Birthday burning bush

This lovely little tree has never caught my eye before this afternoon, when its flame-coloured leaves stood out behind the massive gunnera on the slopes of Benmore Gardens as the sun began to sink below the hill. On the day when I embarked on another decade (cor!) I enjoyed the company of friends, a wonderful misty morning that melted into the blue-sky sunshine of the afternoon, and the illicit pleasures of cake and bubbly. There were presents and cards from family and close friends, and the greetings of an improbably large number of online friends, many of whom I also know in RL. There were family phone calls and tweets and texts and a wonderfully decorated envelope from my youngest grandchild.

And I began the day with a decision that allowed me to enjoy it to the full, as I shed a regular commitment that travelling and busyness had turned into a burden. Something has to give, I suppose - but not days like today!