Hatchet Pond

This afternoon Jackie drove us to Beaulieu and back. We began at Hatchet Pond, so named because of its shape.

Hatchet Pond 1

Skyscape 1

These first two photographs of and over Hatchet Pond have received no editing.

Skyscape 3

An about turn produced this one.

Pool

Pool 2

The recent, now ceased, rains have distributed various pools nearby.

Donkey

Wandering donkeys did what donkeys do: chomped on thistles,

Donkeys being tempted

and prevented a driver from opening his boot to release his dappled collie. A certain amount of persuasion was required to allow the dog its freedom.

Hatchet Pond, Becky, Ian and Scooby

Becky and Ian took Scooby for a walk along the waterlogged track around the pond.

Becky and swan

Swans

On her return Becky’s bag of poop scoop attracted the attention of a pair of swans who lurched along to engage her in conversation. Or perhaps they were just having a hissy-fit.

Swan

Each of these birds was tagged.

Beech in landscape

This birch, stripped of it leaves, embellished one skycape.

Skyscape with geese

Others were enhanced by geese,

Skyscape with gull

or gulls.

Beaulieu Abbey

Beaulieu Abbey was nicely silhouetted.

Terraced housing

In the village’s main street are a number of interesting terraces with long chimneys;

Herringbone brickwork

one group of dwellings has fascinating herringbone brickwork.

We payed a visit Steff’s Kitchen in Fairweather’s Garden Centre, where the others enjoyed superb flapjacks and cappuccino’s. My salad lunch had rendered me incapable, but I kept them company.

This evening we dined on Jackie’s scrumptious cottage pie, mashed carrots and swede, crisp cauliflower, and green beans.

P.S. See my reply below to Timi at Lively Twist. She has pointed out a disgraceful omission 🙂

59 comments

  1. Beautiful photos! I particularly love the animals ones, as you might expect. They made me “homesick” for seeing some different types of animals than I normally encounter.

  2. A very nice day, it looks like. The picture of Becky on the wet trail is particularly nice and I really liked the tumbling birds and the abbey.

  3. As Jarrod said, the first two photographs are absolutely stunning. But, I always enjoy your little trips, Derrick. I like the way you present them.

  4. Since I usually do a lot of cropping on my photos, I know the feeling of looking at a photo and deciding that it’s good just the way it is. Great photos, thanks for sharing. 🙂

  5. Ah Hatchett Pond. Dad drove past it every day and one summer in the 70s told of a naked man dancing around it. We weren’t sure whether to believe him but Beaulieu was always an odd place. I suppose the then Lord Montagu and his bizarre boyfriends added to the gaiety of nations as it were.

  6. Lovely photos. I thought the sky photos with the geese were stunning, and I also liked the birch very much. The donkey at the car made me chuckle. They don’t seem to mind people at all!

  7. Love the donkeys. Was that the Charter of the Forest?

    You have some beautiful skies but I love its reflection on the water. Red seems to be the accent you went for today. Works well.

    1. Thank you, Sylvie. Actually, I do very little editing. I just wanted to highlight that the sky really was like that for a while. Sometimes Jackie cooks in bulk well in advance.

  8. You paint with your camera Derrick. I just loved this series of photographs, from the buildings to the gorgeous open sky shot – the one of the birch stripped of it’s leaves is amazing.

  9. Very interesting landscape and inhabitants. So different from the part of the world that I live in. Thank you 🙂

  10. I study the nature photos and revel in your photography artistry, Derrick. The herringbone brickwork on building and stopping at local cafe with cappuccinos and flapjacks were my favorite unique elements in this lovely post.

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