Woke up this morning...

It's all ok to live on the water on the lovely Lancaster canal but the noise can be a bit of a problem...especially in the mornings! The problem at the moment is that next to the oak tree with blue tits nesting in the bird box there is a beech tree that has had a hole added to it near to the top and now is home to a pair of woodpeckers that have the noisiest chicks I have heard in a long time and can't wait for them to fledge!

If they don't wake the crew then it's the water hen that roots about the bird table and the adjacent flower borders and if it doesn't find the produce in abundance it gives out a shriek of anguish at the situation to inform of its disdain...

Blarting lambs that have lost their mums are the next to shout up....

No news on the swans...... She's STILL sitting!

However, the big lad rattles his beak along the steel hull just wanting to know if there is any bread left in the bread bin on his way home....

Then the summer rain drops patter on the roof...

By now it's light and time to get the coffee on...

This post blog title was inspired by....Alabama 3, one of my favourite bands and this single was used as the theme tune to the Sopranos. 

Ain't nobody here but us chickens...

While the farmers were out making silage over the warm weekend the girls further down the mooring were having a party.....

 

......and still we wait......on Saturday on the sail to Garstang all the other swans along the way had signets.....we have to wait a little longer!

This post blog title was inspired by....Louis Jordan from 1956 but I remebember the Stargazers 80's cover during the rockabilly scene....a skifflin' summer song.

Lady Solitude...

With what is known as 'reverse layout' the bedroom windows and doors open out over the bow and from here you can see that the whole area is getting greener. The white tips of the cow parsley are blowing about in the breeze on the towpath side and the reeds are getting higher.
The weekend chores centred around the wood stores, a fair bit of action with the chainsaw and the cut hard wood is now allowed to season on the mooring during the summer. Nb Benjamin visited to collect their share of the spoils. Wood for burning is never a problem on this canal as there seems to be a regular and abundant supply if you are willing to collect and chop it but many don't bother and choose to buy logs in the winter....here, this goes against the grain and the whole process has become recreational.

A seldom seen CRT craft passed in the week, hopefully using some licence fees to do repair work.

The new arrivals in the field are this years crop of sheep and lambs, mainly texel cross ewes with strong lambs that will eventually find their way to the butcher. They have a fair job to do as the grass has got quite long over the last few weeks.

 

Digger is still spending hours and hours on her nest of twigs and only on occasion being relieved of her duties by the big fella. When this happens she loosens her stiff body by running up and down the canal, flapping her wings and making a right old racket for half an hour scattering ducks and chicks and anything that gets in the way of a huge white reckless bird
The old fella counts and turns over the clutch of large blue eggs before she returns to sit back on them for a bit longer.....hence, the Lady Solitude!

This post blog title was inspired by....Good old Richard Hawley and another beautiful sad song off the album Lady's Bridge.

Big City Life...

A little late news but.......

Good Friday was a fantastic warm sunny sailing day as we headed up north to the big city. Bridge 90 is always a good place to have a break and it was glorious in the lunchtime sunshine. The grass has really got going now and there has been a lot of work done to the once overgrown canal banks and is much improved. Being Easter there was a lot of watercraft moving up and down and the usual city moorings were full so opted to sail through to find a good spot near to the White Cross. The plan was to return on Sunday but the morning wind put a halt to the whole plan and an additional day was enjoyed in the metropolis. Bank holiday Monday was a better day and after reversing back to use the water point the breeze was used to spin the 50ft of steel through 180 degrees and head back south. Along the towpath the licra-clad runners dodged the dog walkers and the coffin dodgers as they all enjoyed the bright breezy bank hol weekend.

Moored In the big city...

Behind NB Benjamin

On returning to the mooring it was pandemonium of the avian variety as it looked as if every duck in the area had all had huge numbers of tiny Easter babies and there were proud mums and ickle fluffy chicks nervously exploring the new world, running lost in the long grass and paddling like crazy, trying to swim across the canal as a convoy of Narrowboats continued to pass as they made their way back from their Easter meet up at Tewitfield.

Digger is firmly ensconced on the nest now so we await the birth of this years signets imminently......

This post blog title was inspired by....Mattafix a song from a British band....a good single but nothing followed?