Favourite walk

Well the snow didn't last, and the sun actually shone today. Took Kara on her favourite walk around the Den, which was muddy, but bright and beautiful.

The Den is a Site of Special Scientific Interest on account of a rare white millipede that doesn't grow anywhere else. I've never seen the millipede, although I've often looked for it. Apparently it's tiny, so I don't know how they found it in the first place. I am of the view that preserving whole habitats and multi-species eco-systems (achieved at least partly by caring about tiny unfashionable creatures like millipedes which are low down in the food chain) has greater impact over all than getting aerated over large fashionable poster-boy endangered animals like giant pandas.

On the other hand, I don't think that borrowing two millipedes would have cost Scotland millions of pounds, spawned political deals, created trade agreements and increased tourism.

On balance, though, I say three cheers for the quieter achievements of the tiny white millipede.

Read this today, and liked it ... "I am only one, and can only do what one can do; but what one can do, I will do."