And Everyday Life Goes on in the Village of Manea.

With the whole wide world and its problems, the little village of Manea seems oblivious to them all. I think it's why I like coming here of a day to do part of my work rounds. I don't think it changed much over the decades and I doubt it will in the near future too. In every direction, there is nothing but Fenland with the nearest town of Chatteris about 6 miles along one road. Across the two rivers and the flooded fen is Ely, but one needs to go along the road to Chatteris and loop around to get there.

Manea people seem very content and happy with their isolated village. Many stop and say hello, but then everywhere in the Fenland is like this. 

A Cup of Tea and Watching the Houseboats in Benwick of the Fenland.

Most of my job involves me driving to and from various locations in Chatteris, Fenland, Cambridgeshire. It is a very pleasant job in a wonderful little rural English hamlet. There are two other smaller villages that I must go to, outside of Chatteris. They are a few miles away and across the Fenland and its waterways.

One of them is Manea, where the bird hides are. I often go birdwatching here. The other is Benwick, a small village nestled amid fields and a small river that runs through it. Because it was a rather nice day, I decided to have my tea break by the river bank near the graveyard.

I was looking down at the old dilapidated mooring platform while munching on a sandwich. I then heard a houseboat chugging along the waterway and went to the bridge to get a photo.

A man and a lady were steering the rudder as the houseboat chugged along. I got a friendly wave from the man when he saw me photographing his boat. As he went under the bridge, I was standing on, I got a back shot too. 

Then moments later another houseboat chugged along from the other direction. Again, I got a shot of this boat too.

My wife and I often talk about buying such a boat. One can travel the length and breadth of Britain via the canals and waterways. The Fenlands, where we live and work is crisscrossed with these wonderful waterways.

The Boatyard on the River Nene.

I thought this boat was grand for the waterways of the Fen.

It was the last day of work today, before having four days off. It has been a little vexing this shift because I've managed to break two work vans. Both are in the fitters awaiting repair. The third truck I've been using is a little Isuzu with a container cage at the back. Hopefully, when I go back on Saturday, I'll have my own truck repaired.

My workmate, Kenny, asked me to leave the Isuzu in the dock yard for him as he is in tomorrow and will be using it. Therefore, I drove it to Wisbech docks and into the boatyard.

I was taken by all the boats in dry dock and the huge crane/sling that lifted the boats out of the River Nene and onto the dockside for various types of repair work. I had a little wonder around and took a few photos on the mobile phone camera.

My fancy was caught by a small canal boat with a low draft. It is not for the open sea but more for the waterways of the Fens. I thought it might be a wonderful craft to have.

There were also boats for the high seas too. Although some needed rather a bit of TLC before being put back along the Nene and out into the Wash and then the open sea.

Hull restoration well on its way. 

Another waiting for a refit and touch up.

I'm told this one goes to the off shore wind farms.

The boat hospital

Various boats awaiting attention

The sling that drops below the hull then lifts vessel out of river Nene.

Nooks and Crannies of Downham Market.

Downham Market is full of odd little passageways and courtyards. They always look inviting and I can't resist going down them. I enjoy having a wander around the town. It is upon a hill and the little town centre looks as though it is captured in time. We were going to buy a house here when moving up from Essex. However, we settled upon the notion of moving to March in the end.

We still venture to Downham every now and then. Sometimes we do our grocery shopping there. It all makes for a nice afternoon out.

Great Interest and Dynamic Growth - It Has Risen and Flowered.

My wife, Carole, came in with this photo on her mobile phone. She had planted a Clematis plant in the spring and it has been gradually creeping up and along the fence. 

I never realised how vibrant and pretty the flower was. I had become impatient with her continuing to say, "It will flower around September time."

Well, it never and I lost interest.

Then she came in this morning with this on her mobile camera. I went out to take a look and was amazed by the yellow array growing out the front of the purple flower. It looks like an ariel or antenna. What is it for? I have no idea. Though, I suppose it has some purpose. It does give it an added appeal.

We had a look at other flowers within the bed and I realised that as the autumn kicks in, the garden will wither and hide for the winter. The bleak Fenland, where the fields were alive with various crops, will become ploughed dirt. These fields will sit out the winter through the snow and sleet.

Then the spring will come and everything starts to blossom with new promise. We love the Fenland and we will add to our garden's growing delights when that particular season comes around again. The Nursery Gardens are in abundance around here and we have bought more wildflower seeds for the greenhouse. This is in case our ducks get to them before they get a chance to grow in the flower beds.

Feeling Much Better and the Wildlife is Helping BIG TIME!!!

My wife, Carole, has had a wee bit of a cold over the past few days. Her appetite had gone and her back was aching. She felt lethargic too. I was beginning to worry because she rarely gets ill.

We both went to bed early last night because I get up at 04.30 to go to work. I slept like a log. Fortunately, my body clock always wakes me before the alarm goes off. Therefore, I am able to get up without waking Carole.

This done, I went to the shower and put on my work clothes. I heard the bedroom door open and out came dotty dog Dotty wagging her tail excitedly. To my delight, Carole followed looking bleary-eyed still, but wearing a smile.

I made her a cup of black coffee. She only drinks strong black coffee. She sat down and the cobwebs gradually cleared away.

I asked how she felt and she replied that she was feeling considerably better.

Outside it was still dark with a wonderful clear star filled sky. We chatted to each other for a bit when I went in to continue getting ready for work. The sensor light went on by the carport and I heard Carole woop with pleasure.

"Colin!" she called. "Get the camera quick!"

With great aplomb, I sprang into action. I was out by her side and saw a small hedgehog by the back door going to the back garden. It had frozen and curled up. It had caused the sensor light to go on as it was scurrying through the carport to the sliding door, leading to the back garden.

I tried to get a photo shot. However, because I had left the 300m lens on and the little hedgehog was so close, I could not focus. I looked down at the camera and the next thing I knew; the little hedgehog was off. I was much more nimble than I expected.

We went into the garden, which is rather wide, with lots of scattered shrubs. In the darkness, we could find nothing. Carole had a small torch and was sweeping the area to no avail. It was dotty dog Dotty who found the little urchin amid the strawberry plants.

"Use your mobile phone camera," said Carole.

I did and got some nice shots of the little creature. There are three hedgehogs that come into our garden and this is the middle sized one.

I went off to work while Carole went back to bed for a few hours more. When Carole got up again; she decided to take dotty dog Dotty for a walk and saw a dazzling sight. Two magpies were harassing a kestrel.

The kestrel, under duress, started to make high pitched screeches. This caused Dotty to start barking. The magpies managed to get a hold of the kestrel as it went to the ground. Here it was pinned down and in a desperate state.

But then, to Carole's surprise, two more kestrels appeared. They immediately started swooping at the two magpies who were, in turn, harassed off by the nimble swooping of the two fellow bird of prey friends.

When I got home from work, Carole was full of excitement about the whole episode, during the morning dog walk. I was pleased to see that the Fenland wildlife had brought her spirits back up. Especially when the kestrel managed to get away from the magpies. She was giggling because her mobile phone flap fell over the lens as she was trying to control over excited Dotty and get things together for a photo. By the time she had sorted herself out, the whole episode was over. Never mind - better luck next time. I was just pleased that Carole was back to her normal self.

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The Sight and Sound of Ambient Things.

Our bedroom window overlooks the raised decking of our garden. My wife and I sit here. She likes doing her Sudoku book puzzles and I like reading and messing about with multimedia. Sometimes we talk about minor little things but we do enjoy the garden in the summer.

My wife Carole is always doing things to enhance the garden and she is keen on various types of plants from perennials to fruit trees and shrubs.

We bought a nice water feature earlier in the year and now we have it on all of the time. We put pot plants about it at the edge of the decking while the water gently trickles down the tipped old pots effect of the fountain and waterfall. It's a joy waking up in the morning because the water feature is usually gently trickling away amid the terracotta pots and the array of plants.

Carole is usually up before me when I have rest days from work. She turns on the water feature from the bedroom and then goes straight out into the garden and lets out the ducks and the chickens. I gradually wake up to these nice little sounds of nature and know I have a fine day ahead.

Bob - the wild furry Rag Doll cat comes bounding in and meowing for his first feed of the day, He is a great old lump and is probably one of the laziest cats in the world. He seems incredibly laid back too. He never goes far and wanders about among the ducks and chickens, usually giving them a little room as he goes about his business. He is disinterested in them and the ducks take no notice of him either.

Also, Dotty our highly strung and excitable dog comes bounding in for a fuss too. She is always happy and loves to be around people. The dog and cat take no notice of each other and Dotty, like Bob, gives the ducks their space when she goes out into the garden to check the perimeter. Carole and I call this Dotty patrol. 

She will kill any rat or mouse she comes across. The mice are attracted to the chicken and duck feed and come in from the farm fields across the road. Sometimes she catches them, but the little field mice are very quick. We've had two rats try to set up home by the shed near the chicken coop, but Dotty got both. She also manages to catch the odd mouse now and then.

Bob, the cat, catches voles and brings them to the garden door sometimes. We are always surprised by this because Bob is such a fat old lump and can hardly move. He has none of the gracious ways that one usually associates with a cat. When he scales the garden fence, which is six foot high all the way around, he always looks as though he just made the jump. When he drops from the fence top upon the decking, he has the finesse of a hippo trying to be a ballerina. He hits the floor with a splat and then just gets up and waddles off.

Carole planted some sunflowers seeds as we were both keen on getting some big sunflowers going. However, our ducks ate them. They wander the garden freely. We had them in the chicken coup but the matriarch chicken started pecking the drake. Once this started all the other hens ganged up on the drake. We decided to move him and the three girl ducks into the garden and put their duck house here too. 

We also had a smaller redundant chicken coup here. Since the duck move, there is also a solitary chicken wandering the garden too. This new addition is because Carole suspected the other chickens began to gang up on this single chicken too. I don't know, but this is what Carole is convinced of. 

Then there is her rabbit called Willow. He likes to bound about in his little garden space. His raised hutch has a ramp leading down into the enclosed bit of garden and there is also four guinea pigs too.

Because we only had one sunflower seed left, Carole put chicken wire mesh about it for protection from the ducks. I laughed at such antics at first. Then she showed me the shoots sprouting up. This was only a few months ago. Now the sunflower is taller than me. We are delighted with it.

Now the sunflowers are taller than me.

Ducks doing their duck things.

On Our Way To The Manea Bird Hides In Fenland England.

Carole, Imi and Jessie

Today was very hot but also rather blustery. We have two granddaughters staying with us this week – Jessie and Imi. They were playing around with Carole’s huge dolls house that has all the furniture and so on. Our other granddaughters often like to play with this dolls house and it is a favourite among all of them. We have eighteen grandchildren now.

After a while, Carole and I decided to take Jessie and Imi to the bird hides. We had a collection of binoculars, a couple of telescopes and some food and drink. Also, I took my camera with me. It passed a couple of hours and for a while, the girls enjoyed looking out across the fen from inside the bird hide. We saw a multitude of swifts or swallows, two egrets that appeared to be a courting couple, a cormorant, kestrels, swans and the Marsh Harrier, which seemed to be everyone’s favourite.

There was also an abundance of dragon flies and butterflies too. It passed a couple of hours before we returned home. I managed to get various shots of birds and insects during the little outing.

Kestrel

Crossing the old bridge

Along the pathway

Passed the rickety old cottage

A dragon fly stays still long enough for a click 

Seems to be a lot of thistles

The River Delph

Swifts move so fast it is hard to catch them in the camera

Marsh Harrier makes its cameo appearance

Probably hunting for rodents in the long grass

Patrolling its hunting grounds

A love struck egret has something in mind

Hello - just dropped in

Do you come here often?

Oh not too often.

The Marsh Harrier returns

The Cormorant takes off

On the way back there are more butterflies and thistles

All in all

A nice nature ramble

     

The Old Morgan Sports Car in the Fens

It was a beautiful sunny day as we made our way through the countryside, following the garbage lorry through the Fens. We were approaching the little village of Newton. As we were loading the brown bins, I looked over at a group of terraced cottages and saw a man reversing a red Morgan sports car upon the drive to the side of his house.

I grabbed a quick photo shot for one does not see the old retro Morgan cars too often. It should have had spoked wheels, but for some reason it was sporting newer MG type looking wheels. The vehicle was obviously going to be the man's project.

As he reversed and parked the car, he grinned at us and shook his head. "I'm a bit too old for one of these," he said jokingly.

We laughed and wished him well with his car and continued with a bin clearing as we moved on by.

Carole All Pleased With Her Garden's Progress.

As the summer kicks in, the garden will come alive. Soon the wild flowers we have scattered everywhere will spring up. I look forward to plants that over hang and cascade. I like the unconventional look where the flower beds are an undisciplined riot of colour in nooks and crannies here and there.

I'm no gardener but Carole is very good. She assures me that as the summer kicks in, we will have a more developed display than we had last year. If so, it will be great because last years wildflowers looked splendid. We walked around looking at the first little wave of flowers. We know the best is yet to come in greater abundance.

Forty Winks Before I Go To Bed

One pint of Guinness too many. It was a very hot day and I got home from work deciding that a nicely chilled Guinness would go down a treat. In fact it went down so well, I decided upon another. Then another and... *#> How long is a piece of string. 

My little water feature was trickling away lending to the warm relaxation and the inner zen of my well being. Carole decided to capture it on camera. She said I slept for about 2 hours. Never mind it was a very fine day indeed. 

Whittlesey Moving Towards Summer.

I had been emptying bins in Whittlesey during early April and was struck by the spring beginning to take a hold.

Therefore I took the opportunity to get a few picks on the mobile camera as we went about our work. It was a great spring morning and the Fens are beginning to come to life as the various flora starts to pack its presence felt.

It gives me a lift, and my work mates agree also. Being out and about from now until early November is great. The winter never seems to last long. This year it has been the mildest winter I've ever known.

Still I'm not complaining. The Fenland is beginning to bloom. I actually get up and look forward to going to work, especially now the mornings a daylight at such early hours. Their birds are singing and the fields are becoming green with crops. Some yellow with rapeseed. That stuff grows so quickly.

The Fens are at their best in spring and summer. We worked the streets of the hamlet towns among the old thatched cottages. There seems to be a lot in Whittlesey nestled among the more modern housing.