When the weather is fine, our early evening walks are transformed. I love the feeling of warm earth and stones beneath my feet and the way the late afternoon sun softens everything it touches. The dogs and I can take things at a gentler pace than in the morning, apart from the Edinburgh Boy who is still young enough to go off at full tilt in pursuit of anything that catches his attention.
Our usual route leads us along a wide stream that feeds into the River Exe and, in May, there are swathes of bluebells along the banks. Twenty minutes or so into the walk, we reach the dogs' favourite swimming spot, where they cool down, retrieve sticks or just stand in the water, looking into the distance. And I am more than happy to sit watching them. Each of us, in our own way, in that moment, wholly content, with no wish to be anywhere else other than here, now.
Just gorgeous. One big thing I still miss about moving away from the village where I used to live is my old dog-walking route: the miles and miles of bluebell woods and the riverbank along which she and I used to wander morning and evening. Seeing this has brought it all back and I am wallowing in nostalgia.
Posted by: Juliet | 13 May 2008 at 09:34 AM