First

... butterfly of the season. I know it's a fritillary, maybe pearl-bordered? It was a long way away and I had the wrong lens on, so the photo is massively cropped. Don't bother viewing large. I saw a couple of yellow swallowtails too, but they weren't going to hang about to be photographed. And many spring flowers, but they were a bit too similar to other recent blips -- see extras below. Also I couldn't resist one of those repetitive vine photos ...

Yesterday evening we went to the local restaurant for the first time in many months, for a joint celebration of weight loss (me) and royalty payments (S). It might seem a bit counter-intuitive to celebrate a diet by going to a restaurant, but the cuisine here is very light. Red pepper bavarois with salad and marinated anchovies, grilled bream and vegetables, strawberries with crispy biscuits and ::gasp:: cream! All delicious and not very sinful.  Sadly we were the only people there all evening :( However I am sure it will get busier as summer approaches.

PS today my ears are in the Basque country. Wish I was too :)