Busy old day.

Hi Folks.

Last night we had a lovely sunset, which gave us a lovely sunny start to Thursday. Not exactly what we need right now, but who am I not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Today was painting day.

Whilst I rubbed the bow and gunwale down, Keith got on with rubbing the back counter down with a wire brush on his drill, it certainly did the trick. The problem we have with our back counter is the fact that Paddy scratches the paint with his claws when he jumps off the boat. So water gets into those scratches and rust appears after a while. we have tried putting a mat on the back counter, but when Paddy makes a jump for the bank, the mat heads towards the water. So we have to make sure we keep on top of the paintwork on the back counter.

With the rubbing down done, I coated the back counter with Red Oxide to hold the rust at bay and then later in the day painted a coat of red enamel on top. I will give it a few days, then give it another coat of enamel. The bow, gunwale and back counter do look very smart now.

Whilst we literally waited for the paint to dry, Keith got our chairs out and we sat and drank coffee, whilst watching the world go by. I then went off with my camera to take a few photographs. I was fortunate to capture this little critter.

I believe this is an American Mink and not a European Mink, because there is no white lip. It is sad that this creature is such a killer. Mink prey on fish and other aquatic life, small mammals, birds and eggs, and have decimated areas of their wildlife, which is so tragic. I still felt fortunate to have seen one though.

I also saw this stunning Common Blue Butterfly, which looked fantastic in the sunshine.

I have had a wonderful day, which has finished with a nice hot shower and a packet of crisps. I am now going to put my feet up until bed time.

Chat soon xx