It’s been raining and cloudy for weeks.  Then we had a Nor’easter barrel through with 60 mph winds, leaving us with clear skies – just in time for the Venus-Mercury conjunction on March 3.  This picture was taken March 4 – not the closest approach, but not far – about a half hour after sunset.  Mercury is on the right, and while both are moving “up” in the sky, Mercury is moving higher, faster, day after day.  Soon it will peak at its eastern elongation, and start to come back down between the Earth and Sun, as Venus keeps climbing.