Lambs Gone

Before the big storms came this week, the Crook o' Lune was looking glorious. Matthew and I trotted off there one evening to see how big the lambs had got. We thought we'd explore a little bit first, though. I'm trying to guard against us becoming bored of doing the same walks all the time because I'm sinking back into laziness – you'll have gathered this because these 'daily' walks are not so daily at the moment! They will be again though, I'll fix it.

So, we decided to stay up high today. There's a path that doesn't go straight down to the river and we stayed on this to see what we could find.   

It looked like it might take us around the same valley, just higher up, but I wasn't sure. Paths that we've never tried out before are the best. I was dead excited! It was the type of evening that made me imagine I was in Lord of the Rings or something, out on a quest. Matthew humours me when we're on quests, but when there are no Pokemon involved, he's not all that interested in pretending to be a hobbit or an elf.

All imagining was forgotten instantly, though, when we spotted the big screen across the other side of the river. A drive-in movie theatre! Has this been here the whole lockdown? It can't have been because we haven't seen it before. 'What is it?' says Matthew, 'aliens??' I don't know what he was thinking there – why would it be aliens?!

I've always wanted to go to a drive-in, ever since I can remember first watching Grease!

'Stranded at the drive-in, branded a fooooool, what will they saaaaaay, Monday at schoooooool ...'

Brilliant! I'd be Danny – I'm definitely not a Sandy.

We considered sitting on one of these benches to watch the film, but we wouldn't have been able to hear it, and also I was supposed to be exercising for my back. Must get strong again!

Incidentally, these benches are carved with river scenes. They're really lovely.

So, we ignored the big screen and strode off along this very inviting path. What a splendid assortment of fields! These were very nice fields indeed, and I hoped our path would allow us to tramp through a couple of them. It occurred to me this evening that, although we've seen a great many fields now, we haven't walked through many at all – we've usually been on paths next to them. I think that's because I don't know the rules about fields. Are you allowed to walk through any field? What if it's got a locked gate? I was going to ask, what if it's got a bull in it? But I would never walk through a field with a bull in it – that's craziness.

And then we found ourselves walking properly through this very nice field. I loved it. Matthew just shrugged when I asked if he liked it. It was just a field with grass in it and no animals, but I thought it was wonderful. It wouldn't make my list of favourite fields because it's a bit cut off – you can't see the river because there's a bend in the path, but I did think I might like to have a picnic in this field.

Anyhow, we soon came to the other side of the field, and, sadly, it just led to the road that we'd driven on to get here. I did know we were heading in the road direction, but I'd hoped the path would take us up into those other fields. We saw half a rabbit, but I'm not showing you that – Auntie Trish wouldn't like it at all. There was no gore or anything, but it definitely wasn't a full rabbit, and I don't know where the other half went. Best not to speculate!

We headed back through the field, and then we noticed that there was a gate at the bottom. 'Shall we go and see the lambs that way, Matthew?' says I. So we did. I thought about skipping down the hill, but skipping was how I slipped my disc the first time, and also I suspected I might do a little bit of wee if I tried that sort of malarkey, so I didn't bother.

Here's what we saw when we got to the gate. Ooooh, as views go, that's not a bad one, eh? I don't really need to say anything about it – let's just admire it for a minute or two.

That's not the river you see glinting in the middle ground, by the way. That's a spot of flooding from last week. Also, what you can't see between here and the big puddle is all the sheep poo. We had to navigate our way across the field through all the poo – neither of us stood in any, which was quite an achievement.

It was all going on around here this evening. A drive-in, a bit of a bonfire, and there was also music – I think it was Bon Jovi – coming from somewhere among the trees. It sounded like a street party. Not at all what you expect at the Crook o' Lune, but rather nice all the same. It made me smile, anyway. Signs of life! Don't get me wrong, I'm not really into joining in anymore, and I think the lockdown has made me even more of a hermit than I already was, but I still like to observe signs of life, even if I'm not invited.

Signs of flooding along the river bank. The first time we came to see the lambs (and the geese) many weeks ago, Matthew followed some of them down onto a ledge here and it seemed very solid. I certainly didn't pay much attention to him because he's not a clumsy or accident-prone young person and there didn't really seem much chance of the bank caving in. To be fair, it's not very deep here and he can swim a bit, so he would've been fine – if a bit shocked – if he had fallen in. Well anyway, the ledge has gone, as you can see. I wondered at first if I was mistaken and that Matthew's ledge was somehere else, but it wasn't. 

So, the lambs. Well, these are not they. These are clearly the mums, only they look a bit smaller because they've been sheared quite recently. We did know the day would come when we'd visit only to find that the lambs had gone, and that was today. We'll move swiftly on, eh, since we all know where the lambs have gone? I think that's best – especially since Auntie Trish is vegetarian.

We were a bit tired already – probably the muggy weather – so we decided to head back to the car. I'd never noticed before that there's a rope swing on that tree. When the river's a bit lower and I can reach it, do you think I should have a dangle? It's only water if I fall in, eh? Doesn't matter at all if I get soaked because I've got a new tumble dryer.

Here's the flood water. We've had two thunderstorms since this walk, so I'd imagine this puddle is much bigger now. I don't remember thunderstorms like this since I was about eight. Has everyone else had thunder this week? Glorious! I do love a bit of lightning.

More evidence of flooding – this little gulley didn't look like this last time we were here. That puddle was obviously a lot bigger a few days ago because it looks like it drained away down here. Awesome! Or is it bad? It could be bad, eroding the river bank. Ah. Climate change in action.

We pootled back up through the trees, not venturing onto the bridge today because we were both yawning and ready to go home. That's a bit strange isn't it, yawning when you're outside and having a walk? But it's a thing – I've yawned on lots of walks. I wish I was one of those people who never gets tired and always has tons of energy. I suspect it's my diet and I eat too many carbs. Shall I cut them out and see what happens? I might do.

The car park was starting to fill up when we got back to the car – probably getting on for dogging time, so it was good that we were leaving.

Until tomorrow, young 'uns.

WQ