Derbyshire 126 - Day 72, week 11, horse racing starts at Newcastle - Hump time again

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After a poor nights sleep the night before last I hoped for better last night . My mind was full of coming home things. Disappointment but relief . Relief to have got around London with its traffic . Relief at getting up the M1. All that washing to be done . Before I fell asleep so many thoughts were swirling round my head . I would have been reliving the highlights of the trip we had just completed . I would have lain in the bath for hours soaking up the feeling I had missed by only have showers. I would have enjoyed by simple meal of beans on toast and egg and chips . I would have wandered around the house wondering how I managed in a small but functional kitchen . And then today would have been emptying day . Emptying the grey water tanks , the toilet casette , taking out the washing and putting it in the machine. Remembering to look in the cupboards to remove food . We would be looking round the garden to see what had grown, what had gone over and what we had missed . Then there would be catching up on TV. So many thoughts whirring round my head.

When I woke they still had not gone . I remembered what it was like to sleep in Gabby and then to come home and sleep in my own bed. The light looks different in Gabby . It was streaming in and the heat was the day was festering already. The driver would have been in need of a day of not driving after the holiday . I on the other hand would be raring to go again . What a difference sitting as a passenger enjoying the view make. I would be pestering - "Let's download the photos - get the photobook going" It would have to wait though for another day.

We did get up but it took some doing. It is bin day today . Both the red recycling bins and the green compost. A double slalom obstacle course along my walk . Then there would be people . Choosing to walk later it could be like the M1 on a Sunday . Add to that horse racing beginning despite being behind closed doors. Schools re-opening and those who have shielded being allowed out. I feared my walk would be less than peaceful . I felt as if I had reached another Hump day...

I couldnt make up my mind where to walk . I wanted solitude and that is brought by walking the woods or going down to Stubbin Pond. Stubbin won out . That was mainly because it is almost two weeks since I made that walk and life would have changed on the lane . The hedgerows were becoming more overgrown with nettles and brambles. A couple were out picking elder flowers for elder wine. They carried a large carrier bag which they filled with the large white blooms . A few runners were on the road. Some passed me by without a second glance . Others exchanged a cheery greeting, a smile and acknowledgement that I had got out of their way. Even a couple of cyclists whooshed past . It is Monday so there were more cars on the road . The goldfinches were flying from telegraph pole to telegraph pole chattering noisily to each other . A few dogwalkers walked by . They usually pass the time of day.

The tiny pink and cream wild roses now cover every inch of stone wall. My phone camera does them no justice whatsoever. There are signs everywhere of the taller flowers appearing. The late summer Rose Bay Willow Herb and the Foxgloves . The Rose Bay Willow Herb will be out in a month by the look of them. The Foxgloves some pink and some white are flowering already. I wondered what the road would look like by the time September comes when the leaves will start to change colour and Autumn will take over. The fields and the grass in the gardens are looking yellow . The heat and the sun has taken its toll since the last time I came this way.

The toad sign has either been taken down from the signpost or it has been covered by climbers and I could not see it . The pond looked stunning . The high sun was casting reflections . The trees around the pond reflected in the water . The houses too. The yellow Flag Iris are all out . The lake has a tinge of yellow around its edges . The coot is still on her nest . I think the chicks have hatched . But being so hidden I could not see them. She was plucking feathers from the nest . I will walk this way again in a week and see how they have progressed . A duck swims and following her are four tiny ducklings . In the light I could hardly see them . I tried to photograph them but all I got was water and reflections . A farmer came round the corner . I heard him before I saw him . He was sitting on an old tractor . He chugged by and smiled shouting to me as he passed .

The bin men came - "How are you ?" shouted the driver . The two collectors behind acknowledged me . My walk would take me past the still closed Salem Chapel and into the fields that would take me home . Two dog walkers passed me by.

Up the hill and I met the binmen again . I think the driver recognised me as he shouted hello again . The two men behind spoke and I wondered if they remembered the lone walker they talked to half an hour previously . I thought not .

Home to coffee and chocolate cake covered in cream . Home to some work . "Ashover Rock" Glenn shouted . "We will go to Ashover Rock tomorrow "

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