Tom and I left really early to walk the dogs yesterday and were out for our walk before 9am. Incredibly it was still really crowded. I find it hard to believe on this walk, through the horse farm and following the walls of the old mental asylum which is now the prison. We never saw another person and it was the walk we took the dogs on several times a week before the pandemic. Now we have to stop at least ten times to put the dogs back on the lead while a large group of joggers runs past or our latest stress while we are there, mountain bikers! I'm not knocking mountain bikers, eldest daughters partner is an avid one who dreams of him and Scarlett spending time "off road" together when she is a bit older, but surely there must be a better place than a little narrow path through woods and fields. I'm terrified daft Layla who runs around in circles will knock someone off or even worse little Cassie will get caught in the wheels. I think we are going to have to have a complete rethink of where we go walking. Youngest son is always reassuring me "Don't worry Mum, they will all have got bored with this cycling and running soon and be back on a beach in Spain." Much as I am glad people are trying to keep fit, I really hope so!
When we got back I started tidying up in the garden. There was still a lot of debris around from all the windy and rainy weather. I also pruned back some of the large shrubs like our Snowberry and Forsythia which have really grown in the last few weeks. Our garden is full of trees and large shrubs, we get so much pleasure watching them flower each year. We have really noticed everything is very behind this year. Google photos are always reminding me of photos I took a year ago, two years ago and even ten years ago, and everything was much further on a few years ago. My Dad has a beautiful yellow azalea and I photograph it every year. Google was reminding me in the last few weeks of all the beautiful photos of it around the beginning of May but this year it is still only in bud. I suppose it has been very cold this year.
One thing I have noticed is our Whitebeam tree. It is quite a large tree in our garden and I do slightly worry it has got away from us and will cost a fortune to ever prune now but birds love it. It is strange though some years it is a mass of white flowers, covered with bees for weeks and in those years it is covered with red berries in the autumn which the birds love. Some years though, including last year there is not a single flower on it and I am never sure why. This year however, despite all the late frosts, it looks to be covered in buds. It is something that really lifts my spirits, it is so beautiful when in full flower so I am really pleased.
Talking of bees I put our little solar light bee up on the arch yesterday. I love it, it looks so cute bouncing around in the breeze. I'm sure Scarlett will love it and I will get her to give it a name.
