When I take Nell for a canal walk in town, I park in Morrison’s car park because a) it is free and b) we walk from there and through the small housing estate which backs onto the canal which gives Nell exposure to passing traffic and, after a few months of doing this, she no longer attempts to chase and bark at cars, vans, motorbikes, lorries, whatever. Training job done. Also, the walk to the canal is a mere ten minutes - fifteen if there are lots of exciting things to stop and sniff along the way, sixteen if a poo stop is required.
Anyway, this morning, Nell and I parked up in Morrison’s and, as usual, as we walked through the car park, Nell did her on-the-lead party trick which is to make vertical leaps two or three feet into the air, like some sort of deranged furry space hopper. I don’t know why she does this: excitement at being out on a walk, some psychological/ behavioural/ mental defect, or just because she can? Who knows? I like to think she is exhibiting sheer joie de vivre. What her leaping antics do provide, though, is endless entertainment to passers-by. In fact, one lady wound down her car window this morning specifically to tell me how watching Nell bounce up and down had made her day! I gave the lady a thumbs up and said, ‘Good!’ and Nell and I went on our merry way knowing we’d brightened someone’s life.
As we emerge onto the canal path, I ask Nell which way she wants to go. This morning, she chose to go right which took us under a small bridge, past the canal boat yard where canal folk can top up with water and fuel etc, under a second bridge and onto a stretch of mooring where boats can stay for up to 48 hours duration. It is also the place where all the men ducks hang out together. Men ducks far outnumber lady ducks, and once the very few lady ducks have paired up for the season, the spare men ducks have to hang out together in a sort of Boys’ Own Gang of hooligan ducks. I took a photo of them, not very good, I’m afraid, but trying to take a photo when walking a ball of energy like Nell is a tad trying. Yesterday, I found a beetle the like of which I’d never seen before but I couldn’t take a photo because Nell was trying to eat the beetle and if she had succeeded because of my selfish attempt at photography for identification purposes I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself. (The beetle, is turned out, was a cockchafer. Stop sniggering at the back, please.)
Back to the men ducks. Here they are - you can just about see them in a line in the centre of the terrible photo:
I reckon there was a good dozen or more of them, all bathing, preening, chatting shit to each other.
Further along the canal path was moored a boat belonging to a water colour portrait artist. Her name is Michelle Martin and her website is www.artonboard.co.uk She is a unique person who is following her passion for water colour painting even though it’s a struggle. I am full of admiration for her, for following her dream. Today, she had a selection of wildlife art outside her boat. I stopped and bought this:
It was £10. I think she is underselling herself.
And then Nell and I turned for home and bounced our way back along the canal path. To assuage my guilt at using Morrison’s car park for free I popped in and bought a baking tray. I don’t always make guilt-trip purchases. I think supermarkets make quite enough profit as it is.
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