What price freedom? plus the birds and the bees and spooky songs

So CRT confirms that from July 4 we can stay overnight on our boats.  Hooray .  Will we be dashing out to Herbie and setting off into the wide blue yonder?  Not yet we won't.  We'd rather watch and listen to what goes on and how daft / sensible people appear to be. Looking at some pictures today of the crowds on beaches, I'm not all that optimistic.  Having said that, most boaters are more sensible than that, and many of being older, have the need to be more careful.  I'd be interested to know what your plans are if you're a boater.

In other news:

The birds and the bees

Strangely, the number of birds visiting our feeders this week  has diminished drastically.  Well the robin and the pigeons are always around but the tits of various types have largely gone AWOL.  The only reason I can think of is that they have better things to eat since there seems to have been an explosion in insect life.  Our garden is quite literally buzzing with them. A lot of it is due to our huge lime tree which is smothered in its flowers right now.  It looks and smells lovely  but there is a downside - not long now before we're covered in sticky goo. Already we are having yellow snowstorms of bits of the flowers.  The garden needs a good hoovering.

With fewer birds to watch, we've been watching bees instead and until now we never realised how many different sorts we get.  We've had Early Bumblebees, Carder Bees, Leaf Cutter Bees, Red Tailed Bumblebees and of course Honey Bees.  Who'da thought it?  Don't think we're experts - we just looked 'em up when we saw 'em.

In future I think we'll take more notice of hedgerow bees when we're on the towpath and impress other boaters with our new found erudition.

Kath's got some respectable pictures just with her ageing iphone.  We think this cute one is a Common Carder Bee, but if anyone knows different we'd be happy to be told. Nice furry little thing ain't it?

The last couple of days sunshine has brought out the butterflies too, but strangely not on our buddleia.  Obviously the insects haven't read that is is supposed to be the Butterfly Bush.  For some reason they seem to be attracted instead to our conservatory (that sounds posher than it is.  For conservatory read ramshackle old lean to). Kath has spent many a happy hour thrashing around in there with a fishing net trying to rescue them for release outside.  It's only a matter of time before something gets broken. Getting photos of butterflies is hard because they won't stay still for long enough but I shall persevere.

Spooky songs 

Finally, in my search for songs for my mythical money spinner Canal Lockdown -the musical, I was thumbing though some old songbooks noticing how many 60's hits could be brought up to date by just changing the odd word.  Anyone remember Thunderclap Newman?  How about this - I've only substituted the underlined words:

Call out the contact tracers

'Cos there's something in the air

We're gonna get it sooner or later

'Cos the Covid 19's here and you know that it's right

We have got to stay in together

We have got to stay in together now

Lock up the streets and houses 

'Cos there's something in the air

We're gonna get it sooner or later

'Cos the Covid 19's here and you know that it's right

etc.

Spooky.

or how about minor changes to a Boxtops hit to describe the start of lockdown?

Give me no ticket for an aeroplane

Ain't advised to take a fast train

Social days are gone, I'm a stayin' home

'Cos Boris just wrote me a letter.

The search continues.

Well it keeps me off the street.

Bye for now.