"Melting ice and snow, or getting out again"

Last week was rough in terms of the weather due to voluminous snow and ice and frigid temperatures. While I was mostly stuck in the house I did venture out onto the balcony one eve and beheld Orion shining in the sky between the trees, seemingly illuminating the undisturbed and pristine snow. Grabbing the 15x70s' yours truly saw the Flame Nebula, Orion Nebula, and also the reflection nebula M78 a bit further up the hunter's torso. Also, the naked eye observation of Betelgeuse, Rigel, and Mintaka and Alnitak (a couple of bright stars in the belt) and the other shoulder Bellatrix put on a show. Anyway a short session but one that got the blood boiling for further observation....thanks also for the VROD nomination from friends here on the forum.

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