Sunday walk with snowdrops

There are basically two ways to start the day as far as Ty is concerned. The first is that the alarm goes off, I get out of bed, shower, dress and take him down the Coombe. After that I have a cup of coffee and do things with keyboards before changing my clothes, combing my hair and going out. Somewhere around the hair combing stage he goes to bed and lies there, sulking, knowing he's going to be leftat home. This happens three or four days a week.
The second plan is that I get up when I wake up, sit about in a dressing gown drinking coffee and staring at a computer screen (sometimes for hours), before eventually showering, dressing and taking him out. I don't think he's all that bothered which we do, as a general rule.
Today was different, though. With the first ring of the alarm he jumped on the bed and pointed at it, wound up tight waiting for me to switch it off. Usual routine, dress, drink of water, off down the Coombe. Back again. Make a cup of coffee, sit down at keyboard. Instead of lying down quietly somewhere as usual, though, Ty took up station by my right elbow, sitting and staring, poised and ready... Coffee finished, I started gathering bags and stuff together as usual. Picked up my comb. Instead of going to bed for a sulk, he ran to the front door. I sat back down at the computer, he started with the nose under the elbow 'get up, get up, I want something...'
Eventually the phone rang, our lift was outside, and off we went for a day's adventure. But how had he known that today he was going with me? The routine was absolutely normal. I was careful not to say anything about walks. I didn't even put my big boots on, but still he knew.
It was a good morning's walk, too. From Pentewan, halfway between St Austell and Mevagissey, we took a valley trail along an old railway track (this one carried iron ore, I believe) by the side of the White River, so called presumably because its bed is mostly china clay. From there we took a diversion uphill through and round the King's Wood, a bit of ancient woodland now well looked after by the Woodland Trust with maps, waymarks and boards with bits of history, see http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/en/our-woods/Pages/wood-details.aspx?wood=4357 then back along the riverbank to an excellent carvery lunch at the Ship Inn.
We saw lots of snowdrops and winter heliotrope in flower. The heliotrope had been starting to flower before the big freeze at the beginning of January blighted and shrivelled the leaves, but it's grown new smaller ones and is filling the banks with odour of cherry pie. Here in the Coombe the wild garlic is well grown, but there have been very few celandines this year - the freeze caught them too.
In spite of the greyness of the sky today and a chilly wind I do feel that spring is on its way - I'm just not sure when!