It's raining acorns

I don't know if it's the breeze or butter fingered squirrels but every so often acorns plummet into the canal across from us with that characteristic sound and almost total lack of splash that Tom Daley yearns for. Boats passing us (here's one)

have to run this gauntlet until they clear the bridge. For some reason the acorns are much bigger this year and you certainly wouldn't appreciate getting one dropped onto your head from height. We were moored under some oak trees a couple of weeks ago which were occupied by a couple of squirrels and we were getting pelted by the cupules (that's the hemispherical empty bit!) as they fed. That was bad enough! Still, no such worries for us, safely moored on the towpath.

We were here last year and had to put up with the horrible grating sound that accompanied every passing boat. You see, there is an underwater shelf here that means when you moor up standard boat fenders don't bridge the gap between the bank and the boat. No matter how well you tie up you still get thrust into the shelf and it's not a pleasing experience. However, this has been resolved this year!

Last summer I put a call into the Three Sisters race track in Ashton and they confirmed that they would be only too happy for me to take some used go kart tyres off their hands (they literally had hundreds piled up behind a container). Drilled, fitted with an eye bolt then filled with builders foam - job done!

Not much else happening today other than a march uphill out of the valley for a few supplies for tonight's meal. You can overdo things, you know!