A Little Sun

What a difference a little sun makes!  This picture was taken from the scaffolding at Mingary Castle this morning, looking eastwards towards Ben Hiant and Maclean's Nose, on a morning when everyone seemed so much more cheerful than they have been.  It's little wonder people have been low....

....when one looks at recent weather records.  This picture of the display screen of the Vantage Vue weather station kept by Dominic Cooper at Swordle shows that the total rainfall in the period between 1st January and 3rd February was 317.2mm, over twelve inches.

By lunchtime today the sky had started to cloud over but, for the first time since we've returned from holiday, we could see the snow on the tops of Mull's mountains - that's Beinn Talaidh at right.  The warship moving down the Sound with its white ensign streaming was....

....M106, the Sandown Class minehunter HMS Penzance, commissioned back in 1998.  Many thanks to SC in Pier Road, whose view towards the northern entrance of the Sound means she can give us plenty of warning of interesting shipping approaching from that direction.

 To go with the improving weather we have the first snowdrops in flower in the garden.  We'd given up on them a couple of years ago, thinking they'd been eaten by the mice, but they're looking great, and a very welcome sight.