Day of deliciousness

 

Today was delicious.

Well, to be honest, it didn’t start that way. It started with me realizing in the middle of the night, that it’s a bad idea to camp next to a train tracks. Especially busy ones. Especially by a crossing where they had to use their horns. My ear plugs muffled the sound a bit, but it was a roughish night. 

And when I woke, it was raining and the wind was blowing hard. Not fun packing everything up in the rain.

But then I had a nice long walk along the Avon and Kennet Canal. There were little boats, and great big house boats, and everything in between. At one point, I got to walk across an aqueduct that carried the canal over the river Avon—pretty neat!

My walk took me by Iford manor, and I spent a few hours proofreading my book in a tiny little cloister that the old owner cobbled together from bits and pieces of old churches from Italy. It was beautiful and magical, and the perfect place to cool off after a long walk in the sun. Delicious.

I was talking with my sister and her kids on a video call when we stumbled across the ruins of a castle, Furleigh Castle. It was really fun showing them around, looking for the dragon they assumed must live there. While we didn’t find the dragon, we did find the dungeon! 

As I continued my walk south, I started to come across houses with thatched roofs. Then there were horses, and quail, and swans, and a real working mill.

Finding a camping spot was a bit tricky, but I am nowhere near any train tracks. As I was setting up my hammock, I noticed a giant chicken of the woods mushroom. Dinner!

But before cooking dinner, I went down to the river Frome, and jumped in. The last time water touched my body was nine days ago. It felt so good!!! It felt delicious. I’m sure when I was a little boy I tried to go nine days without taking a bath or shower, but I’m not going to let that happen again!

And for good measure, I threw a line in the river afterwards… and caught a little fish, my first!!!

I cooked up some ramen noodles, sautéed the chicken of the woods mushrooms, and baked the fish in the coals, and had a fabulously delicious dinner.

So that was my delicious day: the coolness of a beautiful little cloister, the cleansing waters of a river, and the yumminess of fresh wild mushrooms and fresh wild fish. None of it was planned, I just started walking. 

Delicious!