First flower

A damp start to the day, but I spent some time this morning raking leaves around the house and tipping them down the bank from the deck, rather than barrowing them all down the drive and taking them round behind the garage into the new leaf mould box. Hopefully some will stay on the bank and rot down - the remainder will eventually find their way down to the bottom where I can collect them up more easily. 

Decided to go out for a walk this afternoon, but as I opened the front door I noticed this hellebore in flower - Helleborus niger, the first flower of the year in the garden. My Blip today. I walked along Ardconnel Road and back along Duncraggan Road - parallel roads along the hillside, both with views over the bay and over to Mull. Fresh snow on the Mull mountains today, though the clouds were down and it wasn't very clear - one of these is my extra today.

A very brief flurry of snow this afternoon - just a few minutes - but maybe a sign of things to come!