Early spring dusk

The clocks go back tonight. Those commentators who say that time change serves no purpose are doubly wrong. I'm fed up of being woken up by the sun rising at quarter past five. Quarter past six is more reasonable. Secondly, the longer evening (sun setting at seven pm) means I can cycle to and from work in daylight, and that I can go for walks or bike rides after returning home in the evening. Indeed, I believe that the time change should happen a month earlier - in late February, rather than the last Saturday of March. The clocks go back two months before the winter solstice (last weekend of October), yet go forward three months after winter solstice. This assymetry should be corrected. This would give the impression of spring coming earlier - something we all need in the Northern Hemisphere. Anyone else in favour of an putting clocks forward in late February?

After a beautiful dawn with clear skies, the clouds rolled in bringing a day's rain. Above: The tram terminus on al. Krakowskie. (Click here for the same view in mid-summer.) The skies cleared just before dusk, giving me an opportunity to visit the end of ul. Trombity with my camera and wellies. Below: A TEM-2 diesel loco hauls a coal train towards Siekierki. Today's rain meant the wetlands are wetter than ever, the water level was higher than the tops of my wellies even at the edges, so I got wet socks. The bitterns are back (making the sound of someone blowing over the top of a quart flagon). I saw two hares, though they moved so quickly I didn't manage to catch a clear shot.

I'm grateful for the fact that this piece of land at the end of our road is still wild, unspoilt save for the odd litter-dumps, and not a municipal leisure facility with car parks, footpaths, rangers, noticeboards, signposts, viewing platforms and byelaws. In post-Lent mode, I find I have a massive appetite for Asiatic food. Today, I had Vietnamese fried beef noodle soup (the Asia Tasty on ul. Ptasia). Yesterday I had sushi (the Kobe on ul. Puławska). On Thursday I had dim-sum (the Tokyo on ul. Dobra). On Wednesday more fried beef noodle soup. My Lenten diet obviously lacked some nutritional elements that my organism sorely needs and I'm now making it up big time!