The North Downs

Today was extremely uplifting. Omar the tortoise came out of her long sleep and walked across the lawn to live in her summer abode. It's great to see her out and about. I transported the guinea pig trio to the run to mow the lawn and they enjoyed a great scamper and nibble through the grass.

Fred and I escaped London on the train to Boxhill. While figuring out our lefts and rights, a huge red admiral butterfly alighted on the railway bridge. I was surprised to see one so magnificent so early (is it early for butterflies?) but further along the walk a brimstone fluttered by us and a couple of small brown butterflies flitted to and fro. The bumblebees were also out and about.

On top of Boxhill, with magnificent views south across Dorking and Gatwick, we joined the many folk sitting on the grass and sunworshipping. It's very nice of the National Trust to have a cafe up there. Fed and watered, we headed across the ridge where I was stopped in my tracks by the sight of a mouse bounding over the leaf litter. It wasn't just any old mouse, but a lovely glowing brown mouse with a white belly and a darker stripe down its back. It wasn't small, either, but I think gerbil-sized. We watched it climb a tree with nimble dexterity and disappear into its trunk. I did a happy dance. I'm afraid I was too mesmerized to capture it on camera and I'm still stumped as to its identity. A field mouse, perhaps, or a yellow-necked mouse (more likely given its size), but the stripe down its back puzzles me.

We followed the ridge down into the Happy Valley, which is a mossy, wooded oasis from the continuous drone and buzz of the M25. I spied another mouse in the ivy - all bunched up and quite reddish and fluffy, but in the blink of an eye he was gone. I had the theory that our shadows fell like raptors on the undergrowth causing the small creatures to scuttle, which then caused me to look. I saw only the one mouse in the valley, but I heard many more small rustlings.

Then it was up, up, up White Hill from where, our internet guide said, our way down depended on which pub we were travelling to. We chose the steepest route (not intentionally) and found ourselves by the River Mole in no time. Walking by the riverbank, I thought that it was a kingfisher habitat due to the low-lying branches of the trees. As soon as that thought formed, a flash of electric blue soared into my eye-view and disappeared down the river. I did yet another dance of joy.

We didn't head to the pub, but straight to the train at Leatherhead since the sun was setting. I can highly recommend the walk if you're ever in the area.

Back in London and walking up the hill to the flat, we puzzled at two stars shining so very brightly. I tapped my Star Walk app, found Orion's Belt for reference and tried to figure out the stars' identities. While I was faffing about, we met someone else trying to figure out what the two stars were. Eventually, I realized that I wasn't looking at stars at all, but at planets! Jupiter and Venus, no less. I have a fascination with being able to see planets with the naked eye. How wonderful!