Great firs from little fircones grow

There are some magnificent conifers planted near to Ali's house, there are several different varieties. You can tell from all the bits of cone lying scattered around that the squirrels are enjoying eating the mature ones. The strong winds of last week have brought down some immature cones too, of which these are two different examples. They are so beautifully and intricately formed. Another natural miracle. How can a 30 metre high tree come out of one of these?
I had a board meeting this morning which started with coffee and croissants which were much appreciated. I'm not good at 9am starts these days let alone 7.30am rises! There are so many roads closed in Edinburgh just now that I had to take quite a roundabout route. Got there eventually though and the meeting was good.
From there I went to Ali's to take Marvin for a walk before heading over to Gail's to have my hair cut and coloured and generally made ready for my trip next week.
Back home in time to clean up the fish tank and to cook for our new Rector and his wife who came for tea - informal, as opposed to dinner - formal. We had a lovely evening but I'm ready for bed.