Down to the river....

I've been working from home for over 20 years now, and I usually find it easy to get down to work in my study, zoning out all the domestic distractions around me. But there are days when it just doesn't come together, and today was one of them. With a son on study leave and a husband whose business has gone very quiet, the house is busier than usual. So, come lunchtime, I took myself off on my favourite local walk. The landscape around here is pretty flat, but there is something very peaceful and pastoral about it.

It's a warm day, and the cows were drowsing under the trees. There was even a bit of heat shimmer hanging on the horizon. Weeping willows, reed beds and water lillies.

One of my favourite books is LP Hartley's The Go Between, and I must say that this particular route always reminds me of the film version, with Julie Christie and Alan Bates as the ill-fated lovers from different social classes. LP Hartley had roots in Peterborough, so he must have known the River Nene. There was someone swimming in the river today, but sadly, it wasn't Alan Bates in all his 1960s glory.

I saw no one other than the swimmer, some swans and their two youngsters, and a large dog fox running along the perimeter of the meadow. It felt timeless. A great way to recharge the batteries.