Eagle in a tree

I just get home from work
and what do I see...
An Eagle in a tree
and he's lookin' at me!

Ashby St Ledgers - Braunston - Barby - Ashby St Ledgers

Led by me with Barry and Gordon. Mostly fine, though we had a heavy shower. Underfoot generally good. Stiles awkward on occasions. 9 miles plus.

This walk came from here.

We took the road going west out ofAshby St Ledgers, crossed the A 361 and joined the bridle track which forms part of the Jurassic Way. It climbs gently up south west until it reaches a minor road (Welton to Barby). Here we turned right and picked up the Jurassic Way again a few yards along the road, where it runs off to the left. This track leads downhill, and we could see Braunston church spire and a sail-less windmill nearby. These disappear from view as the track descends and then rises again between hedges towards Braunston. We entered the village at a bend in Ashby Road. This road leads down to the central green near the Wheatsheaf pub. Here we crossed the road and took a footpath slightly to our left, leading downhill through Jetty Fields Park and then down to the Canal near Braunston Bottom Lock.

View from the Bridge

Old pump house - to pump water back up to the Top Lock

Chimney dated 1897

We walked along the canal, turning right, past the marina and lots of moorings.



There is also a boat-café, called the Gongoozlers' Rest. Highly recommended by one of the boat-dwellers.

Just after the towpath took us under the A45, we left it, and crossed the road, then followed a footpath just beyond the bridge, and turned right up a grassy slope to the church. Here you can either follow the road round behind the church, or walk through the churchyard. We didn't look at the gravestones, but there are apparently a lot of boatmen and women buried here.

Braunston church, and the dark cloud which dumped its contents on us about ten minutes later.

Windmill without sails in Braunston

We walked along the main street for a while, and on our way back noticed this:

cruck frame (?)

Then we returned to our route, and followed the residential street Greenway along, then took the fourth turning into Countryside (really). The footpath heads more or less north. I think we missed the route after the first field, as we ended up on the wrong side of a hedge after a tricky stream crossing. Another time, I'll try aiming slightly to the left of the corner!



We walked along the edge of a large field of wheat, and manage to cross the hedge at the top, and find the real route. This leads over a few stiles and passes a house at a distance on the left, then soon turns slightly to the left of Braunston Fields Farm. We crossed a field with some teenage bullocks, who were far more scared of us then we of them. The path crossed diagonally and then led into a small wooded valley, taking us to the corner of Tiltup's Wood.



Here we crossed one field - a short uphill section, and then aimed for the one prominent tree at the top of the next field. The path then crosses another field, and Camp's Copse (not marked on the map, though there is a sign inside!

OK, we're on the route!

Soon we arrived at the minor road leading into Barby. We turned left. On our right we could see another sail-less windmill, this time in dire need of some attention.

Barby Windmill

We didn't go into the village, but carried straight on over the crossroads, and walked for half a mile or so before meeting the footpath from Barby to Ashby St Ledgers. This turned right towards Ashby. We crossed a field and then walked alongside Home Wood, as far as Briccle Wood, where the path turned right. It runs parallel to a reservoir, but there are just a few glimpses through the trees.
We emerged from the trees and crossed a meadow and a track, but at this point the map told us to cross a section of woodland - there seems to be no way through, and there are path signs to the left of the wood, so that was the way we went. The path headed south-east into a small dip and up again until it met the A361. We picked the path up on the other side, and followed it as best we could coming out at a bend in the road just before the Manor House in Ashby St Ledgers. A magnificent building with quite a history, involving the Catesby family, the Gunpowder Plot, and later worked on in the early 20th century by Lutyens.

Ashby St Ledgers Manor House

The gatehouse and the church are also interesting. There is a little more info and a few more photos on the post here, as we walked through Ashby when we did the Jurassic Way.



Two fascinating villages on today's walk.



Thanks to Gary's blog - To the hills







map and details

Taking shape

It's taking shape again - but what is 'it'? Answers in a comment please.

Poor ducks

When we are away from home and return after dark, the ducks sometimes elect to spend the night on the pond. The next night, they're usually back in the pen, waiting for us to close the door. No harm done.
Recently though, after we came home late several nights in a row, the ducks refused to return to the pen at all. We tried herding them off the pond, but they were having none of that.
Duckie (1, 2) disappeared. If I'd laid bets on which duck might be picked off first, it certainly wouldn't have been Duckie, the flightiest one in the group.
Then Runt disappeared. Then Bluebill. Dagnabbit, we were going to be stuck with only male Runner ducks left, and wouldn't the female Muscovy just love that, come springtime? And why won't those dumb-as-a-box-of-rocks ducks come back to the safety of the pen at night?! You'd think they'd notice their comrades getting nabbed.
Then Runt reappeared. I don't know where she'd been... she didn't look injured. I am guessing that something chased her, and it took her a while to find her way home again. I held out hope for the other two girls for a few days, but it looks like they're not coming back.
I'm not sure what's getting them... coyotes, bobcats, raccoons, or turtles. Or something else our game camera hasn't caught here yet.
I'm going to try tempting them into the pen in the afternoon, with corn. But they have to be in the vicinity of the back yard to see it, and I can't have fed them too much in the morning, or it won't work. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Super Duper Doggeh Organizations Near Our House!

TGIF! We just pawed Ma to tell about all the people-to-dog and dog-to-people organizations within two miles of where we live! Just down Highway 101 is the Marin County Humane Society
which has a lot of amazing programs, including one of which you'll find by clicking on the "society." Our pal, Sierra Rose just mentioned its director, Trish King, in her last post, who was also at the K-9 Carnival, courtesy of the Rangers at McInnis Park. And... even closer to us is the California campus of...
Guide Dogs for the Blind (this is the Facebook address.) It is a gorgeous setting and anyone coming to this area to visit should schedule a tour - amazing! Above is one of GDB's biggest supporters - the golden girl herself with... who else? Another lovely golden girl!
And this picture is not about a furpal organization, but rather, about a TV program we caught the other night. We don't watch a lot of boob tube, but stumbled on this NOVA program by accident: Dogs Decoded. It was quite scientific and we were a bit horrified by so many dogs kept in what seemed like a zillion cages for research in part of the program. If you get a chance to see it, we'd like to know what you think. You can click on the program site to learn more about the premise, which is actually very interesting. Also, I was looking for a wintery template and want to give this blog designer a big thanks for letting me use this one that we chose! Have a great weekend!

Serene

A look back on a summer reveals the scenic beauty that can be found just outside San Francisco.

1000 Miles and Counting

Beautiful morning today. Sunny, cooler, dry, light breeze - bike riding weather! Even wore a jacket heading to the bike shop.
Headed out on the road bike about 10:30. Took it easy the first couple miles. Along Mosquito Creek I opened up and got the speed up. In Lake Manawa SP, I turn over to the mountain bike trails to check out the water levels. The Missouri River is down over 2 feet in the last 2 weeks. Unfortunately, the dirt trails are still under water (though the water is slowly dropping).
On to the Western Historic Trails Center. The paved trail behind the Center is still underwater. More trees are now over trail (beavers?). Stopped for water, G2, and granola.
Feeling good during the ride. Pushing the speed, hammering the ride (for me, anyway). Was thinking of continuing around CB, but changed my mind and decided to continue the ride returning to the bike shop. Instead of miles, I concentrated on speed (do miles tomorrow).
Back at the shop, I figured out that my 20+ miles in 1:31 was close to 13.5 mph. When I got home and logged the ride, I calculated my ride at 13.58 mph. The fastest ride for the year. And, during the ride I rolled over 1000 miles for the year.

Zephyr squash

Our first Zephyr squash. Should be ready to eat tonight!
I may have mentioned before that it's an experimentation year for squash. I planted eight different varieties, plus had one come up volunteer in the compost pile.
That volunteer squash turned out to be an acorn squash, sort of. It's either a not-true-from-seed hybrid or it's from the seed of a cross-pollinated one, because it was white-fleshed and not tasty at all. It was a pseudo-vegetable.
I have high hopes for my Zephyrs though. I'll let you know how it goes!
(As you can probably see in the picture, the grass in the garden really took off with the recent rain.)

Fripp Fun

Pom Pom, you asked what else we did on Fripp Island? We ride golf carts to random destinations or no destination. We do the same on bikes. We go to the beach. We go to the pools. We go to the playground. We cook, eat, read, and sleep. That's about it.
I experimented with taking photos at night at the pool. I do a lot of experimenting with my camera. Here are some of the results.
And here up top are some photos of the marshes on the island.