The things that are joyful, no matter what

Today, walking down the steps on the way to my office, I looked up at the nest underneath the upward flight on my right. Three tiny, perfectly-formed, almost-grown swallows looked right back at me.

I cannot imagine a more wonderful start to the morning.

Here they are this afternoon, when I lurked about taking pictures of them – but not for long, because it seems to make the parents reluctant to return to the nest.