did showed that the more common test is Myers-Briggs Type Index (MBTI), which I took several years ago. Having learnt that I’m an INTJ (or whatever – I forget), what do I actually do with that knowledge? The scientific community is sceptical about MBTI, Sabine Hossenfelder famously calling it as accurate as astrology.

So before our big HR event, I tried another psychometric test out there, Gallup’s CliftonStrengths, which essentially works by ranking in order one’s innate talents. I found this far more useful, but the ‘then what?’ was followed up by some one-to-one coaching, which I completed early this year.

This is now practical knowledge. It allows me to select projects that I’ll be good at doing, and happy to do. I can reject ones I know I’ll struggle at. 

The CliftonStrengths test itself highlighted to me a couple of talents that I’d never had suspected I was good at. One was connecting people. Because I’m an introvert, I’d hadn’t previously considered myself good at this: “Ah – you really should meet x, they really know this subject” and then an email to introduce and connect them. And I’m better at teamwork than I’d hitherto considered. I can see with whom in the team I work best with, because our strengths complement each other.

Things I knew about myself include being rubbish at execution – organising things, getting people to do things, proactively taking the first step to reach out to people (I am famously reactive, not proactive). And here’s the big lesson: “Don’t beat yourself up over things you’re not good at.” Work on developing your strengths, especially the hidden ones instead. 

First you need to take the test. You have to rattle through it at high speed, not pausing to think too deeply about the question, just intuitively pick which one of two opposing characteristics is more applicable to you. Once done, your strengths are ranked in order. The results can astonish. I found two talents in my top five that I’d not expected, but thinking about them – hey! That really does make sense.

But simply taking the test is not enough. You really need several sessions with a Gallup-accredited coach (I had four sessions) who can talk you through the results so that you reach the right conclusions and optimise your strengths. 

Several months on, the lessons embedded, I feel far more certain as to my strengths, and can deploy them confidently in a business setting. But this is not only about business! The test and the coaching sessions really have helped me frame myself in a more general sense. 

I wish I’d done this earlier in my career!

This time five years ago:
Railway progress, Chynów

This time six years ago:
Radom line progress and promises

This time seven years ago:
A short essay on economic patriotism

This time eight years ago:
Things pass, things go, things remain the same

This time ten years ago:
In search of Wałbrzych's Gold Train

This time 12 years ago:
Warsaw has a new landmark

This time 16 years ago:
Across the Pennines by rail

This time 17 years ago:
Mayhem on PKP

This time 18 years ago:
Sewerage for Jeziorki

Six months on from my heart attack

Things are looking good, healthwise! [I can't allow myself to be complacent, nor to be boastful.] My recent echocardiogram followed by a visit to the cardiologist were very positive. The sonographer who carried out the echocardiogram said that my recovery was one of the fastest he'd seen in my age group, and said that the cause of my heart attack was purely genetic with no lifestyle contributions. The cardiologist described my recovery as 'dramatic' (as in dramatically good!)

And the basis for my optimistic outlook?

"The heart's function is defined by the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) – the percentage of blood volume pumped from the left ventricle during a single contraction," says Google Gemini. "Normal values ​​range from 55% to 70%. Lower values ​​indicate impaired heart function, and values ​​below 30% indicate severe, life-threatening heart failure." 

My LVEF at admission to hospital on 5 April was 34%; by 17 September it had climbed to 65%. The cardiologist said that normal values for healthy men over 65 rarely exceed 67%. So, while praising my recovery, she stressed the importance of medication (which reminds me – I forgot my midday pill, must take).

Quick update on exercises – since my heart attack, I've completely dropped pull-ups, push-ups and weights, focusing on the plank (quality as well as time), averaging over six and half minutes a day in two goes. The back extensions remain, with daily sets on my ZemBordᵀᴹ (six sets of eight), again, more than last year. Walking – current rate is over 12,600 paces a day walked (that's around 10km). That's every day since the New Year. Now that autumn is setting in, I try to get those walks in during the sunniest time of the day, and here the increasingly accurate weather forecasts available on my phone are a great help.

Diet – a lot less cheese, and when I am eating cheese it is white cheese (Balkan-style) which has 13% saturated fat compared to the 21% you get in vintage Cheddar or Parmesan or Roquefort. No sausages or smoked meats of any kind. Duck breast (minus skin) – two portions a week. One new addition, inspired by a current trend, is the poke bowl (or more accurately, poké bowl). This Hawaiian dish is basically rice and fish (tuna or salmon in my version) with several vegetables and Kikkoman poké sauce. Ah yes, and lots of porridge, with nuts and seeds. My alcohol consumption continues to decline as it has done, systematically, since 2014, and once again I will within the NHS guideline limit of 14 units a week this year.

Cats – you will read all sorts of new-agey-type stuff that a cat's purr resonates at some frequency that has healing powers. I put this to Google Gemini: "The mental and cardiovascular health benefits of cats purring: The calming effects of interacting with and listening to a purring cat are more strongly supported in stress and mental health studies:

• Stress and anxiety reduction: petting a cat and listening to its rhythmic purr can help to lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol and stimulate the release of 'feel-good' hormones like oxytocin (associated with bonding) and serotonin (associated with mood regulation).
• Lowered blood pressure: The calming effect on the nervous system is linked to a reduction in stress, which in turn can lead to lowered blood pressure and heart rate.
• Reduced risk of heart disease: Some large-scale studies have suggested that cat ownership may be associated with a reduced risk of heart attack and other cardiovascular diseases.
• Pain relief: The psychological comfort and hormonal changes (like the release of endorphins) can provide a sense of well-being that helps alleviate chronic pain and discomfort."

Heart disease, eh? Tell me more... "Cat ownership and the Risk of Fatal Cardiovascular Diseases. Results from the Second National Health and Nutrition Examination Study Mortality Follow-up Study", published in the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Neurology (2009)

Researchers followed 4,400 Americans for 20 years and found that participants with a history of cat ownership had a 37% lower risk of dying from a heart attack compared to those who had never owned a cat, even after adjusting for factors like age, smoking, blood pressure and cholesterol. The protective effect was also observed for death from all cardiovascular diseases (including stroke)."

So – there we are. The purring of six cats will keep me healthy!

This time nine years ago:
How the Tories ceased to be the party of economic liberals

This time 12 years ago:
Goodnight Dżerzi – Janusz Głowacki's book reviewed

This time 13 years ago:
More serious setbacks on Second Metro line construction

This time 15 years ago:
Leonard Cohen in Katowice

This time 17 years ago:
The short-term future of suburban development 

Sterilised.

Well, that's it. Wenusia's back from the vets, sterilised. No more kittens for her. Pregnancy will no longer bother her, nor will rogue tomcats. At least she has fulfilled herself in motherhood, bringing into the world five fine and healthy kittens. Would you believe, she was still breastfeeding them right until the last hours before being taken to the vet, although somewhat grudgingly. On her return home, she would get up on the table and sit with her head hanging down over the edge, not moving at all, just shaking. But after a few hours, she was clearly much better. 

The challenge for me will be keeping Wenusia in the house for another six days. When not sleeping or eating, she is crying to be let out, which I cannot do. And the coming challenge will be sterilising the kittens as they reach six months. The vet has asked me to pop round early in the New Year. 

In the meantime, Wenusia is refusing to let me put on her post-op kaftan, kicking it off at every attempt. But then she is neither licking her wound nor biting at the stitches. Below: this morning (having slept the night in her birthing box. She is now at ease and jumping around everywhere – testament to a strong organism. I examine the stitches – on the surface, it seems that the operation has been carefully and neatly done; very precise work.

Below: this evening. At least six more days inside. The kittens had their fill of sunshine outside this afternoon. While they were out, Wenusia has had some extra-special treats today, including tuna from a jar and Greek yogurt. She has been the perfect mother, but that's that. Just the one shot at motherhood, which worked out marvellously for all concerned. The kittens have been very kind, and not bothering her in the least. And Wenusia continues her habit of letting her children eat first, eating only when the five have had their fill.

Below: neither Scrapper nor Céleste look amused by Czestuś's Elon Musk impression.

Who would have thought that I'd be sharing my 68th birthday with six cats? Quite amazing what life puts your way. They are all wonderful – I could not contemplate parting with a single one of them. 

Below: the way they were, aged three days. From the left we have Arcturus, Pacyfik, Céleste, Scrapper and Czestuś.

Today, at the age of 16 weeks, they are a unit, a tightly knit bunch of pals; they troop around together outside, fighting, playing, grooming one another, eating, sleeping. Such social bonds are there to be preserved. They have (I believe) a quality of life unmatched by, say, an individual cat living its entire life bereft of feline company in a small apartment on the eighth floor, or farm cats, living a semi-ferally without a warm room on a winter’s night or regular food. Are my cats aware of how fortunate they are? Possibly! They are all well-balanced socially, in contact with their human – the same human – since the moment they were born; safe in a familiar environment, they sleep where they were born, they play with their littermates, their mother is around them, and life is good. Bonds unbroken since birth.

UPDATE 5 October: would you believe Wenusia continues to breastfeed? Not all the kittens at the same time, but if one or two approach her and suckle from the top nipples rather than the ones by her operation scars, she will not push them away!

This time last year:
A comfortable life – and then what?

This time two years ago:
The Ego, the Soul and the Individual

This time three years:
In which I reach the Age of Maturity

This time four years ago:
Golden Autumn, Golden Years

This time five years ago:
Last embers of summer

This time six years ago:
It's that Day of the Year again!

This time seven years ago:

Decline and growth

This time eight years ago:
Health at 60

This time ten years ago:
In search of vectors for migrating consciousness

This time 11 years ago:
Slipping from late summer to early autumn

This time 12 years ago:
Turning 56

This time 13 years ago: 
Turning 55 

This time 14 years ago:
Turning 54

This time 15 years ago:
Turning 53

This time 18 years ago:
Turning 50

Compositions in red, green, white and blue

The days are marching. Warmth is escaping back out into the cosmos; the nights bring a light frost. But when the clouds dissipate and the sun shines, beauty is everywhere.

Below: an explosion of colour in my back garden.

Below: bright red creepers run up and down the tall pines in the forest between Jakubowizna and Machcin II.

Below: one of the canonical prospects. Despite recent rain, the land remains parched.

Below: despite the drought, the top-fruit still ripens. It's the height of the apple harvest in the orchards around Chynów, the tractors are pulling trains of wooden crates laden with fruit to the collection points.

Below: approaching Dąbrowa Duża, corduroy fields separated from forest by a sandy track.

Below: approaching Machcin II on my return from Dąbrowa Duża.

Below: it's only quarter past four in the afternoon, but the sun's getting lower and lower in the sky. The forest behind Jakubowizna.

Below: gate guardians – Czestuś and Arcturus await me at the end of the drive, the rest of the gang is chasing my heels. Whenever I return home, the first thing I always do is to feed the cats; they see me as a successful hunter returning from the hunt.

This time time eight years ago:
On the internet, no one knows you're a dog

This time last year:
Low water mark

This time six years ago:
Łódź to Jeziorki by car in four hours
[See how Poland's road network has improved!]

This time sevenyears ago:
What's new on the manor?

This time eight years ago:
The funeral of Tadeusz Lesisz

This time nine years ago:
Socialist realism in the boardroom

Last evenings in shirt-sleeves?

The heatwaves have passed, the nights are getting cold. Yet when the sun shines, it's very pleasant outside – but this is about to change. Temperatures will struggle to get into double digits over the next few days. Golden autumn may well yet return – one can hope! In the meanwhile, I made the most of the reasonable warmth over the weekend, warm enough to venture out in the evening without a jacket.

Below: a slow shutter-speed of a full coal train heading (unusually!) south, taken just before sunset yesterday. 

Below: looking south towards Chynów station in the distance, the sun has set. but the afterglow illuminates the western horizon for a while.

Left: twilit horizon with electricity pole. This is one of my favourite spots for catching sunsets; I hope the rail redevelopment work I wrote about yesterday won't spoil the character of the area around here (between Chynów station and the DK50 main road).

Below: ulica Owocowa, at the Chynów end of my lane. Magic hour approaches its end. This is the Sublime Aesthetic.

Below: I look around one last time before turning into my drive and home. "When the deep purple falls over sleepy garden walls/And the stars begin to flicker in the sky..."

Below: from today's walk; orchard awaiting the fruit pickers, under a fragmentary double rainbow.

Below: I get up closer to the trees to bring together the red apples illuminated by strong sunlight against a rainbow on brooding skies. Photo taken with polarising filter to make the rainbow stand out more.

The downdraft from the approaching rain-clouds signal that I should be heading home, sure enough, 300 metres from my działka it starts pour, and me in my shirtsleeves... 

This time last year:
Anomalous landscapes amid local forest

This time five years ago:

W(h)ither the DK50?

This time six years ago:
A change in the weather

This time seven years ago:
Zamek Topacz classic car museum

This time ten years ago:
Curry comes to Jeziorki

This time 11 years ago:
Why we should all try to use less gas

This time 12 years ago:
Polish supermarket chain advertises on London buses

This time 17 years ago:
Well-shot pheasants

Big rail news for Chynów

Two stories popped into my social-media feeds today, both concerning local rail travel. The first is about the CPK project, the second about planned station upgrades for Chynów and Sułkowice. I'll start with CPK, the airport part of which I consider unnecessary. Summary: two successive Polish governments have decided to build a brand-new airport southwest of Warsaw (about a third of the way to Łódź). This will be the 'centralny port komunikacyjny' or CPK, linked to the rest of Poland by upgraded roads and high-speed rail. The rail element interests me. The new airport is to be built west of Chynów, and today's news concerns the rail link from Chynów and the Warsaw-Radom line to the airport. 

Below: the chosen variant will not see new lines built, merely the upgrade of existing ones. The junction at Czachówek will take on strategic importance, as trains from Chynów, Warka, Radom and the south will swing west here towards Mszczonów and the new airport, along the Skierniewice-Łuków line (which itself is due for a major upgrade and reinstatement of passenger services along its length). Also worthy is the modernisation and extension to Grójec of the Piaseczno narrow-gauge line, which is intended to be a commuter route from a satellite town neglected by the rail network.

Looking up close at the local plans, I can see that the project will entail significant changes for Chynów, Jakubowizna and Widok. The level crossing in Jakubowizna is slated for closure! It will be replaced (as will the one on ulica Spokojna between Chynów and Krężel stations) by a viaduct, carrying a completely new road that is planned to run between and parallel to ul. Spokojna and ul. Wolska, emerging halfway through the village of Widok. The closure of the level crossing will mean having to walk an extra 250m (plus 250m on the way back) when walking to Chynów. By car, it will mean an extra 3.2km to get to the shops in Chynów. The station itself will see the number of tracks double from three to six. Two new tracks are to be laid to the west of the current line, and one new track is to be laid to the east. The number of platforms will remain the same (two), the 'down' platform will see another edge, the outer two tracks will be for non-stopping expresses to pass unhindered.

So – swings and roundabouts; local inconveniences traded for the ability to travel east-west by train as well as north-south.

The second story concerns Poland's rail infrastructure operator, PKP PLK, announcing a major project to modernise 181 stations (of the total of over 2,500 across all of Poland)... and among them, Chynów and the next one up the line, Sułkowice. Below: the map, from the press release (in Polish, here). Right-click to open in new tab, then click to enlarge for full detail.

The fact that Chynów found itself on this list generated local surprise, given the recent modernisation of the entire Warsaw-Radom line that resulted in a massive improvement in service. However, as one observant local citizen pointed out, despite the new platforms and infrastructure, the actual station building hasn't changed. 

If you're asking me, I think that Chynów station needs three things: a lot more bicycle stands (especially on the east side); electronic display boards to show arrivals and departures and any delays in real time; and asphalt/paving for the car park plus convenient passenger access to it (it's currently just the rough ground left after the demolition of the old goods yard). Below: ample space to park cars, but there are no steps from the far end or the middle of the platform to get to them. Shortly before taking this photo, I saw a man jump the fence to save himself going all the way round the other side of that ochre-coloured building at the far end of the platform. 

Below: on the Jakubowizna (east) side of the station, there are just four bicycle stands. Yesterday afternoon, I counted 17 bicycles there; eight attached to the stands (two to each), the rest chained to the fence or the railings. Rather than chide cyclists for chaining their bikes where they shouldn't be, PKP PLK should just place another ten or so bicycle stands here.

Warka station now has digital indicator screens working on all platforms and in the tunnel that links them, as well as in the station building booking hall/waiting room. Chynów is due to get them soon. This will be a valuable addition in terms of keeping passengers aware of delays in real time.

I walked to Sułkowice to have another look at the station. To my surprise, it actually has a booking hall/waiting room that's still functioning! Open until 4pm, I managed to buy a ticket for the 15:56 service towards Radom, just one stop to Chynów. The ticket cost 2.73 złotys (55p with my 35% seniors' discount). I fished out a five złoty coin, but the ticket lady had no change. So I grubbed about in my wallet until I found a two złoty coin and assorted small change so I could offer the exact amount. What a faff. Normally, I'd always use the Koleje Mazowieckie app, but because the ticket office was open, I thought, why not use it? Below: climbing the steps to the small shelter, there are no obvious signs that there actually is a ticket office here, let alone that it's open...

Below: it most certainly is open and functioning! Old school but absolutely spotless. I wonder how many people actually use it. I often take the train from Sułkowice to Chynów, but wasn't aware that this place still functions. A buffet would be handy here. And in the booking office/waiting room in Chynów too.

Minor gripes aside, it is actually wonderful that the Polish state is investing so heavily in its rail infrastructure. This really is the way forward – not more motorways and airports. However, how long will all this take? September's nearly over and Warsaw West's new underground passage (it was meant to be ready for 1 September) is not yet open. Everything takes ages. I remember that when the Elizabeth Line (or Crossrail as it was originally called) was first announced in 2007, my father joked that he'd not live to see it actually working. How right he was. It opened in May 2022, two and half years after his death. Will I get to see the CPK project completed and working?

UPDATE 27 SEPT: Rynek Kolejowy has an article about how the CPK project will improve rail communication between Warka, Chynów and Grójec.

UPDATE 6 OCT: Rynek Kolejowy has more about the narrow gauge line from Piaseczno to Grójec and presents this image of how the train might look. 

This time two years ago:
Pilgrimage at day's end

This time three years ago:
First steps in cider-making

[Only in odd-numbered years – biennial bearing trees]

This time four years ago
The glories of a sunny day in early autumn

This time nine years ago:

On conservatism

This time 14 years ago:
Heritage or high-rise?

This time 14 years ago:
Shopping notes

This time 15 years ago:
My grandfather

This time 17 years ago:
Surreal twilight, ul.Karczunkowska

This time 18 years ago:
From Warsaw to Seville, via Munich and Madrid

Equilux – the physical triumph of light over darkness

Today will be 12 hours long, the night 12 hours also. The sun rose this morning at 26 minutes past six, and will set at 26 minutes past six this evening.

Below: sunset over Chynów, Tuesday 23 September.

But wasn't equinox on Monday 22 September? 

Yes, dear reader; that was the moment when the sun passed directly above the equator, heading into the Southern Hemisphere. This year, that particular astronomical event indeed occurred on Monday 22 September., at 18:19 GMT. But here in Chynów, that day was 12 hours and 12 minutes long. The exact 12 hour day-night split is not due until three days later. That's today. And that is... equilux.

In spring – it's the same. Equilux is due two days before the vernal equinox. The former falls on Wednesday 18 March and is the first day of the year longer than 12 hours. The latter occurs on the afternoon of Friday 20 March, marking the sun's return to the Northern Hemisphere.

Whether you live on the equator or near the North or South Pole, the story is the same; equinox and equilux do not fall on the same day. It's just that the difference between day-length between the two is much greater at the poles than at the equator.

So wherever you live on the globe, you get more daylight than night time over the course of the year. We're not talking a lot, but enough to notice. 

There are 188 days of the year (51.5% of the total) with a longer day than night, and 177 days of the year (48.5% of the total) when night is longer than day. That's a 3% advantage. Not much, but there, definite, observable.

Why is this?

There are two reasons: the first being that the sun is a disc, not a point; its sinking over the horizon takes a few minutes. The second being refraction of the sun's rays through the earth's atmosphere. And here we see the difference between our perceived reality and absolute geometric truth. There is more light than is geometrically available because of how our atmosphere bends light. Are the truths we observe fundamental, or are they shaped by our existence and our observations?

The physical truth that light slightly outweighs darkness across the globe leads me into metaphysical thoughts. Classical dualist philosophy pitches light against darkness. They stand as proxies for good and evil, knowledge and ignorance, life and non-life. Light's 3% advantage over darkness can be taken as a sign: a subtle, pervasive bias towards creation, life, and goodness that's baked into the fabric of the universe. From the non-dual perspective of Eastern philosophies, light and darkness are not in conflict – they are two sides of a single, balanced unity. The slight bias towards light can be seen rather as a beautiful imperfection. Perfect symmetry is not a universal rule; harmony can exist in a state of constant, gentle tension.

One way or another, rejoice, give thanks, make the most of this, the last day of the light side; we slip into the shorter dark side for 177 days, re-emerging into the light on Wednesday 18 March 2026. I hope we all make it. May nothing bad happen. Today also happens to be World Dream Day. Left: on my way down the lane to catch yesterday's sunset. The road runs east-west, so at this time of the year, the sunset aligns with its far end.

This time last year:
Equilux: the struggle between Light and Dark

This time four years ago:
S7 construction update

This time five years ago:
Covid – we still really don't know where we are

This time 11 years ago:

Thoughts occasioned by today being equilux

This time 14 years ago:
The magic of Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand's Marlborough region

This time 15 years ago:
Grandson of Poles elected to lead UK's Labour Party

This time 17 years ago:
Give me sunshine!