Signs and portents

If anything whispers "Spring" on a misty, damp afternoon it's these catkins, vibrant against the still-wintry background of dead vegetation and the tumultuous burn. I think we chose the mistiest, wettest part of the damp Cowal peninsula when we decided to yomp up the Glen Massan road and back before darkness fell, but the colours were lovely, the scents fresh and wonderful after the pollution of the M8 yesterday, and the birds were giving it laldy as we returned to our car an hour later.

We also saw our first frog spawn (extra photo) after being alerted by a headline in the local paper (really) about the first sighting of same last week, and, in the morning, spotted the Bishop of Argyll and The Isles in his usual fine form in Holy Trinity church, so he too merits a photo for today ...