Back from the Wild Side

Shiplake Island - agha me heartys

A heron on an island near Reading

Swan and signets near Reading festival site

The stunning Beale Park near Pangborne

We're back to normality and the routine of life. We have had a great experience and adventure this summer. You might think we are boring doing our annual pilgrimage to the River Thames, but we always have a different experience. We moor in different spots, meet up with different friends, and nurture those relationships, and sometimes make brand new friends. The weather could have been better, but we certainly made the most of it when we had it, paddle boarding, kayaking, swimming in the river or the outdoor pool at Wallingford. We embraced the season, picking berries, making jam, and feeling autumnal a bit too soon. We had many camp fires (so much so our pillows went yellow), way too much booze, but  had lots of memorable occassions.
We experienced fuel and water poverty (all be it only a few days), but it reminded us how hard it can be living on a boat without the facilities of a home mooring.
We ate in lots of good eateries, and I cooked a fair few communal meals. We spotted wildlife, and Mia is now familliar with Great Crested Grebes. We induldged in history at Wallingford Castle and Dorchestor on Thames (we helped ourselves to a water supply from the Abbey gardens).
We embraced our surroundings, and created better places for others to enjoy, we also enjoyed places that others had created.
We induldged in nature and feel a part of it, we feel blessed that we can share it with its usual habitants.
We made home improvements, and Foxy is almost finished with painting. We now have funky orange portholes to complete the retro look.
I am always sad to leave the river, but feel comforted by the canal as the season changes.
The river is wild, its big, its fun, its natural, it has its own story. The canal is man made, engineered, historical and safe.
I have a summer experience filled with ideas for blogs, which you will see over the next few weeks. I am also keen to start sewing again, and letting my creative juices flow.