Calcutt (that’s the tomato season over)

Now the nights are not so mild, the leaves on the trees have started turning autumnal.  It’s a beautiful time of year as far as natural colours are concerned and we’re lucky to see so many of them living the life we do mving around the countryside.

Trees turning at Napton reservoir

At the same time, the nights are drawing in so Karen needs her torch when she goes to work and when she returns.  Even though it is dark, the wildfowl are beginning to call when she walks across the causeway.  Every so often, a group will take off and land on a different part of the reservoir.  Karen says it makes her laugh as she feels they are playing games in their different family groups.  I must admit it does seem as if they do it for fun.

Tuesday and Wednesday were similar days for me and Buddy; going for walks, chatting to boaters at the locks and generally pottering around the boat.

The reservoir at a more civilised time of day

We have now had the last of the tomatoes but at least we haven’t had to buy any for our daily salads for many weeks; I have also picked the last crop of jalapeño peppers.  All the pots and bases are now cleaned and put away for winter so the cratch seems bare now with all the plants gone, apart from a couple of small basil, parsley and chilli plants.  But that’s good because I will be taking delivery of our first batch of winter coal when Mark comes by on his boat tomorrow.

We have been moored here just over a week now and so has Paul in the boat in front of us

The plan is that I’ll fill up with water at Calcutt top lock tomorrow, then go down the lock to the boat yard to get a pump out.  I will then go down the other two locks and moor either at Tomlow or the top of Stockton, depending upon how busy it is.   Tomlow is great as we hardly ever see any other boats moored there.  The only trouble is, that parking is difficult and if there are already two cars parked up by the bridge then it’s difficult to find somewhere else to park close by.

That’s it for today – who knows – we may get an Indian summer yet 😊