Bonnie in London – Journey down, Tackley

Not far from London. Closer than Aynho at any rate…

So here I am after my first days cruising close to the village above named.

My clothes are damp, my dinner is cooking, the fire is lit, the whiskey it out.

I managed to make it just over 10 miles before the sun went down.

Rain

It rained pretty much all day.

Never that heavy, but just persistent low cloud rain. It added it’s slippery touch to the lock paving stones and brickage, making it a fertile ground for breaking one’s neck…

I wondered as I made my way down the locks, how solo female boaters do it in the rain. These big heavy lock gates were barely moveable by me. At I’m a big strong man.

If it is even possible, why do they bother? In the rain, it just seems dangerous.

Probably explains why I met not more than 4 boats on that 10-11 mile journey.

It’s better not to bother.

Still…. I did bother and here I am…..

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Bonnie in London

Soon to be….

A move down to ‘the smoke’. Such a casual thing….

Just 4 days sailing and £40 worth diesel. Approximately, in both cases. If the weather changes, (drastically), that may change the temperament of the old Thames.

Boards

On the canal and river system, they have these things called, warning boards.

Red boards - River water flow warning system
River flow warning system

When the boards are on red, you’re not meant to travel.

People do, but the ‘powers that be’ don’t sanction movement on red boards, it’s kind of frowned upon as unnecessarily dangerous.

After periods of particularly heavy rain, you might see the boards turn to red. The majority of the time, they remain on amber or green.

This trip down the Thames will depend the boards remaining off RED.

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The End….

For this owl.

I’ve never seen a Tawny Owl up this close….

I doubt that in another 46 years, I will see one this close again…

Dead Brown or Tawny Owl
Hello silence my old friend……

It was on the convergence of two lines of communication.

The railway, and the road.

The Pig Place

Last tiem I stayed here, there was a dead Badger in exactly the same spot.

I guess they like throwing themselves to their death right about now.

Pig Place - Oxfordshire
Pig Place – Oxfordshire

Everyone has seen a Badger. Roadkill. They are a bit stupid maybe.

Owls…. Supposed to be CLEVER. Aren’t they…..?

This one found itself a little… dead.

Moving on……

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My first victim

For those familiar with the matter…..

I’m a bit of a hunter gatherer type. I like the appeal of free fayre springing up round and about in the countryside, the fresh fruit and vegatables that any tom, dick or harry can pick up for free. Left to grow, cultivate themselves and continue the Saṃsāra of life.

It’s natures way….
Previous posts:
https://www.michaeltyler.co.uk/can-you-eat-fairy-ring-mushrooms/

Wood Pigeon

Imagine my delight when I saw this sight above Bonnie Lady at 7am this morning.

Wood pigeon on wire

Now I know woodpigeon is very tasty with new potatos, fresh vegatables, maybe a little gravy and beans.

Like all the other things in nature this one was free, fresh and organic.

Unlike meats we buy in the supermarket, this one had had a free and gainful life around the countryside; flying, mating, eating the farmers crops, just doing the general things that pigeons do.

A gainful existance.

Free.

Bird on a wire

I am the owner of an S410, which for those who don’t know, is an air rifle.

It’s quite a good air rifle. Probably the best air rifle, certainly at one point in time.

It’s a PCP, which means compressed air fueled. Like a bullet rifle, there is no cocking of barrels and compressing of springs as with a traditional air rifle.

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