A walk in spring
Yesterday the sun shone, the sky was blue and there was warmth in the air. Older son and his fiancée were visiting for the weekend. We had been eating chocolate brownies. A pub meal was planned for the evening. There was no doubt that a good walk would even things up a bit.
We walked straight from the house, up the track and out onto the hills to walk a huge curve which would bring us along the other side of our valley and eventually back up the hill home.
From the top we could look down on the holiday cottage and you can even see the shepherd's hut in the corner of the field. You can't see the house from here as it is tucked away in the trees.
The hills are just beginning to green although the trees are stubbornly bare and the bracken has yet to sprout.
Hugh and Lindsay stride out and I, theoretically the leader of this walk, just about manage to keep up. It is much wetter up here than I had expected and Hugh who isn't wearing walking boots gets his feet quite wet in his lighter trail shoes. The snow has all gone now but I suppose the ten foot drifts have disappeared by soaking deep into the hill.
The hill is alive with lambs. Impossibly sweet, they bleat and run and lie sleepily in the sun.
From a distance this figure seems alive too but get closer and she is truly disconcerting. I have no idea why she stares into the wind, snug in her high viz jacket.
As we come down a little on the far side of our valley we attract the attention of alpacas and llamas. Well, the alpacas aren't that interested.
But the llamas get quite carried away.
Aren't they fabulous with their shaggy fringes, soulful eyes and soft noses? They have rather odd teeth but we shall pass over that today.
Shaggy highland cattle have even longer, shaggier fringes.
As we begin the climb up from the river in the bottom of the valley, the banks on either side of the track are full of celandine and wood anemones.
So for three hours we are out in the sun and the breeze, surrounded by new life. I think we have earned our pub meal. Scampi and chips and good company. I do love spring.
Thanks to Ian for many of the photographs.
BlogPress from my iPad
We walked straight from the house, up the track and out onto the hills to walk a huge curve which would bring us along the other side of our valley and eventually back up the hill home.
From the top we could look down on the holiday cottage and you can even see the shepherd's hut in the corner of the field. You can't see the house from here as it is tucked away in the trees.
The hills are just beginning to green although the trees are stubbornly bare and the bracken has yet to sprout.
Hugh and Lindsay stride out and I, theoretically the leader of this walk, just about manage to keep up. It is much wetter up here than I had expected and Hugh who isn't wearing walking boots gets his feet quite wet in his lighter trail shoes. The snow has all gone now but I suppose the ten foot drifts have disappeared by soaking deep into the hill.
The hill is alive with lambs. Impossibly sweet, they bleat and run and lie sleepily in the sun.
From a distance this figure seems alive too but get closer and she is truly disconcerting. I have no idea why she stares into the wind, snug in her high viz jacket.
As we come down a little on the far side of our valley we attract the attention of alpacas and llamas. Well, the alpacas aren't that interested.
But the llamas get quite carried away.
Aren't they fabulous with their shaggy fringes, soulful eyes and soft noses? They have rather odd teeth but we shall pass over that today.
Shaggy highland cattle have even longer, shaggier fringes.
As we begin the climb up from the river in the bottom of the valley, the banks on either side of the track are full of celandine and wood anemones.
So for three hours we are out in the sun and the breeze, surrounded by new life. I think we have earned our pub meal. Scampi and chips and good company. I do love spring.
Thanks to Ian for many of the photographs.
BlogPress from my iPad
Location:United Kingdom
Oh what a lovely post, so fresh and full of energy - I trust the pub meal lived up to expectations. LoL xx
ReplyDeleteThe pub meal is always reliably yum!
DeleteThanks for a mini vacation and sharing all the sights! Warmer weather here today in Colorado so I was able to pot up some pansies that had been kept safe in the house since March 19. At that time I thought I'd be able to put them out, but we had storm after storm and quite low temperatures for this time of the year. Now I hope we are starting our 5th spring as I saw it on Face Book! Have a beautiful week.♥♫
ReplyDeleteWe have spring at last here but the temperatures are all over the place this week.
DeleteLovely walk Elizabeth!
ReplyDeleteAlpacas and 'heelan coos'.. you have captured two of my favourites here! Beautiful shots of the llamas too.
You have a weakness for shaggy animals then, as I do!
DeleteThanks for inviting me on your walk, I enjoyed the outing!
ReplyDeleteYou are most welcome.
DeleteGreat post . . . amazing views . . . I wished I was hiking right along with you . . . encouraging myself to endure the challenges and ending with a great pub meal.
ReplyDeleteI would love to show you it all Lynne.
DeleteSounds lovely - and no snow at last. And no spitting from the llamas - definitely a plus!
ReplyDeleteNo, the llamas were doing their sweet and innocent act this time!
DeleteThanks for sharing your walk - it is lovely seeing signs of spring, lambs and flowers!
ReplyDeleteThe signs of spring are so welcome. We seem to have waited for a long time!
DeleteOh I adore wood anemones. That scarecrow is quite terrifying!
ReplyDeleteThe figure is very strange isn't it? I am not sure whether I find it frightening but I certainly find it disconcerting.
DeleteWhat a wonderful walk with some lovely photos. The lambs are gorgeous. I don't know much about llamas and alpacas; it's interesting to see them. And the wild flowers are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThe wildflowers are very lovely round here. The wood anemones are everywhere.
DeleteAh, what a perfect walk. I cannot tell you just how glad I am that you took us along.
ReplyDeleteReally pleased you enjoyed it.
DeleteBeautiful place you live in I always enjoy your pictures of the surroundings. I like the alpacas and the llamas, with those 80's style haircut! I won't say a word on the plastic woman's haircut though.
ReplyDeleteAlberto.
I thought she might be emulating the llamas Alberto.
DeleteAnd here is me still trying to keep up with the curtains, around which I avoided wine and measured twice. Can you please add a segment on tie backs? Now, can you also explain the difference between a llama and an alpaca? I thought they were the same animal and almost believed they had heads instead of tails, but never mind that. 'Me llama alpaca' I have always imagined one of their Peruvian cousins saying if I ever got to Peru, where one of my ancestors - very distant and many times removed - was Emperor for a short time in 1821, or thereabouts. He wrote fine romantic poetry, apparently, but whether about curtains or alpacas, I know not. Glad you are having fun.
ReplyDeleteI see your question about the difference between llamas and alpacas is thoroughly answered below. I know all sorts of things I didn't know now!
DeleteLlamas have such wonderful characterful faces.
ReplyDeleteI had friends for lunch on Saturday and we went out to a local garden after we had eaten. Wonderful to feel the warmth of the sun at long last.
We have had a couple of days in london where it was actually hot. I had forgotten about hot.
DeleteLucky you! And lucky me too, thanks to your sharing here -- that was a lovely walk.
ReplyDeleteIt was lovely. I am glad you enjoyed it.
DeleteFor Fennie particularly:
ReplyDeleteAlthough llamas and alpacas are both members of the camelid family, there are many differences between them. First of all is their appearance. Alpacas are much smaller in stature than llamas. Alpacas have samller, pointed ears, while llamas have long banana shaped ears. Alpacas body shape is different, their backs are slightly rounded and their tails are sloped down from their backs. A llama should have a flat, level back with the tail placed right off the end of the back.
Next is their fiber. Alpacas can be huacaya or suri and the fiber is generally very soft and abundant. Llamas can be light, medium, or heavy wool and they can be silky or suri, some llamas have very high quality soft fiber and others have lower quality coarse fibre.
They are used for very different things. Llamas are gentle animals and easy to train. They can be stand-offish, but with a little training they are truly wonderful animals. They can be used for packing, for livestock guardians for sheep and goats (llamas have been known to kill coyotes when necessary), they make good companions for other herd animals (like horses, etc.), and they can be taught to do obstacle courses, llama limbo, etc. They make excellent packers in delicate wilderness areas because they have padded feet that do very little damage to the surroundings.
Alpacas are mainly used for fiber and for showing. They are generally not quite as easy to train as llamas and tend to be more skittish. (sourced from the Web)
Comments are good to have - I only wish more folk would comment on mine.
wow! I never knew you were an expert. Thank you so much. I shall never be unsure again!
DeleteI'm glad I stopped by today...I enjoyed sharing your walk.
ReplyDeleteHI and welcome to the blog. Glad you enjoyed the walk.
DeleteI can just imagine how wonderful the air must have been on the day you took your walk. It would have been wonderful to have had the sounds as well as the pictures - the wind, the birds, the sound of the dry grass underfoot. Lovely post!
ReplyDeleteThe sounds are lovely at this time of year because the birds are really beginning to sing.
DeleteElizabeth, I will take time to enjoy reading this post tomorrow, but tonight wonder if you have sent me an email. I received something today that may or may not have been sent by you.
ReplyDeletexo
Sorry Frances. It looks like my email account has been hacked. Sorry you have been troubled.
DeleteWow! What amazing countryside you have around you! And all those sweet animals! What a wonderful place to go for a walk~
ReplyDelete