Evening Royal Botanical Gardens

The sun stays up for so long now, by the time I'm home it still feels like it's only three o'clock. So I grab the camera and head outside again, a book in hand, in search of a sunny spot.

Sunny Water of Leith.

The river side is already getting shady, so I continue down Water of Leith towards the Botanical Gardens. A tree in full bloom stops me in my tracks, and I spy on the busy bumble bees, and breathe in the smell of white blossom.

The epitome of spring!

Too windy to sit on the large lawns... I stick to the river, and I am rewarded with another blooming tree, which turns out to be a hotspot for evening bird activity.

A female bullfinch, munching on the blossom.

A super-fortunate shot of a singng wren!

Perching briefly before disappearing into the undergrowth.

It gets cooler, so I cut my way home through the Botanical Gardens. It is quiet, there is me, the squirrels, and the wind.

Standing under this tree in the wind is like listening to a thousand tibetan prayer flags rustling over your head.

Takeoff.

And a delightful adventure appears - a cat, snoozing in the sun. It does not mind being bothered; quite the opposite, it is rejuvenated, and launches an attack on a ferocious twig.

'Mine, my own... my precioussss...'

The light does not disappear until eight nowadays... long, sunny, but chilly evenings in the North!