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Unexpected but reflective
rainbow this morning
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What a gorgeous Indian
summer’s day it was on Thursday. I was
doing the regular morning task of dead heading the plants but stupidly I was
still in my slippers. They are only slip-ons
and they easily slip off and slip off they did; into the water and not for the
first time. I didn’t panic because I
knew they floated and got them out before going back indoors. I left them on the roof all day to dry out in
the sun. I really must be sensible when
walking the gunwales even when moored up!
Karen had gone to
Peterborough for a meeting and sent a picture to our family Whatsup group
from her office for the day:
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The joys of working for a
utility company – not quite the Canary Wharf of her last job 😊
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During the morning Buddy
and I walked to Long Itchington to stock up on fruit and salad stuff. The village is two miles away and we met
nobody on the way there or back which is one of the reasons we enjoy being around
this area. That’s not quite true, we
passed three boats in the Bascote flight.
There were two hire boats getting ready to go up the staircase and the
crews were debating how to operate the locks as they had realised that
staircases were different to ordinary locks and they hadn’t come across them
before. This was despite clear instructions
posted at the top and bottom.
I don’t really like
getting involved as it feels a bit condescending but they were about to open
the wrong paddles so I felt I had to intervene. They were glad I explained what
to do but I did point out the signs and said they should always look for those
first in the future and not to worry about doing things slowly.
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Bullrushes out just up
from our mooring
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We walked past the pumpkin
fields which were now being harvested.
They were being harvested by hand as I doubt there’s specialised
machinery for this crop yet.
On the way into the
village from the canal we walked along the old railway line which is now a
butterfly reserve.
I was imagining what it
would look like next spring when I realised we wouldn’t be here – we would be
on our way up north for the year as Karen stops work (again!) in March. A bit further on the cutting gets a bit more overgrown
but that encourages different species of butterflies to those of the open,
grassy areas.
Just outside the village,
the local community are establishing a nature reserve which is a good thing to
see as it gets people outdoors and gives them a chance to learn about the
natural world.
In the afternoon I was
sitting outside with Buddy, eating my fruit salad, when a walker came by (the
first of the day that I had seen). He stopped
to say hello and then just stood and stared at the butterfly picture on the
side of the boat. He told me he had seen
the boat when we were moored on the Hatton flight a couple of months ago and he
had stood there for about ten minutes just looking at the butterfly. He asked if he could do the same this time
and I said yes but felt slightly uncomfortable as he didn’t seem to want to
talk. In the end I carried on eating and
said if he wanted a chat then to let me know.
He finished staring, thanked me, asked me a few questions about blue
butterflies and went on his way.
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Us and our neighbours at our
Welsh Road lock mooring
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Before I go I want to say
thank you for the well wishes for my mum – she is still in hospital and cannot
leave until Social Services have visited the home to see what adaptations, if
any, are required. They have already
been out and fitted additional rails for my dad but suspect they will say Mum
will have to stay downstairs for the foreseeable future.
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Thursday evening
stillness
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