Spring heralds the walking life

For me, the Spring Equinox opens the 'long-walks' season.
Winter is okay for walks under six miles, but, in winter's cold weather and wind-chills, I find myself yearning for the pub at the end of the walk all rather too prematurely...

However, as it is the Spring Equinox on March 20 - and so starts the time when it's just a joy to be outdoors - I can start planning longer walks.

This post was featured on the City Daily Portal 'Spring Equinox' theme

Bandit on the road

Someone shaping up to shoot you on the public road is not something you see often in as you're driving in Staffordshire – so this sight was a bit of a shock.  I was on the point of swerving (or should I simply have gone straight at him?) when I realised it was…erm… a scarecrow.
It was part of Moddershall village’s scarecrow festival.

Yeh, right... Very funny. Not.

This z-for-zany idea is featured on the ABC Wednesday website featuring the letter Z

Popular nude

This statue of a young lady bathing - in the classical style - may be a copy of a famous statue.  I wish I knew.
It's certainly popular enough: versions of it crop in hundreds of suburban gardens, and are on sale at dozens of locations, including DIY stores.

The wonder is: why? 
Under most circumstances a depiction of a loosely-clad young woman ('under a male gaze' as the art critics would say) wouldn't usually go down well in a domestic situation.
I know it's usually placed near a water-feature - as the one in this photo was - so there is a tie-in of sorts, but it's still a bit of a puzzle.