Hottest March day on record for Scotland. An otherwise unspectacular day at home without my usual companions. The Professor was in bed with a throat infection and The Great House Builder had to stay home so he did not catch the lurgy. Got a lot of jobs done in the garden, however, planting more onions and early potatoes and lots of seeds in the greenhouse. Also cleared out the shed - a necessary evil. Spent some time photographing birds, flowers and ladybirds. Hard to choose which image represents the day, but I think this little fellow says it best. He kept up an almost ceaseless commentary on all I did from his perch on the birch tree. Not a technically wonderful image, just an ordinary bird, just a quiet day, just a meditative gardener, but then:

Is it so small a thing
To have enjoyed the sun
To have lived light in the spring
To have loved, to have thought, to have done?

Matthew Arnold