The Pig Yard

September - This is one of our favourite times of the year. This month has been very pleasant with below average rainfall and some reasonable temperatures. The mid week days are busy with work - Jane was busy in the evenings playing squash or table tennis while Steve was so exhausted after a day at work he slumped in front of the TV.

With so much going on this months update is very brief especially as we fly off to San Francisco in early October.

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We got out early in the month for a walk from the village along the canal into Northampton. The sky had a few wisps of clouds and there was a general clatter of dragonflies here and there.
After arriving at Sixfields we headed back across the fields and found the footpath closed because of work on flood defences across the River Nene. As it was a Sunday we decided to ignore the signs and crossed the area. There was some very heavy plant standing around.

This is one of our favourite walks but it will be closed for at least the next three months while this work is carried out. Goodness knows what the landscape will look like after it is completed.

We went off on a long weekend to visit our niece Jo up in North Yorkshire Dales. She is working in Stainforth Youth Hostel but we stayed in a B&B in Settle. One reason for visiting Jo was to deliver our old settee in the back of our trailer.

Within hours of arriving we walked along the Ribble valley and went to Ribble Head to visit this magnificent Victorian viaduct.
On the Saturday afternoon we went on a great walk over hill and Dale. We've missed these weekends away during the spring and summer. Next year we are planning to take all of our holidays in the UK and make sure we get away more often.
A visit to a limestone furnace was fascinating. This is a monument to the industrial revolution that us very understated. There were no big signs, no fees and nobody else was around.
One weekend we came in from the garden to find a grass snake on the carpet - no doubt a present from one of the cats. It was very small and we quickly had it scooped up into a jar and transferred to a wet area in the garden. We just hope the cats leave it alone now because it's really good to have such a variety of wildlife in our own garden.

Steve bought himself a new chair for his office area. As with all things he took a long time deciding which one he wanted but he is really very happy with his choice.

Many hours of sitting in front of the computer, now in comfort.
We missed a couple of flying slots during the month but we did manage to fit in one flight and luckily landed in the middle of Salcey Forest on Salcey Lawn. There was quite a bit of low cloud so we ventured above the clouds to fly in some brilliant sunshine. The landowner was really friendly and there was no problem with the retrieve.

The garden is looking a bit of a mess and so we started on sorting out the pond. We pulled out the reed mace because it had grown too large and had fallen over. The pond is losing water somewhere so it looks as though we will need to lift out all the plants and inspect the lining for damage. Current thinking is that the black bamboo roots have grown through the side of the pond liner.