The Chronicles of Donna the Duck:
Chapter 9: OUT ONTO THE THAMES
As our holiday progressed so did our supply of straw diminish. Several times a day soiled straw was left floating behind us as I cleaned out Donna's quarters, but we were cruising at the right time of year. The fields were full of the ripe harvest and at the edges of these fields were the remnants that the combine harvester could not reach, small amounts that would lie there and rot away, ideal for a little duck's bedding, so we were never short of clean sheets. After several days cruising we stopped, as planned, at the Inland Waterways National Rally of boats at Hawkesbury Junction near Coventry. We were dismayed to find that our allocated mooring was third boat out from the bank. We were to stay here three days and this was quite impossible with 2 dogs and a duck. So we moved. We found a much better spot, even if it was a long way from the rally site and all the festivities. We were next to the bank, there was some grass so we tied up there happy that the livestock would have all they needed. I enjoyed these days at the rally, there is always so much to do and see, friends to greet, events happening, there was a wonderful firework display too, but one afternoon stands out to me as so enjoyable, all thanks to Donna.
We had been up to the site and had returned to the site for a well earned
cup of tea. We decided as it was hot and sunny to spread out on the bank. Of course Donna came too. Mike started picking snails off the boat's hull where they could be seen just below the waterline. She ate them avidly and soon we were all lying face down searching for snails and feeding them to her. Next we wondered if she would like little fish and we tried to catch some that were swimming around in the shallows. All we had were a few shallow dishes but we were quite successful. When we offered our catches to Donna she would chase the little fish round and round the dish until she caught it and it disappeared as she did a big suck and the fish would disappear, it was hilarious, and we were all kids again fishing for minnows and feeding the duck. She would watch us and wait for our catches and then they would disappear in double quick time. The water was very shallow here and the boat had to be about a yard away from the bank so we had to use gangplanks, but the area of water left was just ideal for Donna. Let into this she would patrol the length of the boat and never venture beyond out onto open water. She seemed to like the security of this pond like stretch of water and was soon there would be a flurry as she would disappear under the water and I wondered if she was catching her own fish. Passers by would stop and admire her, and chat and of course take her photo,she was in her element. Later as she preened her feathers on the bank she was approached by a toddler. A little girl of about two years old seemed fascinated by this duck and it seemed mutual. They talked or chattered to each other, waddling around each other and seeming to be making real friends. The parents were close by having a picnic and they watched delightedly and of course kept their camera busy. This afternoon had made me realise that we were surrounded by Donna's natural foods, I had only seen her eat a little water weed, and had never thought she would like snails and small fish. So this gave us another hobby. At the next little shopping place we came to we bought a small fishing net and so at every halt the one who got to the net first spent time fishing for her, just the little fry, she seemed to like them up to one inch long. One day we offered her a bigger fish, about 2 inches, she tried, but had to spit it out, that was too big for her. It may seem a bit cruel to the fish but it was only a natural sort of event, if wild she would be doing this all the time. Some stops we could not find any fish, others the tiddlers would be in masses and then she would have a good supper. She seemed to enjoy everyone. Later on I got the idea of putting the fish into her bucket and letting her catch them herself and this seemed a great game to her. She would thrust her head under the water and it would go round and round and she would come up eating. Certainly when I cleaned out the bucket there were no fish left so she had had a successful fishing trip.
After these days at the Rally we moved off down the Oxford Canal and soon settled into our routine again. The weather was good, we were all feeling fit and looking brown, Donna looked fat and sleek so we decided the life suited her. On the lower reaches of the Oxford we found lots of patches of duckweed floating. I scooped some up and offered it to Donna to see it was aptly named. She absolutely loved it, so that proved to be another food source. My supply of lettuce had run out and as shopping is a little bit unpredictable on the canals finding duckweed became a useful addition to her diet. So now if anyone remembers passing a narrow boat with a middle aged woman hanging over the side fishing for duckweed, you know why.
OUT ONTO THE THAMES
The Oxford Canal joins the Thames at Oxford and our plan was to turn into the Thames, go west to Lechlade which is the upper limit of navigation, turn and retrace our wash to Oxford then continue down to Brentford. There we were to turn onto the Grand Union Canal by which we would then return to the midlands. The last stretch of the Oxford was lovely, still hot weather and beautiful scenery. I remember picking wild hops and clematis off the hedgerows and decorating the inside of the boat. Duckweed abounded here so I filled Donna's bucket so she was well content. As we emerged from the Oxford onto the Thames everything changed. The wide expanse of water was to be expected of course, but the sun went in, it became very windy and the water was very choppy. We had to tie down with rope the tubs of geraniums I had on the roof or they could have been blown overboard. I decided to pen Donna into her night quarters in case she became flustered by the unusual conditions. We travelled a couple of hours in this and then tied up for the night. Mooring on the Thames is not the same as on the canals where one side of the canal is always a tow-path and owned by British Waterways, here the banks are privately owned and you can only moor where moorings are offered and of course you pay for the use of the bank. This mooring on our first evening on the Thames was very pleasant but the river here was extremely wide, quite unsuitable for Donna. However, again we had to moor quite a way out from the bank and use gangplanks so there was an area of water between boat and bank that would make a nice sheltered pool for her. So I had decided that after our evening meal she would be able to have her usual exercise. While sitting eating, I suddenly saw this flash of white out of the corner of my eye. Donna who was loose again in her cockpit had decided to explore this vast expanse of water, in very choppy conditions. This time I really had visions of her disappearing as the wind and current took her away and I ran out onto the bank shouting her name at the top of my voice. Thankfully, she heard me and turned towards me and battled her way against the elements back into the calmer waters alongside the boat.
