General Witterings -
Witterings from Rosy

Poor old Jess the Woof ran across what she thought was solid ground, only to discover that it was all seed-pods floating on the canal.  Several of us were chatting when this happened.  It WAS funny, so Rex pulled her out and we all laughed.  Poor Jess just sat and shivered.  The water wasn't that cold.  If she was excited she would have been barking.  She was, I decided, frit and in shock, so she got a stroking and patting from me, and has been following me around ever since, and I have to keep sending her home.

The weather is cheering up nicely, with some wonderfully warm days.  Painting days.  Nothing big, but a bit here and a bit there - 'patch painting', I think it's called.  The big job is the stern and fore-decks.  I put brick 'n' tile paint on the stern deck a couple of years ago, and it's lasted quite well, so it's gone on again.

There is no budgie sand in the shops in Briare - perhaps no-one keeps budgies here.  The sand is needed to provide a non-slip surface on the side decks (paint, sand shaken onto the wet paint, and, when the paint has dried, another coat of paint).  Rex has given me some sand that he (says he) used, but it was wet and dirty.  I've washed some, and it's been drying in the sun today, so I hope to use it in the next day or three.

I've also added a couple of side steps on the cabin sides, to make climbing up onto the roof a bit easier.  Drilling, tapping and screwing.  Well, what else is there to do on these sunny days.

Err ... cooking for a start!  Mainly cheese soufflés, with double yolked eggs from the Friday market.

Late nights recently as well.  Skywatching the five planets - all lined up in the western sky.  They are a beautiful sight.  4th May is the BIG day, when they will all be close together.

The black swans (the ones in the menage à trois) have lost three of their cygnets, so they are down to three.  The spring has brought back the house martins that are, as I write, wheeling over the water.

I've mentioned the Pont Canal (aqueduct) here in Briare a couple of times.  It is one of the longest in the world, and Eiffel (of the tower) had a hand in its design and construction.  I got up early one morning a few days ago, to take some misty photos of it.  One came out really well, and can be seen on this web site.

(Turn it into a .bmp file, and copy it into the c:\windows directory if you would like to use it as wallpaper).

Toodle pip!!

Bill