Welcome to our painting

Still no home internet access. Sporadic updates r us. I can't remember if I mentioned -- and I'm too lazy to go back over the last couple of posts -- that we live about two bad golf shots from the Thames river. It meanders through Oxfordshire and passes right by Shiplake. The old ox path along the river still exists as a preserved walking path, and we're told that, had we a mind to, we could walk the river-side all the way from Oxford to London. Not game enough for that distance just yet, we explored just a couple miles of the Thames Path over the weekend. It passes right in front of our doorstep, in one of the few short stretches where it deviates from the river-side. Setting out, I was ready for it to be pretty. The whole area around our village is picturesque. What I wasn't expecting was for it to be a freaking painting. Here's a typical scene from our stroll: Oh, but the pastoral idyll with bovine accents is such a tired theme. Perhaps you'd like a view of the river, instead. With swans. And sweeping farmland as background. Alternatively, would Sir care for rowing boats with a side of passing swan and historic dwelling? Or, possibly, one of our new feathered neighbours saluting us in accordance with what we are assured is local custom. Or maybe just a simple picture of a My Secret Garden brand path along the river bank and through the forest. There is, of course, the picturesque local lock, way-making for canal boats floating down the gentle Thames waters. Local trivia: The immediate presence of water, boats and locks notwithstanding, the derivation of the name "Shiplake" has absolutely zilch to do with either ships or lakes. And even our local lock-keeper, Jeff, who's picturesque in his own right. Especially down the pub on Friday evenings. I think I'll buy the canvas depicting the river stretching out before us, little children swimming naked in the summer sun as swans feed, head-down, in the shallows. In the meantime, we commissioned this portrait, in front of the Shiplake Lock in action, accompanied by one of the better-behaved locals. Note the Wellies-shod wench. PS: Did I mention we have a garden? Turns out things grow kinda good in the countries what have lots of rain. ..