Meandering

How had I ever forgotten this feeling? Like Snow White, as the bluebird lands on her hand... Oh, now I'm all distracted from the story. I'm exploring public right-of-way paths in my tour of everywhere. I walked 13 miles yesterday and met some donkeys (the highlight!) Today it's the sheep and lambs (beautiful), but the dog tried to say hello whilst I was far away thinking. Mummy sheep stamped her foot and I've caught my elbow on some barbed wire... but that's not the story. However, now I'm through the fields and near a road and there are two fire engines parked up and they are attending a scene. There’s a hose and a faint smell of smoke, and I'll have to walk through it to avoid straying onto private property. My intended poem has drifted quite far away... The dog is trying to run over like he has always dreamed of being a fireman, so I ask if I'm okay to exit this way (I don't tell them I'm two miles into a walk with no other exits), but they say it's fine. It's just a smoking generator. Now I'm in a new farm and will have to lift the dog over a stile. Hmm, a sign: "animals in field." I prefer a fence between us - it's just more sheep and lambs. Slightly out of my comfort zone proximity-wise. If the next field has cows then I'm in trouble. No, it's okay. It's a beautiful country lane. I should check where I am but I'll just carry on walking and see where I end up. (I'm not in the habit of following maps for walks like this, just making decisions from the next reference point and allowing time.) I'm rather enamoured by the timber-fronted cottages, and I've found a church - annoyingly it's now a house. I was hoping to wander round the graveyard. It really is very pretty. I've encountered another stile - big iron one, which I can squeeze past. I thought I heard a cow then... It's just machinery. My exit is another bridge (I didn't mention the last one). But there's a car park and oh... golf buggies, and men saying either good morning or looking at me like I'm a fool. (They are both right.) Let's get out of here without straying onto the green. The dog shows no interest in getting into golf when he grows up. I'm proud of him. Maybe I'll get him a fireman's hat because he's a good, brave boy. It's very lovely here, but I'm worried someone will shout "fore" so I'll follow another public footpath sign. The trees look perfect for treehouses... Oh, I'm still on the golf course - the 9th tee. Bizarrely, this feels the most lost to civilisation of my walk. I'm so going to climb a fence if necessary. But it's not necessary. Hmm. This path looks too unfrequented, but there are still signs. I'll follow them. Birds are twittering. I'm balancing on wooden beams to cross muddy patches. The dog is delighted by the new smells. Ahh, a sign! It has the name of the village I want on, and I'm just 1.25 miles away... There is a cute-looking coppice the other way though. I'll look there first. A leaf fell from a tree like it was waiting for me, and ferns are being frondy, and I could almost be someone without a care in the world. I suppose I can be that person - for the moments in-between. And what I was going to tell you, was that I wore my husband's jumper when I sat in the garden this morning, and when he saw me he said, "You look cute," and it kinda made my day. Distance covered: 5 miles.