Too hot to handle

The day was, that is. The day was too hot to handle. It was too hot to do any painting, too hot to clean the cratch cover and the taff-rail skirt, too hot to deal with the rust on the gangplank - or any other of the jobs that need to be done.

It was too hot to stay inside the boat, and there's very little shade outside. Going for a nice long walk was right out of the question.

But Grace had a good idea. She often does.

Just twenty minutes' drive from the marina is Coton Manor, a delightful Tudor building with fabulous gardens. The house itself isn't open to the public, but the garden is a must-see.

It's not a huge garden, as many manorial gardens are, but it is superbly managed, very varied, and full of surprises. And, very important today, it has a lot of areas of dappled shade, cool ponds and streams.

One of the surprises was the flamingos. Two pair; one with very rich orange plumage, the other much paler. And there seemed to be a good deal of hostility between the two colours!

There was a mystery duck there, too. Well, five or six of them, actually. Juveniles with no adults around that were recognizably their parents. We've looked them up in our British Birds book since we got back, and on the web, but to no avail. Our best guess would be Ferrugenous ducks, but we're very unsure. Is there anyone out there who can help with this?

And there was this scruffy, colourful creature, too. Any ideas?

It was time very well spent. There's a good Tea Shop that sells a lot more than tea, and we had a good lunch there. We're bound to return in other seasons. It's highly recommended.

It's not really the weather for it...

...but work has continued. Having had cold, windy, sometimes wet weather when Grace started on the Roses and Castles back in May (was it really that long ago?), she's had this incredible hot spell to contend with more recently. (How long does it have to last before it stops being a "spell"?) But, working only when the side of the boat is out of the sun, and the wind's not too strong (and it has been, often), she's finally completed one side. And we're very pleased with it!

The wooden panels on the inside of the side doors reflect the theme.

As do the panels inside the rear doors (difficult to photograph!).

We turned the boat around this morning, so that the unfinished side is against the pontoon, and Grace will finish that. When the weather allows.

Yesterday, Steve and Karolina and Naomi came to see us - our first meeting of Karolina - and we enjoyed a Sunday roast lunch at The Wheatsheaf in Crick, excellent as always. A walk along the canal under the shade of the trees followed, and an afternoon of enjoying the breeze on the well-deck. Meanwhile, Jess was bemoaning the prospect of returning home at the end of her week in Iceland. She's just landed, as I write.

Midnight in Reykjavik

 

She quite likes it there!

Frustration will be my epitaph...

There's a new addition to my Addendum Blog, a toilet tip that actually saves a significant amount of money on a regular basis!

You'll need to have bought the book first, though!

>>>>>=====<<<<<

Those who know the band King Crimson will understand the reference in the title of this post; I don't really feel that disconsolate! But there are several aspects to life at the moment which are extremely frustrating.

We went back to St Albans again the week before last. Jess was having minor surgery and was needing transport to and from hospital, driving herself being quite out of the question. We hung around for a few days, frustration number one introducing itself to me in the form of a heavy cold, would you believe? Frustration two was Grace catching it even more dramatically. By the time Friday came around, we were just about well enough to go to a Said the Maiden headline gig in Cambridge which really brightened us up a lot, though I did fear that Grace would explode in her attempts to stifle her cough during the performances.

Back on the boat this week, frustration three has been the extreme wind which has stopped Grace from completing the artwork on the cabin sides. Her cough is finally subsiding, though, so she should be able to get on with the work as soon as the weather allows.

What rubs it in rather painfully is the large number of empty berths in the marina where boats are out cruising and their crews are enjoying the waterways in pretty decent weather! Frustration number four!

At least it's not confusion!

We're not boating yet, but I'm walking a lot!

Keeping you posted

I said I would, though there's still little for me to report. Grace got the permission of marina management to complete her cabin painting at our pontoon. They'd never been asked before, so there was no written rule about fine art work like this, only the big stuff of hulls and roofs. So that's what Grace has been doing whenever the weather's been right. And yes, we've had little rain recently, but the soaring temperature's been far too much for her to spend more than a couple of hours a day on the work, and then only in the cooler hours at either end.

Nonetheless, she's doing well. She could do with more accurate weather forecasts, because warnings of thundery rain have been issued that came to nothing, and she'd done no work because of the warnings. But when the storms have come... Good grief, have they been extreme! On one occasion, we experienced several hours - three perhaps - when thunder rumbled continuously. Not rumbles punctuated by silences. Continuous rumbling. It was quite something. And then lightning over the water. Awesome! Annoyingly, I didn't take photos!

I've been doing an hour or so's walk most days lately. I started that in our first year on Kantara, but didn't keep it up very long. I'm still getting a fair bit of exercise with equipment in the boat, but I've been reminded lately of the importance of walking. One of those reminders has come powerfully from a book that Naomi has loaned to me.

Says the author, "Moving is powerful and important, and perhaps the most joyful, freeing, and efficient form of activism there is."

It offers a powerful antidote to the sedentary lifestyle which is now all too common (says me!).

Those of you who would consider yourselves at least at the top end of middle-aged should also take a look at "Dynamic Ageing". It should be compulsory reading for all those reaching the age of sixty!

I've signed up to The Wildlife Trusts' 30 days wild , the aim of which is to get people out engaging with nature more. This dovetails nicely with my walking, and when I walk, I take photos!

My techie jobs are all done. K-Seal went into the header tank to seal permanently the weeping seam. I'm still waiting for Colin to come and remove the injectors for servicing off-site, and to advance the discussion we've been having "to adjust the tappets or not to adjust the tappets".

We're going back to the house for a few days at the end of the week. There are jobs to do there, too!