You can be my Mum!

Started day at supermarkets early - gruesome but necessary and good job done.

After lunch I went to recce part of a walk I'm leading next week. En route to Nunwick I entered a field of sheep and this little one made a beeline (or should that be a lambline?) for me and started butting and demanding food. It kept on and on. The mother was nearby but could not weight bear on one front leg and her udder was grossly swollen. The lamb followed me across the field and tried to climb through the fence to be with me. Konrad Lorenz eat your heart out I thought.

I returned home by way of the farmhouse and called. It turns out that the lamb is being handreared which explains its behaviour.

I did a friendly and hopefully effective bit of negotiation about all the gates and fences I had had to climb on the public footpath. The farmer has promised to leave spare bailer twine out so we can cut if necessary and then re-tie. I've promised we won't let the animals get into the wrong field. No point getting all holier than thou and telling him he should have gates that work -very few do on this farm.

Walked nearly 8 miles by default......... Beautiful weather today. Saw my first primroses too.