All clear

There are endless advantages to having a hobby from the simple pleasure it gives to the more complex psychological needs which it no doubt fills. But one of the most practical is that it makes you a very easy person to buy presents for. When I was a boy, this might have been the sinister-sounding 'Get him a killing bottle' or a set of entomological pins; this year, my top present (from Penny needless to say) has been a new moth trap cowl.

This is the transparent collar which encircles the bowl of the trap and holds up the mercury vapour bulb and, as I have mentioned several times in posts, it is a long time since it was tramsparent. The ratio of masking tape to plastic had become almost unbearable and the remaining plastic was rubbed and scratched. Behold the difference, above, between this venerable but failing item and its glorious successor which I unwrapped on Christmas Day.  

I have put this out tonight for its debut after a brief interlude when we took the grandchildren to the local skatepark to try out their scooters and inline skates and found this delicate little lacewing on their car widow, speckled with droplets from the very thin mist which has hung around all day. I also had to dry out the eggboxes in front of the fire, a toasty position which they shared with some of the same grandchildren's drying laundry

Then it was time to peel off the shiny new collar's protective film and plug everything in. I can't wait until morning to see what, if anything, comes to take and an admiring look. Last night drew a visitor total of nil, after the delightful Three Wise Moths of Christmas night. It is still mild but very misty and we had a bonfire and some fireworks, so the odds are balanced.  Sleep well!