Winter Walks - Along the Salt Line

Before little Waverley joined our hug, Hanley, Endon and I went for another new walk with Polar and Grizzly.  This one was along another disused railway line known as the Salt Line, which ran from Sandbach in Cheshire through to Kidsgrove.

We joined the path in Alsager, near the Wilbraham Arms pub, which is quite close to where we live but in Cheshire rather than Staffordshire.  On the way to the path from the pub car park, we passed this smiling tree, which made us laugh.

Like our other railway walks, this one is also a cycle track and has a good tarmac surface, making it good for walking even after wet weather.  Almost all the leaves are off the trees now so it isn't as colourful as it would have been a few weeks ago.  However, this does mean there are good views from the path further along.

Several footpaths lead off from the Salt Line, including one which goes around this lake.  Perhaps we will explore it one day - although we can't for the moment, because Cheshire and Staffordshire were put in different 'tiers' the day after our walk, and our humans aren't allowed to leave their area now.

We saw some super trees and lots of lichen and fungus, which gardening bear Endon finds especially interesting.  We were allowed to do some climbing too, firstly in some of the trees and then on these big logs, which have been left by the path to encourage the fungus to grow on them.

After our humans had been walking for a least a mile, they saw one of the old railway sleepers had been preserved as a little memorial and information board.  

Naturally, Hanley Bear had to investigate.  'Look!' he said.  'The trains used to go to Trentham Gardens!'

 

Mostly, the line was used for industrial freight, like coal and salt.  It was fun to imagine steam trains chugging backwards and forwards along the line.  

 

'We'll  have to ask Grizzly to make up a Salt Line train on his model railway!' Hanley said.

The end of the walk is not far from the canal, a little further along from where the trail runs underneath the M6 motorway.  Nearby, there is a house that used to be where the keeper of the level crossing over the lane to Hassall Green lived. 

That was where we stopped to turn around and make our way back.  After we had walked quite a long way, Polar noticed a post with a yellow dot and the word 'Saturn' on it, but didn't know what it was for and didn't show us bears.

Quite a long way further on, she saw another one with a smaller dot and 'Uranus'.

 

'It's a Solar System Walk!' cried Hanley Bear, scrambling up the post to sit at the top.  'I bet all the planets are along here somewhere - but we've passed most of them without noticing.  Let's go back and find them!'

 

'Sorry Hanley, there isn't time today,' Polar said.  'We'll have to see if we can find them all the next time we come here.  You might still find Neptune, if you look out carefully from the Bear Bag.'

 

And he did!

It was cold and starting to get dark by the time we finished our walk. Grizzly was sad that we couldn't go to the pub for a late lunch and a pint and Hanley was still sad about not finding the other planets, but they both cheered up when we got home and found there had been a delivery while we were out.

'Yay!' he cheered.  'Proper Stoke beer!'  

 

He opened the box at once and started sorting through it, choosing which beer he wanted. 

 

'This special Plum Porter is in a little bear-sized bottle!' he said.  'It must be for us!'

Polar says we bears are only allowed little sips of the frothy bubbles and that the beers are for Grizzly and the porters and stouts are for her.  Hanley gave her a hard stare, but she made him put the bottle back and shut the box away in the larder.

 

'If you're a good bear we'll let you try a little sip of the beers,' she said, but every now and then Hanley creeps out into the kitchen and tries to open the larder door - but it is too heavy for him!

 

Welcoming Waverley

I was going to be blogging about our first lovely winter walk, along the Salt Line near Alsager in Cheshire, but I have something much more exciting to share with you all.  

 A couple of days ago, we heard the post arrive, and scuttled out into the hall to see if there were any Christmas cards for us.  Endon saw there was a packet addressed to Polar, which had been posted in Glasgow.

'I wonder if it's my mountaineering certificate from Munro?' he said.  Endon recently completed a very exciting course with the Bear Lodge mountaineers.

'I bet it is,' Hanley replied.  'You should open it!  If it's something for Polar, we can always seal it up again.'

Endon wasn't sure that this would be right.  'It is addressed to Polar,' he said.  'It might be seeds, or a present from one of her friends.' 

While he was hesitating, trying to decide what to do, we noticed the package was moving, and there were little noises coming from inside

'We had better open it at once, in case a small creature has got trapped inside,' I said.  

Imagine our surprise when a tiny bear cub crawled out!  There was also a little piece of paper to say he had been sent by Polar and Grizzly's friend, Mr Derek.

 

He was very cold after travelling so far in his envelope, so we all gave him hugs, then I carried him into the living room and we lifted him up onto the settee.  Endon climbed up and fetched a little piece of red jersey fabric from Polar's sewing box and we wrapped our new friend in it to keep him warm.

He told us his bear name and that humans called him Waverley.  'I used to live on a steamboat,' he told us.  'I love boats, but I get very, very seasick, so Mr Derek suggested to the paddle steamer people that I might be happier on the canals and rivers with your hug.'

'You're very welcome,' I said.  'We'll look after you.  You can sleep in the bear basket with us, share our porridge and we'll take you boating as soon as we're allowed to.'

'Yay!' cheered the tiny bear.

'You can help us decorate the Christmas tree tomorrow!' said Endon.  'Do you like climbing?'

Little Waverley nodded.

'And you can come to football with us on Saturday!' said Hanley.  'We all listen to the match in Grizzly's workshop - but you have to cheer for Stoke City!'

'Do they play in green stripes or in blue?' asked Waverley.  

'Neither!' cried Hanley.  'They play in red and white stripes, like all the best teams.  You'll need a lucky bear stripy scarf...'

'He'll need some other clothes too, if he's going to play outdoors or go on Uppie,' I said.  We'll have to introduce you to Polar and Grizzly, our human guardians, then we'll ask Polar to make you some clothes.  We'll have to nibble some holes in another pair of her socks, so you can have a nice warm jumper for the winter.'  

The following evening, after we had decorated the tree (I will do a separate post about that), Polar made Waverley a little onesie out of the red fabric we had found.  His special paddle-steamer sash went into our hamper.

'And I've made you a football scarf!' Hanley bear said proudly.
 

Waverley was delighted.  'I feel like a proper member of your hug now!' he said.

We are looking forward to having lots of adventures with our new little friend.  He is so tiny, he tucks into the bear basket and the bear bag without taking up very much room at all, although this does mean we will have to be extra careful he doesn't get lost when we go out.

Welcome little Waverley!



 

Garden Bears' World - More Autumn Gardening

 Hello everyone!  It's time for Garden Bears' World and to catch up with things in the garden and the allotment.

Last weekend, I helped Polar plant tulip bulbs in some big pots, which will brighten up our patio next spring.  The tulips won't flower until April but there are some miniature irises on top of them that should flower much earlier.

Our garlic has rooted now, which is why the cloves are starting to poke out of the soil.  When I first saw them, I thought a mouse was digging them out!  Polar says that we will plant them on the allotment very soon, apart from the ones for her friends.

Before we left the greenhouse, I checked on the rose, fig and dogwood (Cornus) cuttings we took a few weeks ago, to make sure none of them had gone rotten.  We won't know whether they have rooted until the spring but, if they do, it will be very exciting as we will be able to share them with our friends.

 

The veg patch is looking a little bit empty since the big beans came down but you can see there are still nasturtiums growing.  These have very pretty, bee-friendly flowers and you can eat the flowers and the leaves, either in salads or cooked like spinach.  They are nice stirred through pasta, like rocket, and have a similar spicy/peppery taste.  

Here are all the patio pots we put the tulips in, with some heuchera plants on top, to make them look cheerful through the winter.  We didn't have quite enough of them, so we put a golden feverfew plant in one.

I've also been to the allotment with Grizzly and Polar, where I picked the very last tomatoes that were growing in the little greenhouse.

It was time to take the beans down there too, so as Grizzly took the frame apart and Polar cut the plants up to go on the compost heap, I collected all the big pods to dry in the greenhouse, so we can give magic Chomper beans to our allotment friends.  When they have dried some more, we shell the beans out and put them in jars, and store them in a dark spot in the shed.

Before we came home, Polar cut some cauliflowers for us to have with our dinners over the weekend.  You can see how much these had grown since I checked them the week before!

The waste leaves went on the compost heap again, but there is plenty of room for more - and two more sections, so the compost can be turned and turned again to help it rot down.  We won't do that until the spring in case there are hedgehogs or other creatures hibernating under them.  Polar has found toads in the heaps at home in the past! 

I hope to be back on the allotment soon, to help plant the garlic and help prepare the ground for next year, and there are still lots of garden jobs to share with you, but goodbye from Garden Bears World for now.