The morning is milder and pearlescent. Not yet iridescent. The air is fresh and cool on my skin. I feel good, well rested and stride along the greenway with a spring in my step watching the birds and breathing the day in.

I came across this feather on my morning commute. It’s long and black but flip it over and I love the way it shimmers with unexpected colour: green apatite, blue sapphire, purple amethyst and burnished gold. Turns out it’s from a magpie, probably the tail. I’d never seen one so close up before to fully appreciate how wonderfully iridescent they are.

Lunch outside. Campus is looking quite splendid in its spring livery of mauve and creamy white.