The last few days have been full of bird sightings: a barn owl at dusk, white wings glowing, as she took a mouse or vole back to her nest; a red-legged partridge sitting on a fence and obviously reluctant to move; and always there are the larks, pouring out their ecstatic song as they fly higher and higher (the photo was taken early this morning, in the interval between Vigils and Lauds). The beauty of the sky has entranced countless generations. Even in popular speech, we talk of "the heavens" and instinctively invest them with a more than natural significance. Astronomy, mathematics, chemistry — all are sciences that have led to a deeper sense of wonder. As the author of this week's podcast remarks, it was contemplating the beauty of the periodic table that first gave her intimations of God.