Yesterday's walk - the Oaks are weeks ahead

I was in the kitchen the other evening when I heard the unmistakable sound of a hot air balloon's burner, as they tried to gain height.  I grabbed my camera and rushed out into the garden, where this balloon was right over the house, and nearly low enough to smell their aftershave!  When mum lived at her cottage in Milo, she was always delighted when the chap with the balloon who lived a few fields away, took advantage of a calm warm day and put the balloon up.  This is the same guy.

In an attempt to finally clear my sinuses, as my cold goes into a 3rd week, I took myself out for what turned out to be a two hour walk, up the steep valley side to Ty Coch, and then around the bridleway loop.  The first Bluebells are out, but I had the camera on the wrong setting, so had to delete the out-of-focus photos.  An obligatory river photo to begin with, down by the Mill.

Above and below: near Carmarthen Lodge, the lane crosses a little stream nowadays, but 100 years ago there was a ford here across this stream, if you wished to continue up the hill, and the MAIN lane went straight on - it is now just a trackway into woodland . . .  One of these days I am going to climb over the gate and go exploring!

Welsh Mountain Ponies and a couple of cobs in the background at Ty Coch farm.  They have plenty to eat, but their feet can't be doing to well in all that mud.

This lovely cottage was derelict for quite a few years, but then property prices improved and it has been done up and more recently, done up again, this time the cement mortar between the stonework replaced with lime mortar, so the walls can breath properly.

Across the fields, a different angle on Bannau Sir Gar, the Carmarthen Fans - the Black Mountain that I take photos of at the top of our hill.

Behind the cottages, I take to the bridleway.

Fiddleheads of ferns ufurling.  In America, various types of fiddleheads were cooked in the spring.  Some are toxic (Bracken for one) so care needs to be taken.

The main bridleway (leading away South from where I joined it.)  This heads over towards a lane which joins up with one to Cwrt Henry.

A good collection of beehives along the hedgerow.  Our builder, Steve, used to have beehives on our top field, as there are plenty of wild cherry trees in the woodland, and our half a dozen apple trees too.

It gives me such pleasure to see the trees getting their leaves.  This year, the sudden warm spell has encouraged the Oaks into leaf and they are FAR ahead of the lazy Ash trees, so let's hope for a good summer, as in recent years they have been neck and neck and it's rained a lot.

The lane ahead . . .

. . . and round the corner, the view across the valley, and an Oak tree springing into life.

Finally, a close up photograph I got right - this is the flower just emerging on the Navelwort.

Right, this won't do, back to the talk on the Dymock Poets I am trying to write.  There's another new post in my ET blog in the sidebar (Dust on the Nettles).