When I stepped out today, it was a warm 27°C (80°F) with a gentle northeast-to-east breeze of 5 to 8 mph and a “feels like” temp hovering around 28°C.

   Over at the town football ground, a large hosepipe on a trolley kept the pitch lush and green, drawing in around 50 feeding corvids. On the recreation ground, the brown, rain-starved grass scrunched underfoot, though the tough, hardy yarrow held strong and a pair of jackdaws hopped about seeking sustenance.

    At the cemetery road entrance, a large cabbage white fluttered alongside several small whites. Beneath the adjacent hedge, shaded by goji berry shrubs, a female pheasant caught my eye—my photos hint she might be starting a nest, so I shall certainly be keeping watch. A holly blue swiftly darted amongst the whites, while the “friendly” Pitbull Terrier in a nearby garden completely ignored me.

    Two sparrows darted across as I entered the cemetery road, where a pair of wood pigeons lounged in the shade. Walking through the natural wildflower garden to the main road, a flash of yellow zipped past—a quick search later confirmed it as a Brimstone.

    Ten feral pigeons perched on the leisure centre rooftop (got a photo today), a lone sparrow ducked into the care home’s hawthorn hedge, and the local gull colony squawked loudly overhead. I also snapped the football pitch water-sprayer and caught a photo of Dolly Parton, the leisure centre’s adopted cat, relaxing in the bramble shade.

   Walk Stats: 2.09 miles in 48 minutes (19 Google Fit heart points).

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