Heart of Stone

I find it difficult to believe that it is Saturday again tomorrow. That means that I am now officially behind on Cleopatra and should now be starting on Cêzanne! This week has been a whirlwind of walking, puzzling and studying. Is it really a month since we left home?

The sun just keeps on shining, though now with occasional rain and cloud. Yesterday saw quite a downpour so when we went out today I planned to check on the Chanterelles, believing that the rain would have brought them on well enough to be ready for picking. Once again, somebody beat me to it. I shall need to rise earlier.

I  believe that my walking is improving. At times it seems to be (excuse me) a matter of one step forwards and two back but I can look at  the larger picture now and recognise that  am covering more ground, more quickly and suffering less. My Achilles problem is still hampering me to  a very large extent but I am finding ways to manage that, by using poles to walk with, avoiding footwear that puts pressure on the tendon and by padding with multiple pairs of socks.  I can get further now without pain and have learned that once the pain starts a ten minute sit will relieve things such that I can walk another half hour.

Having been here over a week now it is becoming clear that Autumn is moving on apace. We walked to Colvend again on Wednesday and much of the scenery had changed in the space of a week and was looking far more Autumnal.

More golden leaves about this week
More golden leaves about this week

When we reached Colvend I was in far better shape than I had been  the previous Wednesday.

Civilisation
Civilisation

At Colvend we stocked up on supplies, packed our rucksacks and then waited in the rain for the bus home. Nell did not like the bus.

Yesterday we walked down to Kippford in the hope of finding the fish van that we had failed to find last week. We sat in the car park for 45 minutes without sight of a fillet or a fish cake, so popped into the pub for lunch before coming back via the Jubilee Path and Muckle Walk again.

when we arrived home there was a package awaiting us. I have a new computer! So the rest of the day vanished in setting up the machine with all that I need for my OU.

Today we walked up to the Heart Stane, taking lunch with us.

The Heart Stane
The Heart Stane

As you can see, the sun was shining once again.

The Heart Stane is quite close to base as the crow flies but actually requires walking almost into Dalbeattie before swinging back on another path to climb the hill. We returned via one of the cycle trails and came home from the opposite direction to the one in which we set out. Having spatial reasoning problems, I found this most disconcerting. Not as disconcerting as future Archaeologists will find the Heart Stane. I image Aliens landing at some point and going back saying “We found evidence that at least one cult believed their planet to be heart-shaped…”

Puzzling is going okay this time. We aren’t shining but we’re not ashamed of our performance and some of the puzzles have been good fun.

Tomorrow I plan to rest my ankles and get to grips with Cèzanne, should the influx of half-terming caravan kids manage to keep their hubbub down. Nell and Mr L are hoping to walk to Dalbeattie, leaving me in peace and quiet. You should see Mr L, he is wasting away… vanishing in front of my very eyes Who is this svelte and handsome brown-skinned stranger?

3 Comments

  1. October 19, 2016
    Reply

    Phil found it very amusing that the last we heard in the puzzle docs was you heading for the fish van, then not returning. He was just getting to the point of being worried when Mr L posted something.

    • October 22, 2016
      Reply

      That would be because we are still looking for the fish! LOL. No, just not much time at home and a very ill-tempered connection when we are here. It’s making things very difficult at times. When is SUMS… have we missed it?

      • October 23, 2016
        Reply

        We don’t yet have dates for SUMS, but we are keeping an eye out and will let you know.

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