A bit of sun goes a long way.

So on the farming front, the potatoes are in flower and doing quite nicely along here.

Nice crop of spuds for later in the year.

We wanted to tackle the roof first.  When we arrived at Great Haywood Marina last week, the ladder looked as if someone had tried to steal it off of the roof, it was off of it stand and in two sections.  But it turned out that the nice gentleman who lives aboard, opposite WaL had retrieved the ladder in a storm when it was dangling over the side.  How kind of him.  But the ladder has managed to inflict several more large chips of paint off the handrail.

Repaint coming sooner than you think David.  

When we got to this lock, I can't remember the name but its the one with the very recently CLOSED Midland Chandlers, in fact as we were there the staff were shifting out what I took to be the last pieces of stock into a couple of waiting cars, off they drove and locked the gates.  We had wanted to go in there....  So sad when these shops close and Chandlers are disappearing FAST.  Yes you are correct Reader, this was from the day before prior to arriving at Penkridge....

David fighting with an uncooperative ladder, the ladder seemed to be winning.

This was a boat that we passed this morning leaving Penkridge, it was a glorious mass of blooms and veg, but, I ask myself, how does the helm possibly see whats coming?  Smelt nice though.

  

It was a nice gently run along to Gailey, as we are getting over Lockdown it really is a pleasure to be chatting away to people again at locks and along the towpath, I met two ladies just outside Penkridge who were both in a similar position (and age bracket to my mum) and they hadn't seen their children for months, their social clubs had closed and they took taxi's now to each others houses.  both clutching masks, both charming and both indefatigable. 

Wonderful. 

Now is it me or is windmill a whopper?

Oh my goodness, Blackberries starting soon and we haven't finished the ones in the freezer yet from last year and the year before. 

We moored up here, it was the first open away from trees mooring after Gailey, I was hungry.  Then I heard a curious sound and I was surprised to spot in the field with the white cows, Oyster Catchers, surprised because we have them at home on the coast, I reckon we are as far away from the coast here as you can get but there they are, parents feeding a loudly squawking baby. 

Oyster Catchers, the baby I reckoned was the one with grey stockings.

Pretty isn't it?  In the hedge next to us as we sat in the evening sun.

Supper was wild salmon and this little dessert I knocked up from the fridge, its blackberry and apple surprise, the surprise is guessing how old the fruit is.  

David is very hardy, I have fed him things months and months out of date.