First cuckoo of spring this morning.

There are about the same number of astronomical units in a light year as there are inches in a mile. (63,240 against 63,360, a difference of 0.2% .)

So if you made a scale model of the solar system with the Earth one inch from the Sun, Alpha Centauri would be over 4 miles away.

An augury

Got home from town and was just turning into my front path, when a hawk flew down with a smaller bird in its talons, and landed on the lawn. The hawk clawed at its prey for a couple of seconds, but must have been put off by my presence, because the small bird escaped and flew off. The hawk pursued it, but it got away.

This means something good, right?