Hi again Everyone, my apologies for the delay in getting back to the river.  The winter had been a particularly hard time for me this year I’m afraid, not only due to the big Freeze, for which I would dearly have loved to have travelled the river and photographed the stunning scenery, but also due to my Rheumatoid Arthritis which had started to flare again in late november.

The long and short of it was that the Chemotherapy they are now using to treat My RA should have lasted up to 6 months from August which would have meant I would be only just starting to feel it wearing off about now, but I had to be booked back into Treliske on the 21st December for more treatment..
The Chemo infusions take around 6 hours and my second one had to be postponed because of the ice and snow until the 8th january so here I am almost 2 weeks after and hoping that the sickness that comes with it will have worn off by the weekend and allow me to make my first trip of 2010 up the Helford River.

I’m indeed looking forward to catching up with a few friends we’ve met on our visits, and especially Kate and Ben who have so kindly sent me some images of the River and the Quay in snow, which has also prompted me to write on the blog just so I can share those with you as I’m sure Kate won’t mind me publishing them.

I’ll start with the Snow Images from Bishops Quay which I believe are taken on Kate’s   Fujifilm Finepix  S5700..

Bishop's Quay in Snow

Bishop's Quay in Snow

Bishop's Quay in Snow

4 fabulous images showing a little of the beauty the snow brought along with the Chaos for many.. and speaking of Chaos Kate tells me they have now closed the lane up to Mawgan past Rock Cottage for the next 8 weeks which will have no doubt isolated them more than a little so if you’re on the river and pass Bishops Quay shout a Hello to help them avoid cabin fever..

We will definitely be going up there in the next week or so to say hello and to thank Kate personally for these lovely Photographs.. I’m presuming this is Kate’s Grandson showing us the lane is closed..

The lane to Mawgan closed for 8 weeks

but here’s a much prettier view of the lane in snow..

No doubt treachorous to drive on but a beautiful vision of the lane in snow

Kate tells me she’s been feeding the wild birds around the clock as Have many of us, thankfully their feeding ground is getting better again now but with the large influx of birds due to the freezing conditions elsewhere there really is still a food shortage for so many species..

I tried hard to save the life of one poor Lapwing who’d had one foot frozen off and was in a real bad way when I found him.. we thought it would be his only chance to keep him warm and feed him up but sadly he died the next day having lost so much bodyweight due to the frozen ground.. They feed on worms and insects and he obviously couldn’t find anything with the frozen land probably for a few days..
They need so much body fat which comes from their food and proteins to help them fly and as with this chap if they don’t have that they become grounded and endangered and many have died in the freeze.

So please keep feeding the birds always, but especially in winter.

Frozen Lapwing we rescued from the frozen marsh

Back to the River, or Riverside.. Here’s a couple of Kates Fine feathered friends who were kept happy and healthy on Spaghetti and hot Pasta during the freeze

A happy Clan fed on Hot spaghetti and Pasta

and from one Happy Brood to what must have been another when they arrived to this spread.. Now those who have tasted Kate’s Cakes well know how delicious and moreish they are so I can ascertain this spread would have been absolutely Mouthwatering..

A Fabulous Christmas Spread at Bishops Quay

Well I have to sincerely Thank Kate and Ben for the Photographs that have given me my first opportunity to blog about the River this year, and I’m looking forward to many many trips there this year and to meeting again Old Friends and many New ones..

New year Blessings to you all, be sure to give our little Dinghy a wave if you see us on the river this year and if we manage to capture some good images we’ll most definately share them here with you all..

All the Very Very Best for 2010 from Leanne and Myself

Mel^