Eyelids and Egrets.

06:30 and all present and correct sir.  Another stunningly lovely day (I do not often have open eyelids at this hour, David never has closed ones!  

Today I began to notice the opened lilies for the first time, these ones have quite small flowers and are yellow if you can't see them well.

First bridge of the day.  By far the best.

As yo approach the bridge from the right, the arch to go through is on the left, easy today as you can see there's hardly any flow and no wind but more challenging on other days.  Isn't this just the most beautiful bridge you have ever seen?

Bridge at Irthlingborough

Not that much choice of archways

I presume the arches were enlarged in keeping with boat sizes.

The Yars approaching

Does anyone else think this looks like two bushy eyes a mouth and a tongue sticking out?

Onwards and this was another change of lock style at Ditchford Lock.

Lesley operating this curved lock gate

Yarwood pulling away from us here, my turn to close this lock.

Two bridges here

One disused we thought, then a train thundered overhead

Out onto water meadows again and this was hiding.

We moored up after about 4.4 hours of cruising, I text the Boat Sharers, our friends Amanda & David, who famously do miles and miles to say at 9:30am we had done our last lock, they were horrified!!!
But settled nicely at Earls Barton Lock on meadows there.  Horse and ponies in the fields who when they trotted up and down made a devil of a noise on the grass.

Taken from the boat porthole

He was loosing his balance in the strong breeze then took off.

Trust me that this is a Little Egret   HERE   I have seen them before but when I was visiting Egypt.  Due to the lack of zoom lens this was the best I could do.

I just love to look out out a golden grasses in the evening sun.

Supper was goats cheese and fig tart with capers and olives.