AFTER being somewhat boring in our weekday walks for a week or two, Emma, Basil and I decided this morning to hit the swamp. Where we walk is not actually swamp itself, but adjacent to real swamp and is certainly, let's say, a more adventurous hike than others in our local repertoire. In Spring and Autumn it's perfectly pleasant, but the humidity levels in Summer rise like crazy causing even the small group of hardy dogwalkers to abandon the spot for pastures greener and pleasanter. So the paths get overgrown, it's impossible to walk without hitting a spider web every few feet, and even the toughest bug spray is no match for the swamp's superbeasties.
Having said all that, it's really fun! There are tons of logs to balance on and scramble over, since no-one else is there Basil just runs wild and has a great time, and you really feel like you're in the midst of a tropical rainforest. The crickets chirp so loudly, other insects buzz and hum and you can imagine all kinds of weird and wonderful creatures hiding up in the trees. Like wasps. Well okay, those ones are not so wonderful, especially when the daft dog disturbs a nest and just goes round and round in circles attracting more and more of them, his protective mistress trying to save him while trying to keep Emma far away. I know it looked comical. I swear I heard a family of monkeys laughing at the entertaining scene. To cut a long story short, we escaped relatively unscathed and went on our wild way.
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