First walk on the moor since winter

I had the usual annoying night with knee pain but decided I just had to get myself moving more despite it all.

After I’d made some courgette, pea and mint soup to have cold tonight, I made a courgette, aubergine, mushroom, chickpea and tomato curry, and started the spices for the spiced basmati rice to have tonight when Chris comes. She’s had her daughter and grandchildren from the south to stay for a week so I thought she’d be glad of a break from cooking. We’ll have the strawberries we picked yesterday as well.

This afternoon Mr C drove me along to the gate at Pennystane Lane so that I could take my “sensitive knees” up to the moor for the first time since winter. What were small hills in the past were quite arduous today as it was very humid and I’d lost fitness but I took the lower carriage drive as far as Physic Lonnen gate then headed up the path to the top carriage drive. The flies were horrible. Chris’s son had said 2 weeks ago the heather was out but he must have mistaken the ling for heather as it’s just starting with none of the gorgeous honey smell yet. I carried on to the woods and took the carriage drive down rather than shorter, steeper and more uneven paths. When I got to the field it was frustrating to see masses of mushrooms on the other side of the barbed wire. I only got one on my side. They are very early.

I was quite tired when I got back as it was 9000 steps and 3.5 miles. Mr C was not pleased with me as he thinks I’ll have done damage.

I made a collage of my walk pictures but also I wanted to include the photo from yesterday’s Guardian. The 67 year old man holding it was arrested as police said he was supporting a proscribed organisation, Palestine Action. It was actually a copy of a cartoon from Private Eye magazine. People in Gaza are dying from starving - adults, children and babies. Yet our government still does nothing. I don’t know if we actually provide arms to Israel but we do facilitate their use and do nothing to stop the genocide.