Ducklings

It has been a busy day today - I don't seem to have stopped, but once again it has been the sort of day that reminds me why we moved to the boat - fantastic!

I finally managed to get a photo of some ducklings who hatched from a nest on the marina behind a bush on the barbeque area:

 

A very attentive mum

I started the day by cycling up to the university to give my German teacher a piano lesson. It was lovely to see her and it was a good lesson. I felt I had helped her a lot as she had been taught all about reading music and pushing down the keys but not a lot about how to relax and play with a proper technique. It was rewarding to see it all click into place with her,

On the way I was overtaken by many cyclists who are older than me as I wheezed my way up the hill to the Uni. I have been rather silly recently being in denial about my asthma and have not been using my inhaler. That is fine when I am not doing heavy exercise but the weakness shows when I try and over exert myself ...... lesson learnt.

Phil was keen to finish off the allotment this morning so we put in some more veg (beetroot and carrots). We then went to our local garden centre and bought a gooseberry bush.

The weather was quite nice (dry at least), so I filled the boat with fresh water and did other outdoor boaty chores.

I had booked a hair appointment this afternoon. I have a wonderful hairdresser who can actually cut my hair how I want it, instead of trying to tell me how it should be and cutting it how she wants it! This hairdresser is in the local small town in the other direction to the town we normally go to. This town is a favourite retirement location for very well heeled pensioners and generally it is quite 'posh', so I always do a sweep of the charity shops for designer clothes at low prices! I bought a lovely blouse for £3 and found a brilliant gardening hat, also for £3:

Phil had asked me to drop off at another garden centre to get a raspberry bush and when I arrived back with it he was champing at the bit to get back to the allotment to plant our fruit bushes, however I was distracted by some activity on the jetty from my friend T. I went down to see what was going on and found that she was building a ramp for the ducklings having witnessed them crying to get out of the canal and being ignored by their mum. She was worried that a pike might get them (very likely) so was building an escape route:

 

Jack was very annoyed that all this effort was being put in and that he was not the beneficiary:

And to add insult to injury,the gate was shut so that he couldn't chase the ducks. I took pity on him and took him for a walk along the tow path. The plan was to meet Phil at the allotment, so Jack and I walked up to the next bridge and went over to the other side of the canal walking to the village cricket pitch where we were able to strike off across the field to the allotment.

This is a favourite spot for continuous cruisers to moor up and I knew the occupants of five of the six boats which were moored there. I get on really well with all of them, they are great people with a very positive attitude to life and although I didn't know the last boat, the fact that it was called 'Bliss' made me think I would probably get on very well with them too!

Jack was very happy to have a walk and he ran and bounced along the tow path like a youngster even though he is an arthritic 12 year old. We discovered a bank of wild garlic:

and the bluebells are starting to appear too.

When we arrived at the allotment Phil had done most of the work (that was the plan) and it is nearly all planted out now:



cabbage, cauliflower, gooseberry bush and leeks

It is looking really good and we are looking forward to the produce from it:

Jack started out happily enough:

But soon became bored:

And eventually did the whippet fluttering eyelashes look which means 'please take me home' ...

.....   so I duly obliged.

Having worked so hard, I thought I might be entitled to a beer, so I poured myself a well earned pint of Abbot Ale (Suffolk beer which I was brought up on) and went and sat on the roof of the boat for half an hour before cooking tea. We have some large trees opposite and the bird life is vibrant there. I decided to try and shut out the sound of the traffic from the road and focus exclusively on the bird song and it was magical. I counted about ten different bird calls and the mix of it all was fantastic.

We are supposed to be going on a guided walk tomorrow, but there is much work to be done on the boat (cleaning, washing etc.) and I have to go away next week for a few days. Phil will go on the walk while I get things ship shape on the boat and then we can go together at a later date.

Another early night after a long, but fruitful day.....

Al