Wildlife - Terrapin

I couldn't believe what I saw as I stood brushing my teeth and looking out the window to the canal bank opposite...

Example image by photographer Jeff Wharton from Braunstone Town, taken near the Abbey ruins in the park.

It was a terrapin the size of a dinner plate located on the Nottingham canal near to Boots industrial estate!

I did a spot of reading up on the Waterscape website...

"Originally native to the UK some 8,000 years ago, the terrapin has made a fateful return to our waterways in the aftermath of 1980s 'turtle mania'.

Tiny baby terrapins, roughly the size of a 50 pence coin, were once thought ideal pets for youngsters in thrall of the Ninja Turtle cartoon heroes. Consequently, aquarium tanks became a common feature of many British homes.
Today, these pets have grown to the size of a dinner plate and developed enough strength to break free of their tanks. Their subsequent, and irresponsible, release into the wild has prompted fears for the health of local wildlife, as well as the terrapins themselves who are ill-equipped to survive in the damp British climate.

Terrapins, along with tortoises and turtles, are known as Chelonians - reptiles with shells. They are almost totally aquatic but also need dry land to bask on during sunny days. Still waters and rivers in the Midlands and Southern England support the largest terrapin populations. These are largely made up of American red-eared terrapins, although snapper turtles and European pond terrapins have also been spotted along our waterways. It is unlikely that these animals are breeding, as terrapin eggs need to be incubated at 25 degrees Celsius for around 60 days in order to hatch"

Facts

Appearance: Similar in colour and appearance to a tortoise. Red-eared turtles can easily be identified by the red stripes on both sides of their head

Size: Adults can reach 40cm

Weight: Up to 2kg

Lifespan: 30 years

Diet: Terrapins are omnivorous and will eat a variety of fish, worms, small animals, snails and vegetation

Family: Testudinidae

Brilliant Spring!

The windows are open, the doors flung wide and the sun has been streaming in. We have been living half outdoors today as the weather has been glorious! And what better way to spend the day than sunning on the roof watching the wildlife?!

The boat is looking stunning after our hard work last weekend, giving her the first through wash of the year!

Just look at that cream roof!

A family of swans have a nest on the bank nearby and have been exploring the reeds opposite...

Count those little fluffy signets...

There have been turf wars however between the swans and these coots who have chosen the reeds as their nest...

Waiting for...

feeding time...

The daisy's are out along the towpath, in fully spring-time show...

And this wild creature has been hanging about the ropes dizzying herself looking at swarms of mosquitos...

Ah, after so much vitamin D today I could almost burst!

Modelling Monday

All photos of Delia Derbyshire are by Lovely Leigh

Swan Song

War of the Coots

In the shimmering sunlight the waterfoul have been scooting up and down the canal, dashing in and out of the hedgerows and generally getting frisky for spring. I witnessed my first War of the Coots yesterday and was taken aback by what I saw. As two charcoal-black Coots spread their rear feathers like Peacocks they circled and charged each other. Head to head, they both rose from the water, resting on their rear plumes and whacked at their opponents chest with their large, feathered feet, causing a great splash. In a few flurried seconds it appeared to be over until another Coot in the area ended up somehow involved and took a dive for it's life to the reedbed, off away from the violence.

It is fascinating to see the aggression in these animals. And when it comes to mating, goodness me, it is possible to witness the killing of their fellow kind. This happened last year when there was an abundance of splashing and banging around on the canal and I saw a Mallard purposefully drown a female. She was bobbing upside down along the Coventry canal the next few days.

Thus, things are not all sweetness and roses in the world of waterfoul. This doesn't distract from the joy's that can be had watching the nature of these creatures, run, fly and swim.

Whitening Winter

This weekend we started to feel the chill starting with Friday when we woke up to a frosty, cold morning...

We moved to our current mooring spot last weekend after receiving a patrol notice to 'move on'. We have been buttoning down for the freeze, hibernating like hedgehogs. I have merely been concerned with spending my days in an office and coming home at night to a beautiful, warm, loving home. Weekends have been our only opportunity to use facilities and spend over the odds at the Marina. Which might I add, Leigh has done brilliantly getting our rather long boat into a very, very, very tight spot when using Castle Marina services in Nottingham.

On Saturday this weekend we took a lovely jolly in a Skoda South, to the family. We had a warm welcome from Papa Bear and Ma Margaret and were sent off on Sunday with a car full of wood! Thank you to all those that donated each piece, we are managing to stay toasty warm and fend off the freezing cold. Mother bird provided a hearty meal at Sunday lunch-time and has plans for making a commissioned piece of stained glass for the bow. Stay linked to find out more about this...

And when we returned on Sunday, we were 4 inches in snow, Delia was fluffed up like a puffer fish to keep warm and we were breathing smoke like dragons on the boat until the wood caught alight.

Monday morning we carted the wonderful wood from car to boat...

and were hassled by some stylish swans who needed a good feed...

We filled the bow full of bags of wood and made a neat pile beside the multi-fuel stove.

Delia was running up and down in the snow like the trouble she really is...

And I was delighted at such a lovely weekend.

Back on track almost!

We left Atherstone on Tuesday and stopped off to see our friends Rupert and Dylan at their mooring just before Hartshill.


After tea and cakes in the sun, lunch and more drinks, target shooting with a catapult, getting coal from a passing coal/diesel boat and visiting the local goats and horse...


and feeding them grass...


we realized we had better make a move.

The plan was to stop off at the marina to use the facilities and carry on back the way we came - towards Rugby. We said farewell to Rupert and Dylan, it was 4.15 and the marina would be closed soon. Delia was itching to get out the boat and stretch her little legs so we found a lovely mooring next too a wheat field and made dinner over a camp fire under the darkening sky.


We were soon enough back at the 180degree junction - Hawkesbury Junction where Leigh did a beautiful maneuver winding the boat in one great swoop to head straight in an empty lock. We cruised another mile until there was an almighty crunch and scraping noise in the engine bay. We moored up at a suitable point as soon a possible to discover that the drive belt from the pulley on the shaft to the alternator was twisted and the metal pulley had moved and was scraping against a metal bracket.

For those that have no idea what this is about, i'll quickly explain. The shaft from the propellor goes through the engine casing and at one end is the pulley (which looks like a big cog). A rubber band - the drive belt, goes round this to another smaller cog on the alternator. This movement of the cog on the alternator charges our batteries; the engine starter battery (much like a car) and the two domestic batteries (our brilliant 6v traction batteries) thus, we can start the engine and have electricity aboard.

Let me point out that neither of us are mechanics in any way. I might know how to change an inner tube on a pushbike but that is about it, Leigh has great instinctual skills but he is not experienced in tinkering away under a bonnet. After half an hour of trying to turn the belt round, we called up some more knowledgeable folk who advised on what to do. We slackened the alternator and popped the belt off. This was a new belt we purchased in March - when we had the engine serviced. Being made of rubber, the belt had softened and buckled being twisted on the pulley. It would no longer sit straight and we had to fix it back on at an angle until we reached the next boatyard to get a new belt. We carried on and then the heavens opened so we moored up for the night.

We reached the rose narrowboat marina the following day and picked up a drive belt. In replacing it, we discovered that the nut to secure the pulley was no longer tightening. On further inspection, the hole was threaded on the pulley and the thread on the nut was gone -it was an aluminium pulley with a steel nut as Leigh pointed out not a good combination. The pulley was beyond repair (unless it could be melted and reset - but who does that now?) so we looked into getting a new one.

By this morning we had our hands on a smashing new pulley and after a bit of brute force from Leigh we had it in place and the belt on by the early afternoon. During all this, we had it made clear that the cogs (alternator and old pulley) required different thicknesses of belts so with the new one we now had the right belt and the right sized pulley.

As as we set off for Rugby again, the rain poured and poured so we pulled over and moored and here we are on the outskirts of Rugby wondering if we should head through the festival goers and boats moored in threes at Braunston this bank holiday weekend or not.

The little things

This time of year is when all the little things come to pass by the boat...


a swan carrying her signets (one of which is hidden underneath her wing)...


ducklings following their mother eager to tear apart bread crumbs...


and here in Hartshill a magnificent foal and mum...

Bluebell waterway

We spent the sunny days last week moored along the way from Hartshill boat yard surrounded by the nature of rolling hills, bluebell woods, setting suns, horses and a new born foal.


The sun has been shining so hot we've done little but sunbathe and watch the mirror images in the water.


We have a floating friend here too...


and had our first bbq of the year! With our floating bearded and furry friends.


I knocked together some splendid salads too; parsley salad, feta and redpepper salad, spicy cucumber and radish salad and cougette with slow roasted toms and cannellini beans with a basil drizzle. Mmmm...

We were running low on water and decided to set off on Thursday to Atherstone waterpoint at the top lock. We had a convoy as Rupert and Dylan came too!








The sky cleared


and we were guided along the cut by shimmering water



We have moored at the top lock to access the local shops and plan to set off again in a day or so ready for the return to work.


The paintwork is looking brilliant...


and we have made a list of what is left to do...


including buying a pole holder for our nicely painted pole...

There are other items to buy too such as a sander to help speed up the sanding down of the bulkheads ready for painting up in blue and cream. And we need to get a new chimney.


We need to get some rope for the life ring and a hook to hang from the stern...


And the insides of the hatches need to be completed by lining with the plywood I cut last year! Never ending jobs it seems but so far all the work completed looks wonderful!