Jasmine and Jasper

They are regular's at Tesco in Oban. At first we saw only Jasmine, her name supplied by the woman working the cafe till.

"So the duck is called Jasmine?", I asked the security guard, seeking confirmation from a second source. "Jasper", he pronounced. Oh?

"A boy? Have you checked?". He stared at me, in the way a only a security guard can stare. "It's a duck. It's pretty obvious when it's male".

I returned to the car park and saw the pair together, almost using the zebra crossing. That's probably one animal too many in this tale.

Clearly skilled at avoiding paparazzi, I managed few shots of them together. This is the best my old zoom-less iPhone could manage.

We've stocked up with food and are taking the van to Islay for a few days paddling. The ferry is very busy in the approach to Easter and while the booking office said there was no space on the first sailing, the port office reckons they can squeeze us on. We're in the queue.

I've swapped my Nordkapp for a new Valley Etain, a little too big for me, but which I'm looking forward to trying.