London Calling... a Carter-Johnson year abroad: Spring Time comes to Swan Lane Open Space (Happy Birthday, Dad!)

Happy Birthday, Dad!

In celebration of your birthday, I decided to take Kiwi out for a walk, and send you some photos of how I spent 'your day' on the other side of the ocean.

The path through Swan Lane Open Space

I took Kiwi out for a quick walk to the Swan Lake Open space today, having not wandered that way in a month or so.

The blossoms were out in full bloom!

Clearly, it appears that springtime has indeed arrived here in London.

Trees laden with blossoms

I wish I could capture the scent for you... the faint sweetness of the blooms that seems to linger somewhere on the back of the tongue. There is also the slight scattering of petals under the trees, a scatter that I know will turn into a carpet of colour after the next rainfall.

white and pink against a blue cloudless sky

There was also the sound: the faint buzz of the giant bumblebees floating from blossom to blossom, so heavy that the branches would bob slightly under their weight. I stood under this tree for ages, hoping to catch a bee at work, but each time I snapped a shot, the bee would move on, leaving a blur in its wake!

Small patches of crocuses and daffodils were sending their shoots up from the earth, leaving the park with splashes of colour everywhere.

Crocuses peeking through

beds of daffodils

watching the duck pond

Then I wandered over by the Duck Pond...or, as we often think of it "the Kiwi-watering-hole".

Another sign of spring is that someone has come by to cut back all of the growth from last year: the bullrushes and lilies have been pared down.

Ducks hanging out...

Nonetheless, I was cautious! I can't tell you how many times a walk in the park has ended with the dog covered in mud from this watering hole.

Today, I kept her on the leash. She was none too happy to be separated from this spot of dog-desire, but I think the ducks were happy enough to have her stay on her own side of the beach.

the cedars and cypress trees in the park

After that, I took Kiwi over the more forested part of the park and let her off the leash.

She loves chasing squirrels up these trees.

birds out hunting worms

There were also birds hanging around in the grass. Ordinarily, she would be in hot pursuit of them, but today she was distracted: she found a ball that had been abandonned by some other dog. As you well know, there is nothing that can compete with her love a game of fetch!

Here are a few action shots for you of Kiwi playing with the ball. Her ability to catch the ball in mid-air remains stellar!