Waxwing

Waxwing
"To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour."

From "Auguries of Innocence"

by William Blake

Saturday 4 September 2021

A Canal Walk and Baking

 

D and I went a walk along the Grand Union Canal from Catherine de Barnes last week.

Village Hall



The Boat Inn looked busy.









We walked for a change towards Elmdon Heath for a while and then returned and walked in the other direction towards Copt Heath.



The canal was being dredged and we saw at least two dredgers.  A sign with information explained why it was necessary. Apparently the canal is very very badly silted up.























We saw several young Moorhen and also juvenile mallards.























The remaining photos were taken by D with the Canon SX50HS bridge camera.















Baking

D made a Blackberry and Apple  Loaf (recipe BBC Good Food website) with the blackberries picked at Stoneleigh.





D and E made another of the GBBO's cake boxes recipes - this time chocolate and hazelnut babka.  I thought they did really well as E has never made bread and D has only made the occasional loaf or pizza base.








I hope everyone is staying safe and well.


We are in Herefordshire at the moment.  I would have liked to have stayed a few more days as the weather looks good but sadly, we have to return home not just for a shopping delivery but for a gas boiler service and it looks like a BT engineer visit as there are problems with the internet at home apparently :( 





10 comments:

Rustic Pumpkin said...

What a delightful walk, so cool and green, and refreshing I guess many canals are badly silted up, dredging is not something you do every day, is it? The Village Hall looks like a repurposed Victorian school house. I made the same Apple Blackberry loaf, only D's looks much better than my effort. The babka looks amazing! Good luck with your internet. I'm sure you'll be sorted out soonest.

Ragged Robin said...

Rustic Pumpkin - Thanks so much. I do like canal walks but so many round Solihull can be busy. This is one of the quieter ones! Yes that rings a bell re: Village Hall once being a school. Hope you enjoyed the loaf. D's baking skills are improving as he gains confidence. He has often cooked meals but baking is a new venture. Thank you re: the babka - Ionly risked one slice but it was good. Thanks re: internet. Mini hub still working sort of................

Rosie said...

Looks like alovely walk and lovely to see the young mallards and moorhens, they always make me smile. All those signs are interesting and useful too as you walk along the towpath. The babka and loaf look wonderful, good to use the blackberries collected for that. Enjoy your stay in Herefordshire. I hope your internet service will soon be sorted:)

Ragged Robin said...

Rosie - Thanks so much. As you say it is always lovely to see your moorhen and mallards :) Back home now sadly :( Mini hub for internet has been re-activated so I do have a (unreliable!) connection. B thinks problem is outside the house as nothing is coming to the modem from outside or is it the hub - never sure which is which to be honest!!! :)

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

What a lovely place to walk and lots to see both on the water and on the land. Love the loaf with the blackberries.

Ragged Robin said...

Margaret Birding for Pleasure - Thanks so much. I hope your arm is still improving.

CherryPie said...

It looks like a lovely walk. The blackberry and apple loaf looks delicious.

Ragged Robin said...

CherryPie - Thanks so much :)

The Quacks of Life said...

love the ducklings :) looks a nice walk

Ragged Robin said...

The Quacks of Life - Thanks Pete - always good to see ducklings :)