Snowy day

It's been the most seriously wintry day of the year so far; we woke to a very complete coverage of snow, and spent a chunk of the morning clearing it from the pontoons and putting grit down on the sloping bits of the paths. Unlike last year's experience at Great Haywood, lots of the moorers were out and about doing the same.

There wasn't much water for the birds to swim in

Elanor made it over by lunchtime, bringing Sally with her of course, as well as the compact dehumidifier we'd ordered from Amazon. The plan is to put this in the engine room, to reduce the amount of water that ends up in the bilges and, indeed, running down the walls at times.

She also brought the heavy duty frisbee we'd similarly got from Amazon. Made from the same stuff as the Kong dog toys, we know it's almost Sally proof because her great friend Duffy has one. After I'd eaten, I went with Elanor to the dog running field, where the combination of snow and her very own frisbee was a huge success with the pooch.

After Elanor left, the ice behind the boat had thinned enough that running the engine in gear cleared a big pool, giving the birds more choice of swimming and drinking space.

At half two, we joined the marina volunteer party; the marina has adopted the stretch of canal from the foot bridge (Potlucks Bridge) to the further road bridge in Willington, number 24, and we all walked along there, picking up what litter we could find and discussing the other work that Jules, the marina staff member responsible for the project, has in mind.

I promised a photo of one of the famous chairs the other day, so, better late than never (like their delivery), here it is: