Thursday Morning

Thanks to the twitterati, I was impelled to go out early this am.
The sky was overcast but rain had stopped

Two swans left on their route south …

… but the three left remained photogenic

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Up the Chesterfield canal as far as Shireoaks:

Teasels! (or should it be "Teazels"?)

The Marina looked good in the sun.

And just outside were:

Nb Wineberry	Nb Satyr

Intended to go further but felt the knee going as I approached Shireoaks bridge so I turned back.

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Back at Godfrey's pond the voles were in the hawthorn, but I didn't manage a shot, having to make do with a robin:

Market & voles

Walked through Worksop market which has now expanded to cover the whole of Bridge street and leave the old market place altogether: much better.

I recently read somewhere that the average time of a mobile phone call was 73 seconds. The girl in the last photo above must have been on a roll - she was on for at least ten minutes as she walked through the market.

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Slideshow: click the edge, not the arrow

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Buttermere	Mary Hayes

At the moorings on Canal Road, another two boats had appeared. As well as Elizabeth Ann and Vera Verity, Buttermere and Mary Hayes were tied up.

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Back up at the pond a young lady walking a dog drew my attention to a couple of voles up a hawthorn tree scrumping berries.

Unfortunately, I'd got the wrong lens on to get a decent shot but here's what I managed with a little help from the Gimp (poor man's Photoshop). Ain't they sweet?

That was October, that was

This last month I've not been walking My knee's been acting up. More than about a mile and it makes me walk like Igor: all slumped to the side and alternating normal (left leg) and miniscule (right leg) steps: must be amusing to watch but no fun to cope with. (think Marty Feldman in young Frankenstein) It seems to be improving so I might give it a trial today.
Anyhow I've taken a few pics:

For reasons unknown, the cats like kippin' in flowerpots

Grebes are still about
Bulrushes and heron very photogenic

I attempted to capture the crescent moon
and couldn't resist this

And there's more:

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The amount of total rubbish that comes through my letterbox is amazing.

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Last Monday I walked up The Chesterfield canal to the Marina

There was a very nice looking boat Atticus moored at Shireoaks MW

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Nb Narrow Minded had moved up to the Marina from the Lock Keeper

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Beyond the marina are the capped shafts of the old Shireoaks pit.

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Walking over the ex spoilheap there's loads of teasels (teazels?) …

… and hundreds (thousands?) of young trees with more leaf colours than you'd think possible.

I don't think of ivy as having fruit.

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Things you see but don't notice: ripples on the water.

To mark ...

...the Canal & River Trust I doodled some variations of their logo to "improve" it:

This is the actual Logo:

So first I added a boat:

didn't like it there so I moved it, embiggened it & gave it a skipper (& snipped the words)

Then I thought I'd add a walker or two … oh … and some fish:

Now I went the whole hog with a cyclist & an angler:

Dunno why I've blogged this but so far there's over 150 views on twitter so I thought I'd share.

Added the most important towpath user:

Old friends

Went up to Shireoaks Low bridge and back down to the Lock Keeper as the non-cousin I mentioned last blog had said he'd be there (with the missus).

Spent a smashing two hours chatting with them, learned new stuff and remembered old stuff together. They haven't changed in the ten years since I last saw them. They're both so fit: they ski, scuba, run, martial arts and cycle. He's been retired a few years now and she's redundant later this year.

They were at Tapton Lock on the Chesterfield canal (on cycles) when they saw a request for volunteers. A while later he's got a "Skipper's Cert" which allows him to take out the CCTrust boat John Varley with passengers and he's now John Varley Manager - a post that's been unfilled for some time.

Some Pics:

Nb Narrow Minded at Lock Keeper pound	Heron flying away

Teasels through a hedge	Just sky over Godfrey's pond

Grebe family on Godfrey's pond

I'm in there too!

Two non-cousins and an eye.

Cats and stuff

From October 5, 2011

Reason I have to go to town every day.

The hungry beasts attack me if I'm in bed any later than 10AM, demanding food.

I've been to-ing and fro-ing as usual. I'll stick some pics up soonish.

I got in touch with an old friend (a non cousin - I called her parents Aunt & Uncle when I was knee high) by Googling her forename and the last village I knew she'd lived in many years ago.
Her brother (also, of course a non-cousin) has emailed me; among other stuff: "i have recently got a skippers certificate to take passengers out on narrow boats and i volunteer on the John Varley in Chesterfield.". (the John Varley's the CCtrust's trip boat on the Chesterfield section of the Chesterfield Canal.) Years between us and we've acquired a common interest!

Moer later.

Cats' names:

• Gingernuts: if you saw him walking away with tail in the air. you wouldn't need to ask
• Kipper: sleeps all day
• Squeak: touch her and she squeaks!
• Gingerkit: he's ginger and he's a kitten: nuff said

All the cats are "comers" - I had one cat when I came here (she died Easter 2010) and first Gingernuts began sneaking in nicking her food. The black pair followed soon after and the kitten's been here about six months. The Ginger pair make free with the flat but the black 'uns stay in the kitchen.