Do you feel lucky?

      In the present situation I certainly do and I've just realised how lucky we are to live where we do. The penny dropped today on the morning walk with the two terriers. It suddenly dawned on me that I have a vast acreage of private farm land to wander over with the two of them and on the vast majority of walks I see nobody, if I do see anybody it's a farmer in the cab of his tractor who gives a wave and gets on with his business while fiddling with his GPS and finding his favourite music on Spotify.

     Despite the situation everybody is in with lockdowns and all of the orders, rules and regulations when you are out of the town, city or even the village in empty countryside you begin to realise precisely how lucky you are to have pretty well all of this to yourself.
      Amazingly and despite the cold and frosty mornings the cowslips are starting to push through and the plum blossom is beginning to brighten the somewhat stark trees, that will be swiftly followed by the pear blossom and the apple blossom. Then we've got the season of plenty to look forward too, that'll bring a little cheer too.

       The stands of poplars are showing their strange rather scruffy red blossom and the reed is beginning to show on the dyke sides and incredibly the deepest land drains are still flowing with clear water despite no rain of any substance for a three weeks, meanwhile the land is like concrete and cracking already. The big dry fields are looking like a strange terracotta moonscape.

      In these nervous and troubled times you have to feel very, very lucky to walk out of the house and cross the lane into this peaceful loneliness every day and not be faced with an overpopulated sea of brick and concrete trying to keep your distance from other people and even if it was pouring down it would still be a pleasure.
      Yes, we are both lucky, very lucky.