Sauntering Vaguely Downward

Someone chucked a load of bread into the canal near the pub, and the black-headed gulls got wind of it. They're a lot less noisy and aggressive than herring gulls, so we enjoyed watching them dipping and diving for choice morsels.

A strange frost-coated thingumbob on the canal towpath the other day.

Today Humuhumu went back to school, but Keiki was at home because it was a teacher training day at his school. You'd think that they'd be thrilled when this happens - no competition for internet-enabled devices, or access to parents. The reality, however, is that they spend most of the time asking when the other one is finally going to get home.

Rather than mope wistfully around the house for the whole day, Keiki and I decided to tackle a milestone he's been wanting to accomplish: Walking all the way to Tardebigge Tunnel and back. This is no mean feat. It's over 4 km uphill to get there. It took us two hours and ten minutes round trip with only a few brief stops for a drink of water or to unwrap a sweet. Above, he stands proudly at the entrance to the 530 metre tunnel, which can only be accessed by the water.

It's definitely autumn now.

There was a swan sailing up and down the lock yesterday, peering at us with great scepticism.