Good Show

Some people have an knack for display. This little lane, a couple of hundred metres long, is between the two shops in the village - both very good and well-freqented - so it gets a lot of pedestrian traffic. We don't know the people in this house but we think they are long term residents, possibly part of a family that has been here for many generations. To have this much colour, looking this vibrant, at this time of year, leaves us feeling a bit inadequate. Most of our gardening at this time of year is clearing away browned husks

I think this is for pure pleasure - presumably theirs, but also the rest of us who only have to walk past to enjoy it, rather than labour to produce it. I hope they saw me taking pictures, and I hope it pleased them. I could not see any sign that they were collecting money. I did look for it, because the same house is bedecked with lights in December (extras) and that is accompanied by a charity collection

In one week's time we are going to be passed by Comet Nishimura - named after the Japanese amateur astronomer who first identified its existence last month. Finding new comets is one area of astronomy where amateurs still have a chance of beating modern, professional telescopes - though the era where that is the case is probably coming to an end. No need to duck - even at its nearest, the comet will be 125 million kilometers away. Five days later, it will make its closest approach to the sun. It is possible it will generate a trail of gases that will interact with the sun to produce a 'tail', visible to the naked eye.* It is so new that no-one knows for sure. It depends if it has a knack for display

*this is in the northern hemisphere - I'm not sure it will be visible in the south