A West Wind

A marked change in the weather today, with a gentle breeze from the west dragging cumulus slowly across an otherwise blue sky, and the temperature soaring over 10ºC.

There's still penty of snow on the hills, as can be seen in this picture of CalMac's Lord of the Isles passing Tobermory lighthouse and Ben Talla on her way south to Oban.

When sunshine touches the land it reveals how brown the grass is. There's no sign of any growth, but perhaps this will change with the new warmth. In the foreground, left, is the jetty and the small bothy called Shore Cottage, while the Community Centre and the houses of Pier Road lie in the middle distance below Ben Hiant.

This crabber bustled up the Sound this morning, swinging wide to come close under the Ormsaigbeg shore. She's WH47, Weymouth-registered Jean Francis, but she's reported as working out of Oban at the moment.

And just after lunch a smart, dark blue motorboat left Kilchoan Bay and turned east to head up Loch Sunart. We don't see many pleasure boats at this time of year as their insurance doesn't cover them, but the owner of this one chose a good year to explore Scotland's west coast in winter. She's pictured passing the perch in the entrance to the bay.