The translucent pink of this magnolia against the gorgeous mid-afternoon blue prompted me to buy some new batteries, reload my Lumix and head out to grab a few snaps before the fading of the sun. I needn’t have hurried: five hours later, that fading has only just begun.

Worryingly, for all of those five hours, Sugar Magnolia by the Grateful Dead has been playing on a continuous loop inside my head. It’s a nice enough track, but I really hope it, too, decides to fade soon.