Photo:
1. Gunner enjoying the sunshine.
2. Christmas Dinner.
3. Going, going......
4. Gone!
5. Wilvir's lights.
We tucked into a cockerel to celebrate the season of goodwill and enjoyed the beautiful warmth of the sunlight as it drifted over the snow.
26th Dec 2010, 13:42
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Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to one and all.
25th Dec 2010, 10:07
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Photo:
1-4. Scenic splendour.
5. Jim & Helen.
Monday dawned with a hard frost that hung heavy in the trees and hedgerows. With the arrival of Tuesday we awoke to a fresh dusting of snow and looking forward to an afternoon in the company of our good friends Jim and Helen. This has become the start of Christmas for the four of us, which we celebrate with a Christmas lunch aboard wilvir, accompanied by mulled wine, a decent chiraz and a real ale or two. This year, besides bringing some much needed supplies, they even brought 20 litres of water with them too. We had a great afternoon before they had to return home to Willaston, Nantwich (a round trip of about four hours).
Ginny hopped aboard a bus to Market Harborough on Wednesday for some last minute provisions and on Thursday collected our Christmas meat and vegetable order from the village shop in Foxton.
24th Dec 2010, 18:14
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Photo:
1. Our hedgerow 'tree' decoration.
2. Winter warmers!
3. A robin sings.
We found a local coal merchant (DMW Fuels) who was kind enough to deliver 160kgs of coal to the swing-bridge over the canal at Foxton, which meant I only then had to parcel-trolley it a 1/3 of a mile to where we're moored in the ice. Now that water is running short we trolley a container to and from Foxton locks every couple of days to keep us going; a round trip of about 2 miles.
It looks as though we're in for a spell of proper 'traditional' Christmas card weather again shortly. We love it!
15th Dec 2010, 13:41
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Walking Gunner under the clear evening skies of winter as the light fades is wonderfully peaceful. Even quarrelsome rooks whirling overhead as they seek to roost amongst the treetops doesn't intrude on the approaching 'silent' night. It's as though every sound has its place even the sudden bark of a fox or the squawk of a spooked pheasant.
9th Dec 2010, 12:33
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It was a chilly -3C on the bow at 9am this morning with the prospect of bright sunshine for the rest of the day. The landscape is beautifully cloaked in a frosty kaleidoscope of glittering jewels. Stunning!
7th Dec 2010, 11:07
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This was the scene between Debdale and Foxton this afternoon as the sun sank below the horizon.
6th Dec 2010, 20:32
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Photo:
1. Sunday morning.
2. Monday morning (solid ice, 3" thick in places)
3. 'Water-under-the-bridge'? I wish!
4. Our bird feeding station (regular visitors - coal tits, blue tits, great tits, robins, blackbirds, a song thrush and a mouse.
We had a bit of a thaw Saturday night, which melted much of the snow and left Sunday shrouded in mist. However, with temperatures dropping to -5.5c last night and slow to rise above freezing this morning, the countryside is covered with the sparkling beauty of a hard frost.
We'll be short of coal by Wednesday so it looks as though I'm going to be wheeling a 1/2 cwt bag of coal up from Foxton locks sometime this week. It doesn't look as though the canal is going to thaw anytime soon and 'Jo the coal woman' is stuck in the ice at Market Harborough unable to reach her customers. We're OK for logs but need the slow burning qualities of coal to keep the fire 'in' properly overnight.
6th Dec 2010, 13:38
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