Ides of March.

[Bierzo Baggie]

Impossible to find a good pint of Guinness around here Brian. There's a chocolate factory in Astorga though.....

Friday and the habitual Toral-Monte Pajariel route.
Continued in my search for Spring. Up above the river on the northern flank of Pajariel you’ll still be hard pressed to find signs. The sun starts to warm up significantly from about lunchtime but in the shade the air is cold and there is still frost lingering in the deeper recesses. But then I saw it, at the brow of a hill, along the section of trail where the sun probably stays for longest. It was on an almond tree or perhaps it was a cherry tree (I can never tell the difference, unless there’s fruit about of course) a leafless tree in an orchard of bare, leafless trees. Attatched to a twiggy finger which stretched out towards the sun there were perhaps half a dozen white flowers. The first blossom of Spring. For me, this is one of the sweetest moments of the running year and it always adds a spring to my stride (no pun originally intendeed). Boosted by a fuel-injection of optimism I flew through Toral de Merayo and back home along the country road.
TRT 44 minutes.

Followed by 38 chilly minutes round the river early on Saturday morning. Nice and sunny though.