A flash of red ...

It caught my eye as I went up the garden path - this flash of red from the otherwise bare japonica in the brambly corner behind the silver birch, where the general jagginess means the ivy goes untrimmed and flying crisp packets come to roost.

When I went to look, I saw also the sprouts of growth on the bare branches and realised that this, in fact, is this shrub's moment of glory. And that, best beloved, is why it's having my blip today.