Blossom at Kilrenny

We walked in the woods at Kilrenny this morning. It began raining just as we left the house, but it didn’t get heavy.
The birdsong was deafening, and when we walked beside the burn there were house-martins and swifts speeding past us in all directions. It was a joy to watch. So small and fast and accurate. I remember years ago in St Andrews there would be swifts flying up and down market street, at shoulder height. Always busy with shoppers, the trick was not to change direction and carry on as if they weren’t there, as they would speed past you with the accuracy of fighter jets. Quite nerve-wracking.

Maggie and I made sweet potato and parsnip soup today, which went down a treat for our tea. Then Maggie showed me her new deep-sea diving skills in the bath. She’s amazing. At her swimming lessons they are learning to put their heads under water, and she has really got into it. No more cafe in the bath when she would serve me cups of bath water, with milk of course. Now I have to place different things on the bottom of the bath and tell her which I want her to fetch. Jings! I couldn’t do that when I was 30 never mind 3 years.