Edstone (how embarrassing was that?)

I said last week that we haven’t seen the last of the frosts.  In fact there’s country lore that once the blackthorns start blossoming then the nights get colder again.  So, even though the days have been mild, Karen has had to scrape ice off the car on the last three mornings this week.

Tuesday was our water day; this is a three hour trip from our current mooring so the job can be done and I can get moored back up again before lunch.  I did it in the morning so I could be sure of getting back to the same spot before it was taken – holidaymakers tend to keep cruising most of the day and moor up in the late afternoon.

It’s ¾ mile down to the winding hole where we turn and then a couple of miles back to Wotton Wawen to the water point.

Flat out at the boat yard even though he’d only been sat on the back deck all morning - note the neatly coiled pump out hose Aileen

After taking on water it’s down to the next winding hole to spin round and head back to Edstone aqueduct.  The wind was getting up and that particular winding hole is quite exposed but I was confident as I had just taken on water and had a heavier boat.

As it was, Helen on Pipistrelle was moored with a good view of the operation.  She came out and waved and then politely went back on board (she has been living aboard as a constant cruiser for about 15 years so knows when to be discrete).  I made a real pig’s ear of the whole operation which is often the case if you think people are watching.  The earlier turn was perfect as there was no audience. During the cruise back I had a text from Helen telling me that she had pretended not to be watching!

On Wootton Wawen aqueduct taking on water

Later on I received an email from the Warwickshire butterfly recorder thanking me for my recent records of sightings.  He mentioned that 13 species have been seen on the wing already this year which makes my six a bit paltry.  I’ll have to find some good sites to visit over the next few days. 

Karen picked me up on her way home from work and we had a pleasant evening playing bridge with friends in Stratford.