Little Boots and I were out wombling yesterday. Learning the names of trees was failing dismally in attention grabbing, but was faced with tough competition as it was up against lobbing stones into a stream.

Even that was starting to wear thin, until we came to a sycamore. Excitement then switched to gathering the few seed helicopters that were lying on the ground. Noticing a short field maple a little way off I grabbed some seeds from it to show the two types together.

Of course, this did not have the desired effect and I was expecting to be hit with demands that I climb the sycamore, when junior found a sycamore seed with three wings.

Keen to impress how unusual this was I stated that I had never seen such a thing before in my whole life.

“Neither have I,” declared Little Boots with all the sage wisdom a five year old could muster. “Let’s find some more.”