The Encounter that Wasn't.

Today’s walk took me through a field where some of the local sheep are now domiciled with their very young lambs. I kept my distance of course because sheep can be susceptible to stress if alarmed, but at one point a couple of the kiddies came dashing towards me, evidently intent upon making friends. They would have had a friend, too, because I’ve never touched a lamb and it strikes me as rather a splendid thing to do.

But then, as they were within half a pace (credit to Albert and the 'Eadsman), there came an impassioned bleating from my right. Mother was obviously alarmed, and mothers are not known to be trusting creatures when there are strange men about (and who can blame them?) The lambs hesitated but briefly before obeying mother, and the chance was gone.

I did see a coot today, though, on the hidden pool-in-the-wood that I mentioned a couple of weeks ago. It was the first coot I’ve seen in this locality, since the nearest lake – the usual habitat of coots – is about a mile away across the river valley. So that was some little compensation (but not quite enough.)