Leaves leaves and more leaves

Everytime I go out to see Herbie I have to sweep a load of leaves off the decks and roof. Oak, mostly at the moment. The canal seems full of them too. They seem to get sucked on to the propeller and ruin its efficiency so you have to put it in reverse every so often to clear the leaves away and suddenly the boat goes a lot better.

Anyway, looking at the trees next to our mooring we've hardly started. Tons more yet to fall.

Nevertheless, the canal looks pretty in autumn and I love the light and even the smoke from the boat chimneys.

This autumn I've started using the tonneau cover that came with the boat. (That's the sinking sun you can see over the top of lady Elgar's cratch.) It keeps the leaves and rain off the rear deck. Last year I used to keep the pram hood up. It makes a good barrier against the cold getting in the back door overnight though. Even in the snow we kept warm. Kath hates it as we tend to leave it folded on the roof as we cruise - not very boaty. The tonneau can be taken off in a jiffy and easily folds into a locker.