Canalside Walk

 

I used to share so many of our canalside walks on here when we had the dogs.  It's just not the same without them.  There's no little companion to talk to and to stop for a while and drink in nature while they sniff and explore what must be so many glorious scents for doggy noses.

It all feels a bit flat ... but it is beautiful.

There were lots of little clumps of bluebells in the long shaggy grass.

It's sad to see all these new houses in what were until very recently vast swathes of green fields.  The people that live on these boats are going to feel very overlooked in the near future.

Just how our schools and the single doctors practice that our town has, are going to cope with yet another influx of new people I really don't know.  This new development has hundreds and hundreds of houses and flats along the length of the A6 and going way back into what was all farmland.

Heading back for home it made me realise that I will miss the proximity of the canal when we move.  It always feels calm and green, especially if I head away from the new houses and the noise of the builders.

Sue xx

Lonely Walks and Omelettes

 

Since we lost Mavis just over a week ago we have both been trying to do all the walks that meant so much to both us and her.  Alan took her on long rambles all around town, so he keeps disappearing for an hour or so re-tracing their steps.  But as I can only manage short distances, and when Mavis was getting unwell and her breathing wouldn't allow her the long walks, I took her on what we called the 'short canal walk'.

It was so hard to do this for the first time on my own ... but I did it. 

There was a boater to say hello to as he 'sped' past me at three miles an hour.

There were ripples to watch dissipate as he carried on ahead of me.

There was the lovely old bridge to go under, before climbing the old stone steps back to the road.

But there was no dog to chatter to, no dog to wait for while she had a good sniff around and no need to bend down 'poo-bag' at the ready. 

 A walk is a different thing altogether without a dog.

When I got home I got stuck in to making my breakfast, I didn't want to allow time for thoughts.

Every time I make a meal I am chopping up all the vegetables used in the preparation of that meal to save time preparing future meals.  This time it was the turn of the courgette and red onions.  Now they are safely bagged up and in the freezer.  Next time it will be chopped white onions and celery.

My omelette was delicious and very filling and garlicky too.

Lonely walks and omelettes not to bad a start to the day.

Sue xx

The Final Photos of November

 

The last day of the month, and looking through the photo file on my computer I realised that I hadn't shared these canal walk photos on the blog at all.  They were taken about two weeks ago before the frosty and very windy weather turned up.

It was just a lovely peaceful walk along the canal first thing in the morning with Mavis.  Alan was working away so we got out nice and early when the world along the canal was still coming to life, but still calm and quiet.

The sun was still coming up, and although it was cold it was beautiful.

There was one boater starting his engine and untying his ropes, but apart from him and one other dog walker with a pair of Labradors we saw no-one at all.

Smoke streamed out of some of the boats as the occupants lit fires in their log burners, and there was the hum of water pumps as others had showers or washed pots.  It was just the daily morning rituals of life on the canal, and it was so peaceful.

Then we walked round the bend, climbed the old stone steps and headed for home.

I turned round for one last photo, but with Mavis eager to get home and have her 'after walk gravy bone' and my need of coffee, it was a brief glance and then we headed for home and the warmth of the house.

See you tomorrow for the first day of December and the start of Blogmas.

Sue xx

Early Morning Canal Walk and Suky's Ashes

 

I'm trying to make the most of any even slightly Summery days, and there have not been many around here up to now.  So the other day, very early in the freshness of the morning I walked along the canal with Mavis.

She's still not used to being a lone dog, when you used to have a sister to sniff things out that you might have missed and let you know, it must be quite lonely to plod along on your own.

But the early morning fresh air and the light were invigorating, and we did meet a few other dogs on our travels.

Mavis still keeps stopping to look behind, no doubt looking for the Pug that was always ten yards behind us.  She checks numerous times on each walk.

Blue skies and moving boats, there's always something to see along the canal.

This boat was just mooring up as we approached.

If Mavis stops, I stop ... so I might as well take another photo. 

A few more steps and we stopped again.

I love the old bridges along our canal, I didn't know how much I loved them until we hired a boat for a week and passed under lots of them.  Virtually all were slightly different and all made of beautiful old stone, some with flights of old, worn stone steps up to the road beside them.

The half-managed wildflower garden near the steps that we use to get back to the road.  It always looks beautiful.

We got Suky's ashes back a week after her death and they are now in the old tin bath by my front door. I removed the few herbs that were left in there and spent a while transplanting plants from the back garden and then added last years mini Christmas tree for a bit of height. There are also some of Bella's Forget-Me-Nots taken from under the apple tree in the back garden.  

This way Suky can come with us when we move house ... and we can say hello to her every time we pass.

Sue xx