Time to enjoy

We left Percy on loose ropes knowing with the help of fellow boaters fast ( quit a few) and slow they would rock Percy into her new home.

We've been twice since once for a further attack on the mooring  - bush cutting and further grass trimming to realise the concrete on the mooring . First visit was a day job and we've just come back from a couple of nights aboard.

The latter stay was a bit unplanned as Rachel is off work atm so we went to rest and recuperate which we did. I'd forgotten just how nice these moorings are of a summer evening or a early summer morning fishing. I was due an  evening fishing session but there was a match that went on to 8pm. Now I'm a fisherman but I still find the pole inches from the bow very intrusive - especially when the angler makes no attempt to speak. 

James one of the farmer family who own the moorings came by and took away all the 'Green' we had collected. We put a request out to the local village facebook group for a second hand Keter shed ( we did not want to buy new) and got a result of a nearly new one someone was moving out of the village. So that will be cited in the next week or so so I can once again empty the forcabin as well as build a solar frame for the 400w panel I have to charge up the Ecoflow Delta 2. A few pallets to make a compost heap and we will be about sorted. I might just re-lay the slabs to make a nice seating area. 

When I did fish in the morning it was quite magical total peace just the noises of the countryside and it was a joy and privilege to experience the early morning dawn and waking of the area. 

We had family priorities to attend to so we came home  - more on that maybe in a future blog.

More mooring maneuvers put Percy through it

Why o why can't we be happy with what we have  - or had. Ever since Percy's enforced jail term in Great HS2 marina we have been heading back to Shedbon, in our minds. As detailed previously we took a giant leap to the mooring's just past the Anchor pub - known locally as Bob's moorings. 

We were promised one which did not become vacant - the fella who should have moved gave reasons not to...we were offered another that we didn't fit on  - we camped on a friends mooring and then was offered one that we could not get a guarantee we'd not be moved again from - and we paid 65 feet for it and we are 60 foot ! We asked to be assured the mooring didn't have dogs next to it - our neighbour - a lovely fella but he did have four dogs ! 

So it wasn't the easy move we expected and planned for. 

A couple of weeks ago I woke to read of a 60 foot mooring at the moorings we were happy with and left for blacking from in late 2021 to which we could not return to due to a breakdown and stoppages. I was on the waiting list so contacted the farmer and was told yes it was ours if we wanted it..... what followed was a couple of weeks of to'ing and fro'ing all while dealing with some difficult personal stuff at home.

Yesterday we headed to Percy with a view to moving  - a veritable bridge hop under bridge 44 back to Shebdon Farm moorings...... However the mooring had been unused but paid for (!) for the last 30 months so was well overgrown  and very silty - very silty !

Yesterday afternoon we set to removing all the vegetation - no small task and I ended up with  a nasty sap burn from a Hemlock plant that Rachel identified but I forgot about in my gung ho approach to getting the job done. We did what was needed just before a great thunderstorm arrived and washed the rest of the day out.

Today we looked at the weather forecast and set off to wind in Grub street only for the weather forecast to be very wrong so we got quite a soaking before we approached the silt. And boy was it silty.... up and down rev backwards and forwards, two other boater and Rachel on ropes, boat hooks digging at the silt to lift it. It took well over an hour to get anything like close enough but we were all wet and knackered so we left it to the speeding boaters (thankfully) to move Percy about over the next few weeks to dig her in. 

So we left tired but pleased with our planning communication and efforts. Shame we had to leave but Rachel is working tomorrow so I'll go back and have a take two on the veg on the mooring.

It's lovely. Dropped down so a bit private, protected from the wind, water close by, car by the boat good fishing and a view of the Wrekin. 

We will take Percy out a few times to the two winding holes and dig her in and blow out the silt over the next few months. 

Someone said all good things should have some difficulty in attaining - we certainly get that  !