New beginnings, a new challenge and a reboot

I feel like I’ve returned home to a parallel universe after my time away. I left just about 10 days ago in periodic warm summer days, but I’ve returned to what is clearly autumn.

Uniforms and backpacks are taking over the early towpath from habitual dog walkers; leaves fluttering from hedgerows and trees like confetti dot the water green, yellow and red; evenings cool rapidly bringing heavy dew; while hire boats carry more grey hair and less young pirates.

The water has changed too. I’ve been away, revelling in the ever changing movements of estuaries, meres, and crashing waves instead of experiencing gentle ripples from winds, boats and birds, or expected cascades in locks.

Boatdog has gleefully tackled the challenges of slippery dune sand and spiky marram grass. She’s charged over shore and shingle, celebrating with utter delight her successful archaeological forays that uncovered exciting  remains from decaying dogfish to crunchy crabs.

It’s been a gloriously different setting –  walking in the wind and rain, sun and showers, surrounded by new natural glories. She and I have sat on sandy mounds watching egret and curlew, oystercatchers and ringed plover foraging on the shore before turning to forage ourselves, and bringing back delicious, crunchy, salty samphire from the estuary edge.

It is good to be home, cocooned once more close to nature surrounding the boat, and crucially for me, to have felt needed, wanted, and useful. That was more vital than a break and a reset. Sometimes, we all need to feel we have a value as well as to get away, even from paradise, and it is hard when you lose your inner compass. I’ve returned, ready to reset mine slowly, but I hope, surely, over the coming months. I recognise the importance of purpose in my life and how devastating it can be to feel rudderless and worthless. So I’m back reinvigorated, better educated aware that the only one who can resolve this is me – and I’m armed with a new challenge.

I came back bearing a beautiful Inkle Loom astonishingly handcrafted by my ‘patient’ when I tried to distract him from boredom by showing a picture and speculating how hard he thought it would be to construct. I was asronished when he actually took the mental challenge to reality. This longed-for treat is something to enjoy learning and eventually maybe even mastering. I shall look forward to help from weavers in face-to-face meetings when we moor near them and from shared wisdom on social media.

My time away and a deliberate reduction in social media use have had a positive effect. Doom scrolling was depressing and taking way too much time with no discernable benefits, and I found better things to do! I’ve been sleeping, eating wonderful fresh fish, drinking gallons of water, and walking whilst I’ve been away, although oddly, I eschewed the bath on constant offer in favour of unlimited hot showers!

The better things to do with my time aside from weaving, have included (within hours of returning) unexpectedly meeting up with boat friends, admiring the work completed on board by the Skipper in my absence, as we revamp the interior of our tiny home (retro fitting a small space is always easier when there are fewer living there), and moving before we outstayed our allotted time. 

Above us, as the weather changes, the swallows are busily swooping low over the water and fields, feeding frantically to build their strength for the massive journey to come as most of them head to the warmth of Africa, and they are massing ready for the off.

Unlike the swallows, our onward trajectory is not set in our psyche. We are actively thinking of where to go next. We’ve enjoyed time back in the familiar black and white setting of Nantwich, with its convivial dog cafe and indoor market, sandstone church, and seen the sculpture trail appears to be ageing along with us!

We fancy waters new to us and even slower travel, so as the swallows fly south, we are without haste, pointing our bow north-east.

Huge thanks to all who have contacted me with messages of blog enjoyment and best wishes – I really appreciated each and every one. I hope you’ll join us on our foray into unknown waters as we move next week into our fifth year living and working afloat (an experiment we said we’d try for two years to see how it went!). While we’re looking ahead to the autumn – I found this week that at least one supermarket’s looking further ahead!