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We had a fairly leisurely cycle with frequent stops to answer questions posed based on the signal post information boards. So we learned, for example, about what the suspected cause of a train crash at Haddington was, what smelly cargo was transported out of Edinburgh, what the chiff-chaff song sounds like and what the differences are between stoats and weasels and between frog spawn and toad spawn. We also read a poem about a worm, found two geocaches, saw a badger sett and recovered our borrowed trail camera all before having a brief stop and snack at Cottyburn Sidings. On the way we thought about how to behave in the outdoors, being kind and courteous to other path users, stopping quietly to let a horse rider past, leaving space for pedestrians, dog walkers and cyclists. We also put the geocaches back where we found them and left no trace of our picnic at Cottyburn. It was a really pleasant night even though it got a bit chilly on the fingers later on.

Spring has defo sprung.

Had a cracking weekend walking with my bronze D of E group and an over night camp at Cowans Law near Galston.

There's a new resident in our shed.....Mrs blackbird appears to be sitting tight in her nest so there's great excitement now that there might be some chicks on the way soon. We had been looking out for the swallows who nest in there every year, but they're late returning this year, probably due to the cold blast at the end of the winter, so we're wondering now if they will nest here if there's already another bird in their spot. We'll just have to wait and see. Other summer visitors have arrived too, we saw the first wheatear on the ridge last weekend, and this week we had one checking out the garden from the wall too. It didn't stay still long enough though to get a photo, so we might return up the hill to see if we can see them.