Day 32

I haven’t managed to get out much this week but after a fairly manic week, I did manage a sunday stroll. The weather is taking a turn for the better and so although it was a bit windy, it was a fine spring day for it. On the way up the hill, we came across this which had rather spectacularly burst into flower. At bit of internet searching revealed that it is probably a Barberry which produces a fruit that can be used for making jam. So I’ll need to keep an eye out for that later in the year.

The forest is so alive at this time of year. The paths are rapidly drying out and the entire place just rings with birdsong. Today, we also saw the wood sorrel coming into flower.

Most importantly, the bilberries have flowered as well. These are a real staple of the mid-summer. There is nothing like a forest walk fuelled by the occasional foraged bilberry. Ardagh woods aren’t quite high enough for the bilberries to really flourish but they do well enough for a bit of a picking. Anyway, that is all to look forward to in a couple of months.

Anyway, we had a nice gentle walk. I’m hoping to get one or two more walks in before the next stage of my canal epic which I have planned for next Friday. It would be good to have hit the third-way point a couple of weeks early.