African Queen on the GU?

Friday! The day I have been dreading. Exactly a week ago in the afternoon Jade was PTS. As you may have gathered by now it's all still very much in our minds and I kept looking at the clock and saying 'this time last week she was still with us'. That hour has now gone and we must now try to go forward and remember her with smiles, laughter at her antics and sometimes her cussedness instead of tears.

Traveling the Leicester section was like being in the African Queen going through the jungles. I don't remember the channel being taken over by reeds quite like this 2 years ago. We also were amazed at a sign on the towpath about Badgers. Would have thought C&RT would have wanted them gone!

And what if another boat appears? Eeeeek

 Always now on the lookout for the gold we entered a woody area and had high hopes of finding some. Up until then not a sign had been seen. Almost as soon as we entered, piled high amongst small twigs in the hedge bottom, was some decent size branches. A piled edging was coming up and just as we put the brakes on to stop FS, out popped this Montjac deer.

Shame the photo came out blurred

Spending a good hour rummaging, sweeping away the smaller stuff to uncover the decent branches, heaving away to pull out the long branches and getting stung by nettles and covered in green slime from the wood, we managed to accumulate a good pile.

This lot was all somehow stashed on the roof until we moored on a wide bit of towpath by the Welford Arm. Ian started the chainsaw and cut it all into manageable lengths while I worked hard at my fishing.(Had to be done!) It was as Ian was filling the empty coal bags with the off cuts that he was approached by the chap in the boat Achernar moored behind us. It was fellow bloggers Phil and Jackie. Great to meet new folk and talk boaty things and fishing. Thats what I love about blogging. We all seem to be one happy family who rarely meet but when we do cant stop chatting.

So the plan for tomorrow is go down the Welford Arm. We have never gone that way and needs to be ticked of our list. The loo needs emptying and a convenient facility block is by the winding hole at the end. Saves having to cross our legs until the next place to empty cassettes which is at Kilby Bridge.

Wildlife today,

Green Woodpecker

Male Pheasants galore

And just one female

Mobbed by a crow

Sweetcorn thief