Finally I’ve got around to creating the Paws for Thought blog.  Walking the dogs (I’ll introduce you to them later) everyday gives you plenty of time to ponder about life and I’m planning to recall the more interesting ones here.  Its not as boring as you may think – of course you get the chance to tune in with nature, you come across fascinating characters and find interesting flotsom and jetsom.    

Only yesterday, I came across three lads armed with air rifles who were obviously on the lookout for target practise.  They were redeemed, in my eyes, by their dogs, a trio of labs.  After a quick hello, I walked on, feeling rather uncomfortable, questioning my decision to walk in this particular woodland and on my own.  This was reinforced on the way back when Massey started barking, alerting to me to someone else walking through the undergrowth on his own and minutes later I heard gunshots – the lads had found something to shoot at.  And by this time my imagination was in overdrive. 

I regret the harmless (I hope) intrusion as it was such a nice afternoon after the bitterly cold Easter weekend.  The wind had finally dropped, the sky crystal clear and Spring felt as if it was just around the corner.  I love this walk at this time of the year as the flowers are starting to emerge from the undergrowth.  The primroses and the occassional violet are on the edges of the paths, and I even saw a few early wood anemones revealing their white flowers.  I was rather perturbed to see a few bluebells out; this is at least a month early -  I usually start to see them at the beginning of May, climaxing at the end of the month.  Are we to expect more of these unusual flower combinations in the future thanks to global warming?  The funny thing is that I don’t regard this winter as being a particularly warm one – is age creeping up on me and I feel the cold more than I used to?