Barbed...

Definition: Capable of wounding

Had a lovely walk directed by Rambling for Pleasure around Reading. A book Mr. O got me for Christmas.
I started with ramble 1: 'Broadmoor Lane and Sonning Village', as the start is not far from home, and the book says it's 3 miles....well... two and a half hours later Jim and I stumble from the undergrowth into the relative gentility of Sonning Village. Sweating, hair standing on end (mine and Jim's), boots caked in mud (mine and Jim's) and my hand stinging from the nettles I fell in on the mile long mud ditch that the book calls a stroll along a remote part of the river!
Apart from the endurance test we had a lovely time.
We met two very nice farmers on Broadmoor Lane who congratulated me on respecting the limitations on access and keeping Jim on a lead (The University own the land and have granted 'permitted path' - but no right of way). They were wearing bullet belts, so I wasn't going to argue with them!
The lanes were lovely, the sun was shining and I've wanted to take a macro of barbed wire for a while (don't ask me why), but you don't see much of it these days.
Apparently barbed wire was first patented in 1867 and was the only fencing that could contain cattle. The fur caught in it could well have been Jim's as he tried to escape the muddy ditch, but it was probably some hapless dim sheep trying to get to the river for a drink.