King of the castle

This was the first time in ages that Gus and I have been for a walk along the estuary in the afternoon/evening.  The lengthening days mean we can enjoy the coast again for his third walk of the day.  It was quieter in the evening than during the day, with all the locals taking good care to maintain a safe distance.  

Here he is on the way back, showing he hasn't forgotten about perching on the flat-topped rock for a treat. With his stiff back legs and painful shoulder, it takes more effort than it used to, and just getting down takes concentration. He remains ever willing to go for his walks and to follow his routines.  The poor chap was just beginning with another tummy upset that later had us up in the night for the second time in three days. I'm changing his morning walk to try and avoid whatever it is that has been upsetting him.

There's a lesson there for us all about changing our routines. Alas, that lesson seemed to be lost on a lot of people who were milling about on the Arnside front when we dropped down at lunchtime for an essential visit to the Chemist.  There were groups of cyclists and others sitting together drinking take-out coffees in the Albion's outdoor seating area, the pub now being closed. Yes, we do need to take our exercise in the open air, but we also need to take extreme care not to put ourselves and others at risk. Arnside has a population extremely vulnerable to the potential ravages of the virus. Knottman2 has been reporting on the good things that are happening within the community as residents rally round to support each other, and we need our visitors too to exercise proper caution.