Spring Intentions

If there is one season that is guaranteed to put a smile on our face then it is Spring.

The culture of making new years resolutions is wholly inappropriate when compared to the feeling of rejuvenation and optimism the warmth of March sunshine can foster in oneself. Setting new intentions, cleaning away the Winter months and their cold, dark hours with a list of adventures and jobs to tackle is the ideal tonic for ones soul. Watching the new growth, bedazzled by the first primroses, lulled by the Woodpeckers marking their territory with their beats and the Lapwings play and tumble over tilled fields. Being ensconced in this swathe of nature that follows Britains canals is both a joy and a privilege.

I hadn’t really thought of this before, but this wildlife corridor is home. For that is exactly why the canal network is as important today as it was before the trains rendered the working boats and ultimately the network redundant. The network is an important part of the abysmal 8% of the country that we have access to. Easily accessible and full of a cornucopia of wildlife from the jewel like Kingfisher to the exotic Otter. Even the common Mallard has the most mesmerizing and beautiful Iridescence in his feathers.

Just as the leaves and buds are opening, so can we open the windows and doors of our narrowboat, and begin to feel warmth and the breeze and moisture. That feeling of being at one with the World again, feeling her awaken from the darkness into longer brighter days. The Sring Equinox should become the time of resolutions but make them intentions, hopes for the yaer ahead. Not in the Winters darkest depths at the end of December should we resolve to change habits or learn new skills. it is at the beginning of Spring when mother nature is showing us her rebirth, her commitment to the the new. So should we utilise this energy, grasp the extra warmth, time and light to make new commitments to ourselves.

it isn’t just just a reawakening of the flora and fauna around us, the floating steel tubes are back in relative abundance. At some points during the Winter months, there can be whole weeks in between the passage of boats. But almost as soon as the clocks leaped forward into spring, the boats and their happy crews are back, from the shine and dazzle of the newer boats to the comfy familiarity of the liveaboards with their roofs full of wood foraged from some recent towpath. We have even had the drunk day boat wobble by as the the slightly inebriated captain tackled new skills and experiences whilst never letting go of her Prosecco. This more probable and dependable event, definitely marking the start to the boating ‘season’!

Spring also signifies a look inwardly. Lighter nights and warmth, equal boat jobs. A time to literally re-build your nest just as the birds are busy doing. This year in particular is very exciting for all on board. When we first got Oddstruck Belle, it was a rush to strip her and get her liveable, although a struggle of many long days, we did it! However she is looking a little tired inside and is in need of a thorough refresh. We have started on what was our walk in wardrobe. It has been gutted and we are making it into an office space with some bespoke storage idea. And this is just the beginning of what we are planning… it’s a very exciting time for certain.