Blackthorn

The forecast suggested that the best of Saturday's weather would be before 11am, so I was up and out before ten for a walk along the Canal.

I was greeted by a bright blue sky and a sun that darted in and out from behind the clouds, a big change from Friday's overcast and grey day. The only downside was that quite a few other people had had the same idea and I shared my towpath with quite a few fluorescent-jacketed cyclists, sundry dog-walkers, energetic joggers and such like.

One grey-haired, pony-tailed gentleman travelling in my direction at a slightly faster speed than me combined the best (or worst?) of all these worlds, wearing a fluorescent jacket, with a dog on a lead, and jogging along (albeit none too quickly)... and coughing with every two or three steps. His jog morphed into a walk, with a few more coughs and throat-clearing along the way, before he resumed his previous gait.

It seemed wise to step off the path into the bushes as he approached - thankfully he was heard before he was seen - and give him time to proceed well on his way before I continued mine. It was during this off-path sojourn that I took some photos of the flowers on the blackthorn bushes. Carpe diem, or something like that!

Stopped off at Haggs Co-op on my way home. Still no fresh veg, not a lot of fruit, but plenty of milk and bread. That's settled then - it's bread and butter pudding for my tea! (In truth, I do have other food in the fridge.)

A Zoom call with friends in the afternoon, and some other bits and pieces done.

British Summer Time starts tomorrow. Lighter nights to enjoy from the comfort of my own home.