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Bobbing Boat

@PKYo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy

27 followers 0 following 111 posts

Liveaboard boater who visits rural inland dales and small towns of England and Wales on a steel narrowboat. Sometimes folks join me. I (he/him) microblog here about […] 🌉 bridged from ⁂ poweredbygay.social/@PKYo, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact

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Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 19/10/2026

This drawbridge was raised, and for a while, this morning. This isn't on the towpath side, but the offside. The canal has pavement (paths) on both sides, here. Cyclists and pedestrians must go back to the previous bridge and take the towpath to the next […] [Original post on poweredbygay.social]

A hand-wound, wooden drawbridge. Its raised walking surface is pointed up at a steep angle, perhaps 75°. Just beyond the bridge is a moored narrowboat. The water under the bridge opens into a small basin and winding hole. There are tall trees along the far bank that still have all their green leaves.

Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 15/10/2026

At Battlebridge basin, there are huge steel rings, visible from across the water. A century ago, boats would tie their ropes to those rings. In the intervening decades, someone has added a sign that says "NO MOORING" because the building's current owners […] [Original post on poweredbygay.social]

A view across the water of the basin to a renovated brick warehouse.

There's a rusted metal ring between the left two lower windows, and a white NO MOORING sign above the middle lower window.

The bricks are yellow. Except for the lower row or windows, all windows are arched, with multiple leaded panes in each.

Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 14/10/2026

I checked out the London Canal Museum visitor mooring at Battlebridge Basin. Boaters can pre-book the space, which fits 1 boat, 2 if double-lashed (moored side by side). The timing is tight. Boats must arrive before the museum closes at 4:30pm but an hourly tourist boat uses the mooring until […]

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Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 11/10/2026

Visited Paddington basin in London. It's surrounded by concrete towers, so it's surprising to see old warehouses just 100 m (100 yards) north of the train station. This photo is facing north from under Bishop's Road Bridge, by Paddington train station […] [Original post on poweredbygay.social]

A blue, broad-beam barge floating in the Paddington Arm, in London.

Across the canal are several brick and wood warehouses.

There are a few other boats, several tall rees, and concrete bridges across the canal.

It's a sunny days with a blue sky and thin clouds.

Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 05/10/2026

I only drank canal water once, aboard someone else's boat. Chris offered me a beverage; I chose water. On serving it, Chris said it was canal water, filtered to make it potable. Chris just emailed to say it's possible blue-green algae in the canal have made it through the filter to make him […]

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Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 29/09/2026

At the marina, I put on shoes and a coat to use the facilities in the shower block—the building that has showers and toilets. Some mornings the combination code for the door feels like too many buttons. Especially if it takes more than one attempt. It's only 6 buttons. Before you laugh, tell […]

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Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 15/09/2026

Decades ago, I found my way on the canals by Nicholson map book. I was saddened to realise the last editions are now 20+ years old. Map books take skill. I'm less good at it since I switched to a digital map. It's easier to count locks and mile markers on an endlessly scrolling phone screen […]

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Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/09/2026

Despite recent rain, the UK is still in a drought. Water reservoirs are still prioritised for drinking water, not canals. Last week Gov.uk reported "the wettest week since early February, [and] August rainfall [at] 78% of the long-term average, [but] groundwater levels continue their seasonal […]

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Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 09/09/2026

Never have I dropped a 🔑 key in the canal. Should it happen, each key ring has a cork ball to keep the keys at the surface of the water. Theoretically, that is. I have no idea how many keys one cork ball will hold at the surface. I suppose I should test […] [Original post on poweredbygay.social]

A floating key ring. It consists of a cork ball attached by a thin cord to a split ring. They split ring has one key on it. The cork ball is about 5 centimetres (2 inches) in diameter. The cord, about 7 centimetres (3 inches) in length, has a white with a a red candy-cane stripe coiled around it.

Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 05/09/2026

On UK canals, both ice and winter maintenance can limit boat movement, but Canal & River Trust still demands that canal boats move every 2 weeks. Alternatively, boats without a home marina can pay CRT to stay 4 months at one of its winter moorings. Boaters must review the online list in […]

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Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 28/08/2026

Up to this summer, the fuel level in the tank was measured by using a dipstick. It was literally a stick, bamboo, with pen marks in inches. The diesel dissolved the ink over time, so the marks were fading. And then the dipstick broke in half. There's a hireboat somewhere in the UK with a […]

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Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 27/08/2026

Lots of buttons, lights, and dials, but for reduced wondering, what I'd really like is a fuel gauge. And a gauge on the water tank. #CanalLife #canal #BoatingLife #boating #BoatLife #boat #narrowboat #Dashboard #ControlPanel

An oak panel with various black-ringed buttons, dials, and meters, and various coloured lights. They show things like RPM, oil pressure, temperature, ignition status, and power source.

Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 25/08/2026

The last 4 heatwaves have evaporated a bit of the water from the boat batteries. Not to worry. I have topped them up with de-ionised water (distilled water). I also just topped up the radiator, as well as the reservoir for the hot-water radiators, using anti-freeze. #CanalLife #canal […]

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Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 20/08/2026

Torrential rain across the Midlands yesterday was a good start. We need weeks more of that before the reservoirs can refill so the canals can fully reopen. #CanalLife #canal #BoatingLife #boating #BoatLife #boat #narrowboat #UK #weather #drought #water #WaterLevel #reservoir

Photo from under a canopy of trees, showing a canal and its towpath. There is plenty af green, including the grassy verge — but yellow and brown leaves, dropped everywhere, show the impact of the drought.

Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 19/08/2026

The boat has its own electric meter, provided by the marina. The marina office sells £10 prepay cards, which buy 30.30 kilowatts. That's £0.33 per kilowatt, £0.07 more than the average UK price. In one day, the meter used 0.78kW, so roughly £2 per week. This will increase once I plug in the […]

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Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 15/08/2026

The boat is in a marina, probably for the winter unless it rains a LOT before the end of September. If it does rain lots, it'll be possible to head out again in October, despite the short days by then. Meanwhile, using a shoreline, I have plugged in the boat to an electric meter on land. I […]

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Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 12/08/2026

Chatting, today, with hire-boaters returning their narrowboat 3 days early because of the heat. I told them: 7 minutes from here there are tree-lined moorings, the shade will reduce your onboard temperature at least 5°C (9°F). It's too bad, because they'll never again hire a boat. People with […]

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Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 11/08/2026

As I sit here reading, my eyes are watering. It turns out that, as it dries, boat varnish stings my eyes. #CanalLife #canal #BoatingLife #boating #BoatLife #boat #narrowboat #maintenance #wood #varnish

Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 11/08/2026

To weather the heatwave, boaters have moored their boats between stands of shady, tall trees. The drawback is less solar power. After a few days of daytime shade the boat batteries get run down. #CanalLife #canal #BoatingLife #boating #BoatLife #boat […] [Original post on poweredbygay.social]

Several narrowboats tied to a hard concrete bank, between two stands of tall, green, leafy trees.

The narrowboats vary in length. The photo shows 4 but there are a dozen more behind the camera.

The canal has a bend. The afternoon sun is able to peek around from there to light the trees on the left side. The camera brightened the whole photo, which would otherwise be quite dark — it's shady! This leaves the small bit of sky over the canal overexposed. (It's so bright, it's blurry.)

Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 09/08/2026

The boat is at a high point of the canal network. From here, all the locks descend. All the water from up here flows away — 100,000 litres (22,000 gallons) each time a lock cycles. Next to the boat, a pipe steadily feeds water into the canal. I don't know which reservoir feeds it — could it be […]

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Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 07/08/2026

Steel-hull boat upkeep. 1. On a calm, sunny day, find a place where you can reach the rust spots from the shore or dock. 2. Sand off the rust and then paint on the rust-blocking primer. 3. Let it dry, and hope not too much dust or plant seeds blow onto the wet paint. 4. Wait for a calm sunny […]

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Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 06/08/2026

At the appropriately named swan doors, swans appear on the canal. Here's trouble, and trouble wants to be fed. Not healthy bird seed, mind you. Trouble wants white bread. Now. Not in a mood to say please. Just hand it over. #cygnet #swan #wildlife […] [Original post on poweredbygay.social]

Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 04/08/2026

A lower water level of 2 inches (5cm) made a difference in the middle of the Harecastle tunnel. Even keeping my head down in the dark, I still scraped my raincoat hood on the ceiling. It was 40 minutes in the dark, with that pinpoint of light getting […] [Original post on poweredbygay.social]

This photo was taken 5 minutes from the exit, so 35 minutes through the tunnel.

It shows an arc of light from the boat's headlamp that illuminates part of the tunnel.

There's no footpath in here, just dark water and dark air onside a seemingly endless stone tube build two centuries years ago. Despite the UK drought, there's still some water dripping from above in places.

In the distance is the mouth of the tunnel — a bright blur. The camera didn't capture any sharp detail; in the confined darkness, the small but very bright area ahead was too much for it to focus on. The roof of the narrowboat is also blurry, and fades to dark ess in the photo's foreground, taken from the stern (back of the narrowboat).

Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/08/2026

I don't keep track of canal trivia. I don't know, for example, which canal lock is deepest — meaning the difference in the canal's water level above and below the lock is great. I went through a lock that is deep. The ladder inside the chamber was very tall. When standing on the roof of the […]

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Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 02/08/2026

I often get kids to help with locks, for a new experience. I manage the safety. Parents tend to hover and warn, "Careful!" when kids walk across a lock gate. Or they provide an answer when I ask the child, "What do you think is the next step?" Or they help wind a physically demanding paddle […]

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Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 01/08/2026

Misread the map book. On one page: 4 locks. On the next page: 4 locks. Must be the same 4 locks, right? Actually, no. That's the drawback of an analogue map book printed on paper, when you turn the page. 4️⃣➕4️⃣🟰8️⃣ I miss the digital Open Canal Map that was updated a few weeks ago and made […]

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Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 31/07/2026

How will this end? Three coot chicks, still in the black fluffy stage, have lost their parents. They were panic-peeping, tightly grouped and paddling away from a lock. Other boaters heard from pedestrians that the adults are above the lock with a fourth […] [Original post on poweredbygay.social]

Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 31/07/2026

Tomorrow another guest arrives for an overnight stay. Two weeks ago our guest took a famous person on a semi-private tour, and we're hoping for a full report of how that went. And if not, it's always good to have extra hands on board. We'll have some locks to do, and there's the water tank to […]

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Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 29/07/2026

Just walked over to offer moral support to a long narrowboat attempting to wind (turn) in a winding hole. It should have been a 3-point turn, but some 🤬 moored along the towpath in the winding hole, in the No Mooring zone, which reduced the available space by a lot. The boater's dog picked up […]

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Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 27/07/2026

Green tunnel effect. The canal here is cut into the land, and the trees reach for the light. #CanalLife #canal #cutr #BoatingLife #boating #BoatLife #boat #narrowboat #UK

A canal with a green canopy of trees overhead, seen from the stern of a narrowboat. The towpath is in the left.

The ground is dry after several heatwaves, and the trees aren't as lush as in past years. Bits of sky peek through between the green leaves. Parts of the towpath grass is dry and yellowing.

Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 25/07/2026

From the bow, I clipped a bouquet from a stand of staghorn sumac that's growing on the offside of the canal, only accessible by water. These plants are native to southeastern Canada, so were obviously brought to the UK for their ornamental appeal to […] [Original post on poweredbygay.social]

Seen from above: a half-dozen dark red blooms with their leaves, in a glass vase sitting on an oak surface. The blooms have the fuzzy texture of a Persian rug, and each have many lobes. The green leaves are longer than they are wide, similar to willow leaves, but with a sawtooth edge.

Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 23/07/2026

Canal & River Trust's "parking pole" says: mooring to the right for five days. That weird black shape with the slash represents a bollard with a rope tied to it. It means: "You can tie up your boat here." After an overnight stay, the boat's moving on […] [Original post on poweredbygay.social]

Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 21/07/2026

This ground paddle has been raised, as shown by the straight, toothed rack: it is all the way up. (A paddle is a door that holds back tons of water.) The shiny black parts are greased. Grease helps the gears move smoothly. Sticking out on the left is a […] [Original post on poweredbygay.social]

Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 20/07/2026

Decoded to turn right and take the 5×-as-long route because the direct route is closed due to water shortages. Even the Canal and River Trust's own volunteers say CRT is "too reactive" —not even tactical — about managing canal water levels. #CanalLife #BoatLife #BoatingLife #canal #boating […]

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Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 18/07/2026

🧵 The boat was listing, this morning, one side hanging on a stone ledge, after the water dropped 1 foot (30 centimeters) overnight. I couldn't push it off. After some water came through from the next few locks, the water rose just enough. I managed to float the boat, and it was time to move on […]

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Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 14/07/2026

My jeans, when they dry, are covered in salt stains. It's because I'm sweating from the heat, while operating locks on the canal. I wear heavy jeans in this heat because nettles along the towpath sting bare legs, but mainly to prevent Blandford flies […] [Original post on poweredbygay.social]

White, dried salt stains on a grey, twill weave denim garment.

A Blandford fly taking a bite of human.

Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 13/07/2026

Windlass in hand for winding lock paddles, I hopped off the boat on the way to a lock. On the 50 meters (about 50 yards) of towpath, I passed under an apple tree, from which I picked three medium apples. Arriving at the lock, another boater said, "I […] [Original post on poweredbygay.social]

Three freshly picked green apples and one steel windlass laying on an oak board.

The windlass is an L-shaped steel bar. Each leg og the L is about 30 centimeters (1 foot). On one end, the windlass has several square holes that fit onto the winding mechanism of a gate paddle. Gate paddles can be wound up or down to let water either fill or drain from their lock chamber. Locks act as stairs of water that canals use to traverse a hilly landscape while keeping the water level so it doesn't flow away. (That would be a river.)

Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 12/07/2026

One way a narrowboat differs from a traditional car: While piloting the boat, the pilot can say, "Take over for me?" and then walk off while the engine stays in gear. The replacement has time to put away a pen and notepad (such as the grocery list), get up, take the tiller, look around to see […]

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Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/07/2026

In the evening, it's time to move the boat for a few hours and then moor in the shade of some tall trees. This evening, the boat is sticking out about 2 meters (2 yards) past a "No mooring" sign. All the other spots along this row of tall trees are taken. With daytime highs forecast in the […]

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Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 07/07/2026

Some bridges are short, some are tall. The classic brick or stone-block bridges have a common shape: the humpback bridge. These are common across the entire UK canal network. When canals were cut deep, bridges were built taller, like on the Shropshire […] [Original post on poweredbygay.social]

A brick, humpback bridge across a canal, on a partly cloudy day, with trees and green on both sides. The towpath is on the right, and passes under the bridge with the canal.

An arched bridge on stone-and-brick pilings, over a canal, with trees and green in front and behind the bridge on both sides of the canal. The towpath is on the left side, and passes under the bridge with the canal.

Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 04/07/2026

I just wrote (emailed) Baroness Bakewell, who introduced the Rights of Boat Dwellers bill, aimed at closing a legal gap for 100,000+ people in the UK who live on boats. I asked her to include a clause that bans financial services (banks and credit agencies) from lowering the credit rating of […]

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Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 04/07/2026

Canals and navigable rivers in England are falling apart at a faster rate. Inland Waterways Association reports a 40% increase in indefinite stoppages—an outage or closure of more than 30 days without a set re-opening date. (Imagine the uproar if road […] [Original post on poweredbygay.social]

A lock gate. The metal fixings that wind open the paddles are old, painted the traditional black and white. But the beam is new. It's a half-dozen unpainted planks that have been bolted together to the size of a traditional (and expensive) solid oak beam.

There are ornamental maples behind the lock, and much green vegetation, including grass. In the foreground, the surface near the lock gate is paved with bricks.

Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/07/2026

A half-day of nonstop locks is a workout for my glutes and shoulders. Glutes must get a workout when I use my legs to push open a lock gate that doesn't really want to budge yet. I could wait a bit longer for the lock to fill, but when you have 20+ locks to do, I apply "let's get this over […]

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Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 29/06/2026

A cast-iron milestone in traditional black-and-white paint, along the New Mainline of the Birmingham Canal Network or BCN. The letters are raised, so can still be read up close, despite the black paint having flaked off. Heading left, or southeast: • […] [Original post on poweredbygay.social]

A black pole, with raised letters, BCN, at the top. It has two signs, also with raised letters. One sign faces left, the other right. Much of the paint has worn off the raised letters.

Text is described in the post.

In the background is a steep bank, overgrown by an assortment of plants, mostly green, a few with flowers.

The canal (not shown) is behind the camera. The milestone and its signs are positioned to face passing boaters.

Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 26/06/2026

On board is a pair of rose clippers that can cut stalks, twigs, and small branches. From time to time, when the vegetation is ridiculously overgrown from the side or from above (I'm looking at you, weeping willows), I will stop, float in place, and spend 10 minute pruning and trimming. It's […]

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Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 25/06/2026

Set out for 2 hours, at 7pm, once the air cooled a bit. By 9 pm, moored in a low-traffic canal, tall trees on both sides for shade from tomorrow's heat. There are industrial buildings on both sides, but industry is quiet after hours. Right? Nope. After sunset, the place starts up. Clink […]

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Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 22/06/2026

As of this evening, the boat is moored beside an ASDA and a McDonald's, both of which have air-conditioning. Tomorrow, while it is 33°C or more, a certain boater will be sitting in McDonald's for a lo-o-o-ong time. I hope my 12-volt fridge can handle the strain. Two years ago during the […]

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Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 21/06/2026

As I pass by, I see canal infrastructure being used as a billboard for anti-immigrant graffiti, with slogans such as "This is England" and George's Cross (🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿). Canal infrastructure dates back to the industrial revolution and peak colonialism. It's […] [Original post on poweredbygay.social]

A brick and steel bridge. Seen from the water, takes the Tame Valley canal towpath across the Rushall canal at Rushall Junction. At water level, under the bridge, an enormous George's Cross is painted on the brick – a red cross on a white ground. I
This symbol also appears on the opposite side (not pictured) and on other nearby bridges (not pictured), sometimes accompanied by the slogan, "This is England" (not pictured), evoking the idea that it's not for people who don't belong.

Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 19/06/2026

Tame Valley canal is full of garbage. Repeatedly I had to stop the engine, open the weed hatch, and pull off an assortment of soft and hard plastic, rope, and pieces of wood, all tangled around the propeller. Small mercies: the endless beer cans and plastic bottles stay clear of the propeller […]

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Bobbing Boat @pkyo.poweredbygay.social.ap.brid.gy · 18/06/2026

When I look out over the forewell at the canal towpath, among the greens I see a riot of flowers: red, several yellows, white, two purples. When I take a photo of what I see, the flowers recede into the many shades of green: duckweed, grass, green […] [Original post on poweredbygay.social]

A lush, green, leafy view along a canal towpath, seen from the canal. The unmowed towpath is full of wildflowers and an amazing variety of plants. On either side of the canal there are bushes and tall trees, especially—in this case, in this place—on the towpath side.

The canal surface is slightly rippled by the breeze. A few bits of blue sky are visible directly over the canal where the trees haven't quite filled in the sky.