Popular Post Tweedledee Posted May 12, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted May 12, 2019 Hi again, seems some people have noticed my absence from EMS. I was pleasantly surprised to find that several members had been enquiring about me. Thanks for your concern. ? Having turned 60 in March, and suffering some depression (not due to turning 60), for which I'm on tablets, I decided that I needed a change of focus from astronomy. I'll be back, deep into astro and EMS again, at some stage, but for now, I'm finding great satisfaction in studying and putting my efforts into creating a wildlife friendly garden. I've filled the garden with pollinator attracting plants, a wildlife pond, log piles, bird feeders, a compost heap, and am even considering going on a beekeeping course. The garden has certainly been buzzing today in the sunshine. It now has lots of interesting nooks and crannies, various different places to sit and enjoy, and should look fantastic over the summer when in full bloom. ???????? Seems to be a useful thing to do with our current predicament with climate change and the worrying loss of biodiversity. Just ordered some night vision tackle, mainly for watching any nocturnal garden wildlife activities, but apparently it should be good on the stars as well. I had a wonderful holiday in Scotland for my 60th. I loved the place, and getting away in the countryside changed my perspective a little, along with a book I read entitled "Rewild Yourself: 23 Spellbinding Ways to Make Nature More Visible". I found it a wonderful and enlightening read. Another thing that has been getting me down is that I have a cataract in my left eye. I'm looking through a dense fog in my left eye, and it is virtually useless. I have a cataract developing in my right eye that will no doubt be a problem in a year or so. Not good for an astronomer! My cataracts are a side effect of twenty odd years of using a daily steroid nasal spray to keep nasal polyps at bay, which have caused me a major problem intermittently. On Tuesday I go to hospital to have cataract surgery and will not be allowed to drive for a fortnight. I'm really looking forward to seeing better. Best regards, Pete. Here's the little wildlife pond I just put in. +Streetbob, Daz Type-R, Bottletopburly and 8 others 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 So nice to hear from you again Pete, we were all worried something might have happened to you. Sorry to hear about your depression and cataracts, as you say something an astronomer can do without, but I'm sure once they are operated on, you will feel much better. As for bee keeping talk to Rusty Strings he keeps bees. As I said nice to hear from you and don't be a stranger, you have loads of friends here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ibbo Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 Good to hear from you. Enjoy your garden project. We are still here -pop in when you feel like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+RonC Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 Good to hear from you and hope the operation goes to plan, you deserve it too. Take care Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Graham Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 Great to see you back. Was getting a little worried about you. Best of luck with the eyes, Keep in touch ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bottletopburly Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 Good to hear from you Pete ? hope all goes well with op and thanks for letting us all know what you’ve been up to , Garden looking good too . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 Same here Pete - good to see you're ok ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted May 12, 2019 Share Posted May 12, 2019 Good to hear from you Pete. Fingers crossed for your cataract operation. Get well soon ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAZ Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 Hi Pete, great to hear from you again. I am really sorry that you you have been through the mill with cataracts and depression, I hope the cataract op goes well and you get usable vision back. I also hope you are getting the correct help with your depression too, I have been through it and I am never sure if a cure is entirely possible. The NHS may sadly not be in a position to offer the help you might need, but finding a Councillor on my own really helped, it was almost a light switch moment. The garden looks magnificent and regarding night vision, give me a shout, I have made a homebrew black light (940nm) IR night vision and it works up to over 100m away. Not in really full high def, but certainly usable. All the best Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheila Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 Good to see you are sorting stuff out. We were getting a bit concerned about you ☺️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smithysteve Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 Good to hear from you Pete! Your good humour, encouraging remarks and depth of knowledge is already being missed on EMS! Your garden and new hobby looks interesting, Keep in touch matey! ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philjay Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 (edited) Nice to hear from you Pete and sorry to hear your having a rough time. Hope all goes well with the op and pop in anytime. Edited May 13, 2019 by philjay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Streetbob Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 Hope all goes well for you. You are missed on the forum for your advice and encouragement. The pond looks fantastic and I find being more involved with the local wildlife is so rewarding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 Nice to hear from you. I can totally get your depression. I get it myself and have a few short/medium term issues that aren't going away in a hurry. I find astronomy helps me, as long as I don't wind myself up too much by trying for the perfect shot. As most of you know, I am somewhat financially challenged but am aware that some of the kit I have fills a nice niche that other peoples' kit doesn't. I find that the NHS gives me just enough sessions to start unpeeling layers and then it stops. From what I've learned depression and anxiety is all too common and several family members have it. Unfortunately, a few years ago, I lost a cousin to suicide. I understand a lot about what triggers it in my case but do not have an easy solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djpaul Posted May 18, 2019 Share Posted May 18, 2019 (edited) Hi Pete. Good to hear from you. I also had major issues 2 years ago with my eye sight. So I fully understand what cloudy vision feels like. Take care. Regards Paul Edited May 18, 2019 by djpaul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 21, 2019 Share Posted May 21, 2019 I didn't "Like" your original message. However, I would like to give you some further encouragement. Just drop in from time to time to let us know how you are getting on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M. Posted June 9, 2019 Share Posted June 9, 2019 Hope things are going well Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Tweedledee Posted October 28, 2021 Author Popular Post Share Posted October 28, 2021 Hi Everyone, Hope you're all fit and well. It has been a long time, over 2 and a half years since I was last an active member. How is everyone? Great to see most of the same old regulars still on the activity lists and several new ones. Members imaging quality has substantially improved during that time. It is lovely to see that some, who were imaging newbies when I was last posting, now look like seasoned professionals 👍. Imaging has now become the mainstay of the forum. It's getting more like the Hubble image gallery, though I personally prefer the wider angles on EMS 🙂. Nice to see that Nightspore is doing a great job reminding people what an eyepiece is 👍👍👍. Is there an eyepiece he doesn't have in his impressive collection? 👍🙂. Best regards, Pete. Sheila, +Bino-viewer, +Glafnazur and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAZ Posted October 29, 2021 Share Posted October 29, 2021 Hi Pete, it's fantastic to hear from you again. We have missed you! Nothing much has changed, always cloudy and wet for major astro occasions! 😄 You are right though, the quality of the imagers hard work has become something to look forward to, though I remain steadfastly a MKI eyeball user. Welcome back Pete! Tweedledee 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuckstar Posted October 29, 2021 Share Posted October 29, 2021 Hi Pete, great to hear from you. Was worried you'd totally packed up when I saw someone had bought your kit! Hope your keeping well mate. Tweedledee 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bottletopburly Posted October 29, 2021 Share Posted October 29, 2021 (edited) Hi Pete lovely to hear from you hope your well and Happy 😃👍 Edited October 29, 2021 by Bottletopburly Tweedledee 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Streetbob Posted October 29, 2021 Share Posted October 29, 2021 Glad you are back. Your advice when I first started was very helpful.👍 Tweedledee 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted October 29, 2021 Share Posted October 29, 2021 Hi Pete ; its great to hear from you. I hope you are well and rest assured your input and extensive observing knowledge on here is very much missed. I think its fair to say that visual astronomers on here are becoming a bit thin on the ground. The meets we arrange are often sporadic, and usually pretty quiet. I try and get to as many as i can but often find shift work a big problem which dents my aspirations somewhat. But when everything clicks into place, those are the nights that make it all worthwhile. We had such a night back in August for the Perseid meteor shower. Quite a few of us were there, and we had 2 or 3 hours of fairly clear skys and enjoyed the show. I still intend to image more and as i approach retirement i want to learn the ropes and give it a proper go, but at the same time, try and keeps things relatively simple. I currently own 3 telescopes and have invested in a couple of decent refractors with that in mind. I also have a recently acquired 10" Newtonian that i intend to use on a purely visual basis that i still have not even used, as i'm currently waiting for a part for the focuser. And at some point i'll have to invest in another EQ mount even though i'm not a lover of them, much preferring the simplicity of an alt-az system. But whatever i do in this hobby, the main objective is to have fun, and enjoy the views. The night sky never disappoints. +Streetbob and Tweedledee 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nightspore Posted October 30, 2021 Share Posted October 30, 2021 On 29/10/2021 at 00:00, Tweedledee said: Nice to see that Nightspore is doing a great job reminding people what an eyepiece is 👍👍👍. Is there an eyepiece he doesn't have in his impressive collection? 👍🙂. Best regards, Pete. Hello Pete. Good to hear from you. I know about depression, I find eyepiece retail therapy really helps lol. All the best. +Streetbob and Tweedledee 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philjay Posted October 30, 2021 Share Posted October 30, 2021 Hi Pete Great to hear from you, I was only wondering the other day how things were with you. Bad luck with the catarracts and depression. Gardening and nature are great therapy and I owe a lot of my recovery from ME tyo wandering aimlessly around the country side when I was able to walk properly again. Also faffing in the garden but I was never a big gardener and anything I did had to be approved by the head gardener (swmbo) 🙂 Yep the image quality on here has come leaps and bounds over the years making my job for POTM extremely difficult :-) Anyrode keep on the mend, keep safe and pop in from time to time you are always welcome Tweedledee and Bottletopburly 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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