Springing in?

We went for a walk around the railway paths of North Edinburgh this morning, and saw the bizarre sight of snowdrops and daffodils in flower at the same time. Well, that's bizarre to my eyes which are inexperienced in the sights and sounds of the Scottish seasons, but maybe it's quite normal here. We'll find out as the years go by, no doubt. There was indeed a distinct spring warmness to the air today, which was lovely to experience, and a relief after the bitter north east winds and squally snow showers of the last week or so.

Mainly we shoot down the railways quickly on the bikes, heading out somewhere else, so we miss some of the details. Many of those details are related to the industrial heritage of the area, and the many different uses that buildings and structures have been put over the years. I was particularly fascinated today to see what appear to be industrial size wall ties on the retaining wall next to the Water of Leith in Bonnington. They obviously make quite a welcoming environment for small plants and lichens growing in the crevices of the walls.

The first photo was courtesy of BondBloke, whose photo blog is well worth visiting for those who haven't had a look as yet. But the second photo was taken by my nice little plain Kodak, which I am very proud of indeed, which has already done extremely good service in the short time I've had it squirrelled away in my bag, available for every photo opportunity.

In other news, we are flat hunting again, after a year's respite - this time for "Junior Bond" if one might call him that. Let's hope it doesn't take too long, but I must say that the Scottish offers system is not the least stressful one I have ever experienced. And I was fascinated to read in the Observer a very effective piece by a friend of a friend whose father's academic work is related to the Da Vinci Code court case, although that work clearly had a very obvious personal foundation to it.