…but this is a sure sign that spring is imminent!

So…can you see it? You have to look beyond the wintry looking trees and focus on the brownish blob…

Dear Simon

Spring must be on its way! Look at the Queen Bee sunning herself!!! She is huge. Taken in Finchampstead this morning (28th February 2012)

Kind regards
Daniel R J Gillings

He’s not wrong…she’s a whopper!

Meanwhile in other bee news…the award for fearless photographer of the day goes to Kev Kenny…

…for getting up close and personal at a garden centre in Oxford.

Or maybe he’s just got a good zoom lens!

So here you go then with some interesting facts about bees…

A  queen will lay around 1,500 eggs per day.
Bees have two stomachs – one for eating and the other for storing nectar collected from flowers or water so that they can carry it back to the hive.
Bees have five eyes.
A honeybee can fly 24 km in an hour at a speed of 15 mph.
The average worker bee makes about 1/12 th of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime.
Bees are the only insect in the world that make food for humans.

This one from D Purton in Kent…

I just thought you would like to know that here in Walmer it’s been so warm that we had an Adder sunning itself on the patio…

…and water otters playing on our lawn!

Inspired comedy…but it also prompted a serious email to pop up in my meridianweather@itv.com inbox…

Hi, after your ‘first adder’ picture last night, I thought you might like to
see these pictures of a real adder taken yesterday at the RSPB reserve
Pulborough. Very early for adders but a couple have been out since Sunday.

Andy McIntyre

Look away if snakes make you go funny…

So now we know they’re out there…here are you interesting facts about Adders!

They are the only venomous snakes to be found in the wilds of Britain.

Whilst their venom poses next to no danger to a healthy human adult…their bite is very painful and would need urgent medical attention.

And best of all…adders are the only species of snake to be found inside the Arctic circle!

Some day soon…one or other of those facts will come in very useful at a pub quiz!

Forget spring…it almost felt like summer had arrived early…despite the fact it’s still winter!

Lots of pictures in my meridianweather@itv.com inbox that seem to suggest many of us made the most of the perfect conditions…

…although most of us knew where to draw the line! Sadly I wasn’t the lone power glider spotted by Trevor Coffey in Littlehampton…but it does look like fun!

Meanwhile back on solid ground…or rather in it…

…a magnificent carpet of snowdrops at Welford Park in Berkshire from Ann Allen.

And an alternative view from lower down at Leeds Castle from Edward Fagg…

Obviously it wasn’t just in the daytime that the weather made for perfect photo opportunities…

…Mark Tuffin from Poole managed a fine image of the crescent moon on on Saturday night…and if you look closely…that bright spot you can see on the left is Venus!

Our unofficial space related theme continues with not just photos but top tips too!

First up another International Space Station moment from David Pope of Ashford…

I am sending a picture of the ISS (International Space Station) passing over Willesborough Winsmill Ashford in Kent.

I am an amateur astronomer, member of the local astronomy club (Ashford Astronomy Society) I took this picture at 19:26 on Feb 20th 2012 with my canon 500D and kit lens set to 18mm ISO 100 and used the Manual bulb setting.

2 shots one 47 Second the other was 70 Seconds merged together with startrails software then finished in photoshop to remove some of the light pollution and sharpened a little.

Meanwhile in a slightly less hi tech but just as interesting incident…

Thought you might like to see my moon. Taken with an ordinary camera with
300mm lens from the back garden.

Best regards to you all,

Don Aston

Greg Parker from the New Forest Observatory has been busy again…

I managed to put this star panorama together

On the left we have the Cone Nebula and the Christmas Tree Cluster (you’ve shown this one before) but I got more data and managed to add on the whole of Trumpler 5 (the golden open cluster in the middle) and the beautiful reflection nebula, and dark nebula region of IC2169 over to the right.

I am right pleased with this one

I can see why!

And finally if you’re feeling inspired…

Hi Simon

Following on from your space theme, in March Venus and Jupiter continue their relentless convergence until on March 12th and 13th, the duo lie only three degrees apart, a spectacular double beacon in the sunset sky. There be so close you’ll be able to hide them together behind a pair of outstretched fingertips.
I hope the weather will be good for the show.

All the best,
Marc Holloway
Totton

So mark the dates in your diary and if you feel the urge to take a photo make sure you email a copy to me at meridianweather@itv.com!

…a few mild weather days and it seems spring has sprung!

Thanks for the emails and photos of the early arrivals…

…like the first frogspawn from David Gough in Swanage.

Or maybe it isn’t…

I sent you a message to say we had one clump of frogspawn in the pond on January 25th. which we thought was very very early. As of this morning it was still there, in spite of the snow and frosts. Unfortunately we didn’t take a photo…..camera wasn’t working …..battery flat !!

Maureen and Pete in Salisbury.

Meanwhile here’s (hedging my bets) one of the first spring lambs…

…possibly wearing a jumper that’s a couple of sizes too big…spotted on a walk in Lower Halstow in Kent by John Knight…who also noticed…

…a baby mole! Very unusual to see one above ground let alone manage to get a photo of one.

Here are a couple of brilliant shots from David Hargrave at Milston Down in Wiltshire…

…that show the interest the birds have in the freshly ploughed field that will soon be sown with spring barley.

And finally my own personal effort…

…a couple of early daffodils…but look where they were growing…

…in a three foot hedge! Who knew they could push their way up that high!

And so begins another weather picture theme…flowers growing in odd places!

Please email a photo of any you see to meridianweather@itv.com or you can tweet me @simonparkinitv if you’re on on Twitter!

…but as lines go…it’s an exciting one!

So what is it?

Over to the photographer Ashley Fuggle of the South East Kent Astronomical Society (SEKAS)…

This is a picture of the International Space Station (ISS) traveling over my
house in Hawkinge Kent.
The ISS will be visible over Kent for most of this week.
Here are some of the times (these time are set for Hawkinge!).
21st  6.30pm
21st 8.07pm
22nd 7.10pm
23rd 6.13pm
25th 5.56pm

All the best,
Ashley

I’ve also managed to find the timings for London as well as some directional clues of where to look..

21 18:28 18:34 89 N W/E
22 19:08 19:11 89 S W/E
23 18:11 18:17 85 N W/E
23 19:47 19:49 39 WSWW/WSW
24 18:50 18:55 75 S W/ESE
25 19:30 19:33 37 SSW W/SSW
26 18:33 18:38 56 SSW W/ESE

So good luck and let me know if you spot it!

…if you’ve got the right equipment!

Our old friend Greg Parker at the New Forest Observatory was up late on Saturday night. He said the conditions were outstandingly good and here’s the proof…

An incredible photo and here’s the explanation!

This is an image of IC 2169 a region of nebulosity just west of the Cone nebula in the constellation Monoceros.  We have emission (red), reflection (blue) and dark nebulosity all together in this one.

Greg also recently sent me another picture entitled The Dust Cloud Of Caph…

As I’m sure you already know…Caph is the bright star, top right hand corner of the “W” that is Cassiopeia…although I only know that because Greg told me in his email!

This is a Hyperstar III 4-framer (i.e. a 4-frame mosaic) with a one hour exposure time (40 x 90-seconds) at f#2 for each frame. I was expecting to have a nice Milky Way backdrop to Caph but had no idea the region was also full of dust clouds and other interesting objects. At the 7 O’clock position from Caph we have vdB1 and HH161 to its left. Come across to the left from Caph and you see a nice golden region which is IC10 a dwarf irregular galaxy. The dust clouds are so thick in some areas that they completely blot out the Milky Way stars. The field of view of this image is 4.26 x 2.80 degrees (for reference the full Moon is half a degree across) at a resolution of 2.85 arc seconds per pixel.

So if you’re a dab hand with a telescope and a camera…please email your astronomical photos to meridianweather@itv.com .

After our cold snap of last week, things have turned more springlike this week and that’s meant a whole load of photos turning up in my meridianweather@itv.com inbox that feature the word “first”.

So our first first comes from Barbara Hazeldene in Tonbridge…

Taken in my garden Thursday 16 February 2012. Is this the first Ladybird of the season?!

Meanwhile in St Leonards a first and last…

Now the last of the snow has gone I took a walk around my garden this morning and look what I found…my dwarf tulips coming up and one the first one ready to flower.

I declare that in St Leonards Spring has arrived.

A bold statement Sid…but backed up by this picture from Patricial Langston…

I found these 2 frogs in my pond today !!!!  They may have been hugging
to keep warm ;0)

That’s one explanation! But you’re probably asking why they’ve ended up in our special firsts feature? Well I’m thinking we’ll be seeing our first frogspawn soon!

But keep a look out over the weekend and let me know if you spot the first anything!

…Step Into Christmas!

Oh no…hang on…that was last week with the snow! Let me start again…

…Can You Feel The Love Tonight??

That’s more like it. However if your Valentines Day hasn’t been all hearts and flowers…allow me to try and sort you out with a warm fuzzy feeling!

Firstly a message from Denise Tate…

Please find attached a photo taken in Mote Park this morning – perfect for

Valentine’s day I think …with the two swans in the background!

Bless them…although it’s not just swans…

Here’s a photograph of two Great Crested Grebes which were
performing an elaborate courtship display on the River Stour, in Canterbury,

Oliver Mannion

Meanwhile in Snodland…

Most wives get cards I get mine a Valentine snow bunny!

A romantic gesture from Terry…although made on Feb 5th…so possibly looking a little worse for wear today (the bunny…not Terry!)!

However as this photo from Mel Smith from Haddenham proves….

…it’s not just a day for people!

And finally another kiss for us all from Linda Jermain at Margate Tennis club…

A flurry of white stuff falling out of the sky guarantees a flurry of activity in my meridianweather@itv.com inbox and to my @simonparkinitv Twitter account too.

So as there are just some of the many photos that have come in.

Firstly an action shot taken by Colin Miles through a friends car sunroof as he was driven through Lenham at 30mph!

Looks like a scene from Doctor Who to me!

Meanwhile in Thame…

…a lovely view from the kitchen window of @theBetsyBoo.

And in Chichester…

…it’s a first time in the snow moment for Toni-Louise Dike’s dog Tiger!

Meanwhile in Upper Basildon…

…four old hands out for walk with Gary Denton. That’s Ruby, Maisie, Doobie and Ozzy…although I can’t be sure that’s the right order!

A tweet from @Clarelyates informed us that in Broughton in Hampshire there was enough snow (and time) to make a snowman before school…

And finally just to prove that there is something fishy going on with the weather…

…look what Chloe Hennessy’s dad Vinny made in Maidstone!

No news yet as to when he’s starting on the chips!