Easy as one, two, tree...

After two weeks of being super-busy, and sniffling my way through a cold, I've not had enough fresh air and exercise. By lunch time today, I could stand it no longer. We'd just had a fresh flurry of snow, the sun was shining, so I set off for a walk. It was so fantastic to be outdoors I could have skipped along the pavement (unfortunately, they were so icy I could barely even walk). I'm lucky to have the grounds of a big country house to walk around, just ten minutes stroll (slide) away from my own, slightly smaller abode.  So I spent a much-needed hour tramping through the fields and trees.
There is definitely something about trees that make me feel intoxicated. Not horribly drunk, but that lovely warm, happy glow you get after a wee dram, that makes you want to hug everyone. Luckily for everyone else, the park was almost empty, but I did find myself grinning wildly and sharing cheery 'helloooo's' with one or two dog walkers.
I read in the paper this weekend that 'a million trees are to be planted in Britain's most deprived urban areas in a government plan to add a little greenery to the lives of the poor'. While I don't doubt some people will read that and think "that's very nice but I'd rather have the money", I do think trees lift the spirits and give you an enormous sense of wellbeing. According to the Woodland Trust there are 3 billion trees in the UK, but they only cover 4% of the land. They are hoping to double that. Trees for Cities are doing good work too http://www.treesforcities.org/
Good on them, I say.