What a week

It has been a week of dodging the downpours on our walks this week.  Not the most auspicious start to May which is usually a glorious month.  We have trudged along an increasingly muddy and squelchy path up to the village with Rosie getting soaked even before she went into the burn and me well wrapped up in waterproofs.

One of the real joys of the walk this week has been the lady's smock (also known as shepherd's purse because of the shape and nature of its seed pods) in the field which borders on to Aber burn, by the Aber Dam bridge. 

 They formed a foam  of pink flowers interspersed with the spiky reed grass.  This flower has a variety of names and was mentioned by Shakespeare in Love's Labours Lost

When daisies pied and violets blue
And lady-smock all silver white
And Cuckoo-buds of yellow hue
Do paint the meadows with delight. 

There have been no cattle in the fields up to the village for the past few months which has allowed the wild flowers to flourish without being trampled into the mud. This has also made walking easier as the path is becoming more compacted.  However, this week's rain has made the path quite boggy again so you'll need boots if you try it this weekend.

Apparently I was rather slow in spotting the swallows this year as a neighbour has reported seeing one a full week before I did.  As we know, one swallow doesn't make a summer and although there are now dozens swooping and swirling around - there is still no sign of summer.