A riverside walk on the First Day of Spring.

How things change!  A week ago, we were walking at a slow amble because Zac wasn't able to manage a better pace; this week, he is bright, alert, happy and eager to go for walkies, while I am feeling weak and less than wonderful! After waking up with a painful throat I went on to develop a hacking cough (again!) which disturbed my sleep for the rest of the week.  So while Zac is all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, I am anything but! However, there's a quiet little riverside walk not too far away which suits us both.  This is the village of Forder and the Forder Valley Viaduct that carries the railway line linking Plymouth to Falmouth.

These boats moored along the riverbank look so picturesque, floating on the high tide.

Zac eventually decided he would go down the steps for a cooling drink in the stream.

 Keep an eye out for the Forder swans, Zac!  A pair of swans have brought up their young every year in living memory, so they are quite territorial. Very photogenic, too.

The Rain stopped . . . .

So at last my tall and shaggy conifer hedge was able to have a 'short back & sides'!
This little blue-eyed blonde waved her hefty petrol hedge-cutter around as though it were a feather and made an excellent job of it, carting away all the debris afterwards.

The dry and sunny day also meant that Zac and I ventured up on to the Moor, where all the animals were making the most of the warm sunshine on their backs.  We didn't walk far as Zac is still suffering with arthritis but there were plenty of animals around for me to gather a few snapshots, even on our short wander.

Tomorrow morning we have an appointment with the vet, after a particularly worrying week when Zac has been struggling to get to his feet without help.  He has had to go back on to the medication that upset him previously so I'm watching for any signs of that happening again and hoping against hope that it won't happen.