Working outdoors as a professional dog walker these past sixteen years or so, I can honestly say every season, every month, every day is very special.

I could easily say July or August is my favourite month, the weather here in the west of Scotland traditionally being at its warmest.

Or I could go for the autumnal months when the trees are a blaze of colour, and walking in the countryside is such a joyous experience.

December brings the fun and chaos of Christmas … and with it, here in the Glasgow area at least, the regular vain hope for some festive snow.

January is like a hangover month – everything still and slow in comparison to the previous month.

March and April offer a freshness to the atmosphere and a promise of warmer months to come when we turn the next page on the kitchen calendar.

Which brings me to May. Now that I’ve given it some thought, I’d say May is my favourite month.

Why?

I have no scientific data to back this up, but from experience and (admittedly dodgy) memory, May is the most dry month of my year. It has in recent times also been the warmest – if not specifically with regard to peak temperatures, but more for prolonged and unbroken warm days.

Out in the fields, hedgerows and in the air, a new generation of wildlife is by now finding strength in its legs and wings; birdsong celebrates a time of plenty as food is readily available for all.

The fields themselves are becoming verdant and the year’s harvest begins to show rapid growth.

May also offers one of my personal highlights – should it rain at all, the fragrant smell from a wet hawthorn bush is manna to my nostrils!

An added factor in making my choice, is that this year, being one of only 8% who survive an Out of Hospital Sudden Cardiac Arrest, I was fitted with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator!

I’m one lucky dude, so while May has just been given the nod as my ‘favourite’ month, that’s really only for the purpose of this post – EVERY season, EVERY month, EVERY day is, indeed, very special.
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