Natural

Hey folks.

I went for a walk with my youngest, Y, today.

We heard the differing twitters of secretive birds. Not tweets.

We saw little rings of snowdrops, those harbingers of warm weather, drooping in their loose circlets.

We noticed groups of crocuses: all different colours and in unusual places, surprising us with their cheerful hues.

We strode along cliffs: those thinly-disguised sand dunes next to a near placid sea, and we watched a doleful gathering of purposeful clouds heading for distant houses.

We revisited a reserve in its drab winter garments and surprised ourselves with the glimpse of a solitary swan.

We were greeted by little dogs smiling in the excited way dogs have when they are out with their favourite people.

We saw no children, heard no childish voices, experienced no childish laughter...

The world was our showplace and our classroom, and we breathed fresh, free air. We will remember this day forever...