Did it turn autumnal 'cause I bought a Kayak?

We've had a lovely couple of days just chilling at the GOBA moorings on Nobles Field in St Ives, but it hasn't half turned chilly. Particularly unfortunate as our fire is currently sitting outside in our well deck and the chimney is under my seat (No Problem keeps paperwork under hers!).

 A lovely evening and plenty of balletic entertainment from swan lake

 Baxter, however, just dreamt about Kayaks and never having to walk again

 rammed the nose onto the bank to wind and go into the town moorings for water

 I love these clear waters - the canal water is always a shock when we come off of the rivers

 Leaving G to water I went into town to spend ridiculous amounts of money on the fish stall and in Waitrose

 and found more swans drawn on a wall in one of the side streets

before trundling onto the Hemingfords to let Daisy sharpen her claws

 and round up the cattle - attack cat never left a single bovine standing

 happy cat

Message to Floyd

• It is not a canoe it is a kayak
• it is not a diving platform for Floyd
• whilst Baxter is perfectly happy for Floyd to try it out, he's not to do it whilst Baxter is on it
• he most certainly doesn't try it out whilst Jill is on it
• if Floyd falls in, it is not down to Jill to oik him out
• if Floyd dumps his Mum in the water it is down to Joe to oik her out
• the picnic on the back does not belong to Floyd
• Floyd is perfectly entitled to take a rope and tow Jill and Baxter
• Floyd is not entitled to tow Jill and Baxter over weirs

I'm so excited - it's being delivered to Kevin's (WB Avalon) tomorrow and he will bring it to Ely on Tuesday. Should I paddle it back to St Ives?

Baxter and I have bought a new Boat

When the cruiser Breezey gave me a go on their Kayak, Baxter and I really had a good time and have been surfing (pun intended) to see what we could find

Today we bought one of these - it'll just fit nicely between our top boxes - can't wait for it to arrive next Tuesday. Very impatient as the weather forecast is really good from Friday.

I suppose I should have waited until next spring - but who knows, sometimes September and October can be fantastic

Had the most brilliant day.

Picked up my cousin Sonia and her husband Mike in St Ives and cruised down to Huntingdon. Sonia isn't very good with dogs, they worry her a bit.

Muttley and Baxter think she is brilliant and that she should stop worrying about all things doggy - they were quite persuasive

 Is this an hibiscus?

Too much yakking for photos, had a lovely cruise with lunch on the bottle hoof. A walk round the  beautiful village of Hemmingford Grey and then back into St Ives to be treated to a gorgeous fishy dinner at the Surf and Turf in St Ives. Going nowhere today, we are both exhausted after the last few hectic days.

Prepare to get broody Debbie and Kevin

OOOOOOh it's a baby Airedale. Hit St Ives today with a large market going on. I bought a new hat and then trundled back from the top end of town with the shopping from Waitrose's.

 Daisy was just being immensely smug and laid back

Then I met this little chap. Very, very cute, but Teddy you are still more beautiful and you too Rupert

Just a gorgeous heap of scruffiness

That was some storm!

Amazingly, most of it missed us, but we enjoyed both skies and pyrotechnics

 I think Muttley was taking his wack wack to appease the Gods!!

 This morning dawned bright and sunny and - at last - we headed off down the Old West River

 Our lovely cattle had us up early as the boys took exception to them leaning on our boat at 7.0am

 Through Earith lock and a much needed pump out (phew!!! - or should that e pooo!).

 No sign of the seals - just a Cormorant drying it's wings

 Dogs were not very lively today

 Smart traffic coming the other way.

 Moored on the GOBAs by the Pike and Eel - G fishing and boys having a ball with the lady Staffie from next door. Nicely placed to pop into St Ives for the big market tomorrow and pick up my cousin on Tuesday

PS Sorry about yesterday - I'll try not to do it again

This is one of those contentious posts that I may

never publish. There have been many of these posts deleted over the last four and a half years- Bones was a lot braver than me about publishing stuff when her Mum died. NB Ellen have just lost their lovely dog Maggie. Their hearts are broken.
 We do, however, adjust eventually although it's difficult to believe that that can ever be at the time. So now I'm going to say this and press the publish button (I think).
When you lose a pet you lose every part of your daily routine - you lose the "morning boys" here are the biscuits and the afternoon cuddles and the visits to neighbours, and the sheer enchantment and pride that you enjoy when other people engage with them. They are part of every minute of your every waking day-it hurts when you lose them - it really hurts. You keep putting out one too many dinners and wondering why you fill the water bowl only half as often.
When you lose your mum it's very different although my Mum was not part of my daily routine and engagement and, sometimes, I didn't want to go back and visit because something exciting was happening elsewhere on the river; so that loss is only slowly coming on board. I keep wanting to ring her and she's not there. I wanted to tell her what happened at the hospital today and she's not there.
If you've never loved a dog or cat and lost it you won't understand where I and NB Ellen are coming from.
 Anyone that engages your love leaves you devastated when they go

The tusk remains in situ!!

So Thursday saw us having a farewell drink on Avalon - they were heading back to Ely on Friday and I was heading off for a dental appointment before we headed off down The Old West River towards St Ives. We were joined by James from NB Lucky Duck who pointed out that Amy was on the bow seat of a passing eight - this led G and Kevin to start a, "Go Amy" chant which embarrassed the hell out of her, pissed off her Cox and dropped James in the mire as he was meant to be getting stuff from B & Q (would that be something to do with a job list?) - boys will be boys some blokes just don't grow up!

 So, in the front then, my Debbie and Kevin's beautiful Airedale Ted (I would soooo love to steal him but you can't stuff a giant dog up your jumper - well not without someone noticing) . Half of Debbie to the left, G next to her, Kevin to the right and poor James (who probably slept on the floor) facing.

 This rowing stuff goes on all the time and does quite a lot of banging into you

So Friday - tusk removal day - dawned bright and clear and G and I set off for an hour plus walk to Brookfields - 20 mins early and they were 40 minutes late, but we'd hung around for 6 weeks for the appointment so it didn't much matter. I have to admit to being very concerned about this appointment - I know where the end of the tooth is so I had a good idea where the root might be!!!!

Unfortunately, the dentist hadn't made the situation very clear in his referral  to Brookfields - just sending a very bleary x-ray through. The surgeon did her own 180 degree x-ray and said that there was no way she was going to remove it as it was on my cheek bone and sinuses so it was an Addenbrooks job under general anesthetic - which was what I'd kind of thought, but then I thought perhaps I was being a wimp.

Hmmmm...perhaps I'll just try and ignore it for a while.

So, returning to MR about 5 ish, we thought we'd just leave Cambridge and pulled pins. Then we remembered that we needed to get water and pump out. This Gronigen something came past us (one of you will know?)

 minus a roof - I thought it might make a good project for Kevin now Avalon is finished (yeah, I know no boat is ever 'finished')

 So we then remembered that we needed to pull up against the high wall for Tescos and B&Q - it was nearly dark when we moored up at Clayhithe at 9 ish behind.....yeah Avalon. I'm just a glutton for those farewell kisses and cuddles. So we trundled off this morning and then called it a day on the GOBA moorings just outside Earith due to a lot of this...

 ....and this

 accompanied by a lot of furniture re-arranging going on upstairs

 Very little of this GOBA mooring is available to anyone other than the young and the brave as cattle have decimated the down river end and jumping off your boat is very likely to lead to a broken ankle

When we arrived they were here

but now we're surrounded!!