Another year goes by

As we all say farewell to 2009 I know that I have much to be grateful for and I would like to say thank you to everyone who has endured "The Vagabond Trail", for the comments and the encouragement. I will also take this opportunity to wish you all a healthy and happy new year.

It has almost become a daily ritual for us to spend the first hour of daylight watching the bird feeders, which are sited about 10 ft in front of the truck. Beyond the the feeding station is a narrow brook, then a small open field the far side of which is bordered by the river blythe. A couple of days ago, whilst watching a small raiding party of about 9 long tailed tits bashing the feeders something in the background caught our eyes. At first, I thought that it was a lapwing but when taking a closer look with the binoculars it turned out to be a snipe. In the past, I have only ever caught fleeting glimpses of these birds as they dodge low and swiftly over the fields, this chap however, sat for ten minutes or so allowing me to attempt a couple of photographs. A short while later a little egret that we had been watching for a day or two had now become a pair, smart little birds they are, in their pure white outfits. This it seems, did not please one of the local herons who slowly circled the air space above while calling out like a pterodactyl. The brook is a regular fishing beat for him where we have watched him take countless small fish and frogs and when the brook is not frozen he wades right in front of the truck and sometimes posing for the odd photograph. We have also recently seen a pair of bullfinches but they are not quite as obliging when it comes to modelling for me. We had a brief surprise inspection by a cock pheasant too, checking out the standard of the cuisine around the foot of the feeders and all of this being watched by a robin, who stands like a guardsman and occasionally chasing off interlopers of any size with great courage. Well it is almost 0750 hours, time for the next episode, catch you later.

Lady of the stream

The Grayling is a fresh water fish that has earned itself the title "Lady of the stream" it is a "game" fish that is said to make good eating. Over the last week or two, I have been passing some of my time reading about Grayling, learning their habits and feeding preferences. I have not been fly fishing for a full year yet, but I have really learned to enjoy it. The Trout season ends with the onset of autumn but the Grayling season continues through to spring so I wanted to learn the best tactics for catching these fish. Through the summer months, I caught quite a large number of these fish but all were quite small, no more than six to eight inches. Now I read about a technique called Czech nymphing, it involves using a team of three different flies on one line and is said to be the best method. When I fish with a single fly, I always get tangled, miss bites, lose flies in vegetation, all clearly an indication of my ineptitude, none the less, I still enjoy it. Boxing day I decided that I would give this Czech style a try. The day was cold and crisp with lots of sunshine, I set up the tackle and took myself off in search of some of the "Ladies" I made a couple of gentle casts to try and get the feel of things and within minutes had a huge tangle of line and flies on the end of my rod. For about twenty minutes I stood untangling this mess, hands and feet getting cold, my temper beginning to fray. All sorted, I stretched out the line and cast again only to achieve a second and much worse tangle, for another half an hour I went through the same frustration of trying to untangle this multi-fly rig. I almost reached the point of taking my knife and cutting the line off and giving up this stupid technique. By now, through lack of movement, I was freezing cold and so had a short walk along the river casting carefully in several different spots that I thought may hold fish. Nothing. Not a bloody sniff. Down hearted and nearing a state of depression I turned back upstream to head for the warmth of the truck when I saw another stretch of water that might be worth a try. I lay my net on the bank and carefully waded back into the ice cold river, I made three casts then "Bang" the rod tip took a sharp dive and about twelve foot of line was pulled off my reel. WooHoo I am thinking trembling with the thrill of some real sport, carefully I played the fish, then it broke the surface and I caught site of the large reddish dorsal fin of a Grayling. The fin alone was half the size of any previous fish that I had caught when it took a dive, pulling the rod tip down again and shaking like a Jack Russell terrier. For the next five or ten minutes I savoured the fight before landing the fish in my net. What a lovely fish, the biggest fish of any species that I had caught so far. I photographed my prize and thought about the meal that it would provide before placing it back in the water and releasing it. Lady of the stream? it fought like a true warrior, no way could I take this fish for the table. I have no idea of it's weight nor do I really care but the fish was about 13 to 14 inches long and in superb condition. I cleaned up, gathered my bits and pieces together and returned to the truck feeling really pleased with myself. Those Czechs, it seems know a thing or two about the ladies.

Thank you ladies for Christmas

I feel that I must say thank you to the women of the world, without who's tremendous efforts, Christmas would become a forgotten tradition. The anticipation of Christmas changed dramatically for me when our girls had grown up and left home. Instead of looking forward to the great wonder in the faces of the children I began to wonder "Why bother any more". Sadly, this year was no different and the pre-Christmas weeks have been a real struggle for me. It is not so much the financial side of things, it is the work, the hunting for gifts, the street fighting with other shoppers, the parking wars and the intrusion in my ears of those same nauseating songs every where I go and so, each excursion becomes more of a chore. It is of course, much the same, for women but with great determination they battle on, slowly, ticking items off lists, undeterred by the moaning of men and their accumulation of "Humbugs!" As Christmas gets nearer I get more agitated and despondent, but the women get more focused increasing their drive and efforts to succeed. Then on the arrival of the big day, everything comes together, most of the magic is returned, I am spoiled with gifts and treats that I would never have thought about, the children are in an excited daze and every ones face carries a large smile. So I saviour it all, enjoying the sounds of the little one's laughing and playing. Yet still the women carry on, disappearing into the kitchen at regular intervals never taking a seat until dinner is served, displayed and tasting like a feast for royalty. Ladies; you are nothing short of wonderful and I say once more, "Thank you all, I really enjoyed the day" I know that without you Christmas would soon become just another day. XXX

Light enterainment

For the last couple of days we have had neighbours, they put up a stirling effort to capture the festive mood. They had two twenty foot poles with twinkling lights to the top, a six foot fibre optic tree and rope lights all around their vans. In the dark clear evenings the effect was very impressive but the neighbours have gone now and likewise the lights. This evening however, we had another display of light, it began at about 1530 hours, it didn't last for long but I thought that you might like a look.

There was a chill in the air and the light faded fast so I snapped quickly, a few more shots before returning to the warmth of the truck. I don't miss the neighbours but I do miss the light show.

Well and truly "dug in"

I am sitting here, looking across the frosted landscape which is shrouded in fog, there are few, if any, signs of life. On the dash board are two brightly flickering church candles and there is a silence, a silence the likes of which, only seems to be present during the winter months and yet there is an air of cosiness. It could be because I have the heating turned up high, it could also be the security of familiar surroundings, but I think, that it is much more to do with the fact that we are well and truly "dug in". The awning is pitched, giving us a larger than normal living space, the bird feeders are in place for premium viewing and I have a strong feeling of contentment. It is our intention, to stay here now for a few weeks and so avoid much of the seasonal panic and anxiety. I do love this life.

Problems!

Oh dear, what is it with me? I have the bug for leather craft now. I must have had more interests and hobbies than a dozen men. Those who have been keeping an eye on my activities will have seen already a few pieces that I have made and now I have a few more. This one, is, I hope, more comfortable than real barbed wire wrapped around the wrist.

The one above on the left is a design based on some of the tribal tattoos that seem to have become so popular over recent years. It is hand cut, dyed with coffee and then given a bit of a shine using bees wax. The last one here is of course a Celtic

design and is made using embossing stamps that I

recently bought from a leather craft shop. I have about another dozen or so, each one different, but I don't want to post them on here as I may give them as Christmas presents. Now, all of this is causing me problems. Space, we need a larger camper, I am running out of places to store all of my hobby materials. Time, there are never enough hours in a day to devote sufficient time to my interests, I think that I will have to give up sleeping in order to get more done. So, that's it, you're up to date with things, except that Meg (my dog) has been very poorly for the last couple of days. In her never ending search for food, she has, I think, eaten something that has given her diarrhea and sickness and it has really knocked her about.

A Christmas Wish

Well, there are only about two weeks until Christmas and it is a time of year that I always have some difficulty with. I detest the mayhem of the shops and the buying for the sake of it, the TV adverts that apply emotional pressure and the loan companies that feed on the struggles of the less fortunate. I never know how to deal with it all, I want it to be a happy time for my loved ones and everyone else but how can it be done? So often in the past, I have tried to please everyone and as a result Christmas has been such an anti-climax. What a shame, that so often Christmas causes much upset when the intentions are all so good. What is the answer? I don't have a clue.

I do have one wish for Christmas though, so Santa if you are about.............How about making it one day, that no children in the world cry with tears of pain, fear or hunger.

Back in Staffordshire

The last couple of weeks there has been little to report. It seems the day that we left Yorkshire was the beginning of the monsoon season and our week at Wrexham was wet to say the least. Fortunately, as I said before, we were pitched on hard standing and so did not have to be towed off site like the rest of the vans. From Wrexham we returned to Staffordshire and spent some time with the family. I do enjoy seeing the family, in fact, not being near them is the hardest part of full timing for me. So we are now at one of our favourite sites, it is not too far from the family and is as pleasant as you can get. We have not done much to prepare for Christmas, in fact, each year the festive season becomes much more of a chore and much less of a pleasure. Humbug! I am quite looking forward to a spot of fishing, maybe some bird watching and who knows what else. I have today put out some bird feeders and cleaned the binoculars ready for action. Today, whilst in Lichfield I bought an old folding knife from a stall on the market, I know that I will get great pleasure from cleaning it up and making it serviceable once more. Over the last couple of weeks we have watched more TV than we have for years, I have set up the digital box and we have both enjoyed some of the documentaries that have recently been shown.