My goodness me, it's a bit bracing out today, eh?! (This was last weekend, by the way – I'm always a bit behind on my posts, and now I'm posting totally out of order!) Yowzer, we nearly got straight back in the car ten seconds after we'd got out. That Arctic wind is trying its best to clear everyone's sinuses. I had my layers on, nice warm jumper, my winter coat and my double-layer gloves (supposed to be touchscreen so I can still take photos, but that bit doesn't work), and I was still freezing. Mind, that's because I can't find my scarf and I forgot to take my hat – leave any gaps when it's windy, and that wind will find them. Matthew's winter coat is a bit better than mine, stuffed with goose down or something, so he was quite warm. Oh yes, he came with me this time. He was the photographer today because he didn't have his gloves with him and he's one of those people who always has warm hands anyway.
So, we went to the Mill at Conder Green (where my brother used to work). We couldn't park in the car park because they've closed it off with cones and an industrial-sized wheelie bin. Not sure why. Maybe they're sick of people parking there to access the canal while the pubs are closed. Fair enough. Anyway, we could still get to the canal, so all was well. The swans seemed quite interested in coming over for a chat, but when they realised that Freya was quite lively, they backed off, hissing. I wonder what she'd do if she ever caught a bird. I'm not willing to risk it, of course, but I suspect she wouldn't really do anything. She catches our cat, Narcissa Malfoy, all the time and then she doesn't know what to do.
Matthew took a bunch of unflattering photos of me – this one was the least unflattering. It's not Matthew's fault I've put on three stone over the past couple of years, but man, it was quite a shock to see myself from this angle! Clearly, the walks are doing nothing to help me lose some poundage. I could cut out cake, certainly (I say this as I'm eating cake). I'll have to do something – it is quite difficult to get my socks on in the morning now, which is really not great considering that I'm only 43.
Anyway, my weight has absolutely nothing to do with our walk today, so let's move on.
The canal has been properly iced over these past few days, I believe, which was why I wanted to see it before it starts warming up again. Readers who don't live in the UK, this ice is only about half an inch thick – it never goes very far below zero degrees C in these parts. No iceskating on frozen rivers, I'm afraid. That would be fun – I'm quite good at iceskating. (I'll write that down for things to do when the world is open for fun again.)
The ice here had strange patterns at the edge, made by the waves – the waves in turn were made by that Arctic wind. I have never seen waves on the canal before, but that's what you get with 50mph winds. Chilly! But actually really enjoyable. We missed our walk yesterday because I was worn out and forgot, and Freya slept most of the day and didn't remind me. But if I miss one day of fresh air now, I can tell because I get a little grumpy, which is great.
Ooooooooooh, so close! She very nearly went in here – she tested the ice with her front paws and it gave way, but she retreated quickly enough not to get wet. But then she was curious because she's never seen deep water before. I imagine it smelled quite interesting, and the freezing cold on her nose will have been a new experience as well, so every time we came to a gap in the grasses she was straight down to the water's edge, dipping her toes and her nose. I don't think it'll be much longer before she's jumping in and I'm having to give her baths every weekend. We'll find out if she can swim, I suppose!
We didn't go all that far, but it was quite a battle against the wind, so we felt like we'd done well by the time we made it to the third lock. No photos in the middle part of our walk because we just got our heads down and did our exercise. Sometimes it's like that on cold days; we're happy to be out, but actually, that's enough, time for a cuppa and a good book! I think if I'd been on my own, I probably would've gone further; but although Matthew was mostly toasty warm, he was starting to lose feeling in his face and his eyes were watering like mine when I watch any musical from the
Golden Age of Hollywood (what I've shared with you in this link is my Apple Music playlist – nineteen hours of gloriousness; it used to be twice as long but I cut it down because I realised that there are a few musicals that I don't actually like that much). So we got to this lock, I think the third from where we started, and then turned back.
We had the wind at our backs now, so it felt much warmer, and it was a relief not to have that freezing wind blasting our faces off. It was also possible to have a conversation now that we could hear. You won't be surprised to know that Matthew very quickly monopolised the chat with his latest Pokemon news, stopping occasionally at my request to take photos of fields.
And lambs! Yes, new lambs! Awwww. If you've been out for walks, you might have seen lambs already. I wasn't expecting to see them for a few more weeks – I've read all of James Herriot's books over the winter, and he talked about lambing being further into the spring – so this was was a nice surprise. There were only a few, but it was wonderful to see them. I assure you, there are lambs in this photo, but they were too far away to capture properly with the iPhone.
That was enough for one day. Like I said, we didn't go very far, but battling against the wind on the way out always counts for twice the distance – that's my argument, and I'm sticking to it.
I love this bit of the canal. It's so open and light and green. We'll come back when it warms up a bit and go right to the end, where the canal splits. I don't think Freya will have a problem with that distance in a few months.
Until tomorrow, ice maidens.
Linda, Matthew and Freya
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