Pigs can apparently fly

Helena is not well and has been inhaling peppermint vapours from her oils in this hot bowl. I noticed the early sunlight shining through the decanter (not my medicine bottle, I assure you!), onto this book, diffused and diffracted. There is also a bowl of last summer's lavender, and a couple of Scottish stones to keep them company.

Can you see the subject on the book cover? Possibly not, but then that is the delight of this tome; you need to see into the picture with imagination. If you can't make out the pig, then do have a hunt for the book and test it for yourself. Inside are a host of other cloudspotters' photos, with potential for a discerning eye to have a laugh!

A Pig with Six Legs and other clouds
from the Cloud Appreciation Society, edited by Gavin Pretor-Penney

We do recommend it, and also the original Cloudspotters Guide, in all good bookshops.

I love seeing these optical effects, and it is of course a warmer place for photography today, than seeking snow crystals and hungry birds in the big outdoors.