Counting sheep

Its my birthday and a blustery but sunny evening in March 2020. We are 2 weeks away from buying the 4 acre field and woodland next to our new home, and we venture onto the plot to count some sheep.

I start this diary on my 43rd birthday. I don’t feel this old, and people say I don’t look this old. I have also been forcefully regressing my maturity over recent years in response to the fear I am becoming too sensible and taking life too seriously, so I probably don’t act this old either. To help with this situation I keep reminding myself that 40 is apparently the new 20 - although this age halving approach presumably means that today I am 21 and a half, and my birthday is not for another 6 months. Anyway, It’s the 6th March regardless, and we are 2 weeks away from completing the purchase of the 4 acres of land that abut the Smithy, our new home in rural Wales. The current owner of the land knocked the door the other day, and explained he was putting 6 sheep on the field and that the kids could venture on there to keep an eye on them.

This was great for two reasons, firstly the kids could enjoy “looking after” sheep and, secondly, we now had an excuse to roam the land freely with permission, rather than covertly as trespassers. So, after the kids finished up at school, we donned our boots and coats and took our first proper family stroll out onto the land. It was a beautiful early spring evening, and the setting sun cast dreamy shadows in the small 1 acre wood we have now called "Ed Wood", and made the anthills stand out like giant mushrooms in the 3 acre field.

The stunning views were enhanced by the dying sunrays, as they projected a red haze on the hills. It was beautiful. Whilst the kids went off to count the sheep and explore their new playground of gnarled fallen trees, badger holes and grassy slopes, I was able to take some time out with Sarah to ponder the profound and endless possibilities of this dramatic location. As ever, this contemplative marital interlude did not last long, and the kids returned to confirm they had counted 6 sheep, and they were all well. Although I am now 43 years down the windy and eventful passage of life, I felt this day in many ways heralded the start of a new and exciting beginning.