England on the Sharp's narrow boat Hawkeye, Day 4, May 18
Goto Day: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17-19
Up this morning, had breakfast, still chuckling over the events of the previous night. Today, we're going to cruise to Christleton, 22 miles and 13 locks away.
Immediately on getting underway, here came the cavalry!
; 
The little guys are really cute and sometimes move slowly enough to get decent photos of them.
; 
I never tire of the iredescent colors on the male mallards change as the light changes its angle of incidence - although you may before this travelogue is over (grin). The ducklings skitter around like crazy, darting here and there at top speed.
; 
The adult ducks come very close to Hawkeye, expecting to be fed, and are fairly sedentary - compared to the ducklings at least - so it is possible to get good close up shots. The females aren't as colorful as the males though.
Apparently, the Canada geese don't hatch out as soon as the mallards and mute swans do. We haven't seen any Canada goslings. Here a Canada goose is sitting on a nest.
The yards and gardens associated with the houses along the canal are almost always colorful and extremely well maintained.
A closer view of some of the Hawthorne that borders the canal. I must have taken 300 or 400 shots of this stuff trying to get some really good close shots but it was difficult since we were always in motion when we passed the shrubs.
The excitement of narrow boating! (grin)
OK . . . this is better. Frank and Christy cruising.
A pair of nesting Canada geese.
Rural areas were awash with these yellow rape fields. The manor house and barn in the distance are very photogenic too.
; 
; 
I have this thing about dead trees silhouetted against the sky. You'll probably get tired of these before this is all over (grin).
Another mute swan family.
Narrow boat owners are very creative in choosing names for their vessels. Many of them are really cute or comical. I liked this one which reads: "Plan B" then below, hard to read: "C,D,E & F"
The signage here elicited a chuckle. Particularly funny - although probably not intended to be - is the sign in the plants that reads: "Please Slow Down, Thank You". The speed limit on the canals is only 4 mph and most of the narrow boats only travel around 3 mph.
After another pleasant day cruising, covering 22 miles and working only 13 locks, we moored in Christleton, a community just outside of Chester. We had great dinner at the Cheshire Cat, watched some TV, and turned in. Chester and some serious sightseeing tomorrow!
Goto Day: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17-19
England on the Sharp's narrow boat Hawkeye, Day 4, May 18