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I watered the pots in the front garden this morning.
More pink roses bloom on the trellis each day;
and clematis Piilu
and a tiny solanum are now making their way across the garage door frontage.
New arrivals in the Rose Garden include Mamma Mia,
Rosa Mundi,
and Deep Secret;
and my favourite rhododendron is coming to fruition.
The peach rose is reaching its peak,
and attracting bees.
This afternoon we took Sheila on a forest driveabout to the North of the forest.
A group of ponies on the far side of Burley ignored a Give Way sign as they held up the traffic.
While we were watching another group, including a couple of foals, drinking in the stream at Ibsley,
an alarming neighing was set up by two other adults of these normally silent animals. There was a clattering of hooves on the tarmac to our right, and a thudding on the sward on the other side of the water, as the spooked ponies scattered. The foals clambered up the bank at the calls of their dams. This one nuzzled its relieved parent.
These creatures reconvened on the road.
Meanwhile others tore frantically around the field until a loose collie dog ran off and joined its owners out of sight. The horses then quietly regrouped under the trees.
Some homeowners leave carrots out for ponies. This mother crunched on one, whilst her foal satisfied itself with grass to the right of the cattle grid protecting the house entrance.
As I disembarked from the car, the youngster made its way back to its Mum,
and had a scratch under the protection of her flanks.
We stopped off for a drink at The Royal Oak in North Gorley, then Sheila treated us to a meal at The Plough in Tiptoe. We all chose gammon steak, eggs, chips, and peas. My drink was Ringwoods Best Bitter. Probably because I had also had a pint at The Royal Oak, I wasn’t able to fit in a dessert.
Lovely!
Lovely pics, Derrick! They bring light to a dreary, gray day!Thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you Sofia. Sorry your day was dreary
The horses are wild? Amazing I didn’t think there any that roamed free.
Thanks, Kim. Ponies, cattle, donkeys and pigs all roam free. They are owned by commoners who have grazing rights. It is an ancient custom
That’s cool.
Gorgeous!
Thank you unassuming
Sydney’s been miserable for the past week and a storm has caused much damage to my orchard. Pots broke, trees toppled and crashed into one another. I’m still cleaning up. It is a nice break to see your flowers and ponies. I would have ordered the gammon steak too. 🙂 Here, the sun is expected to make an appearance at last and most of the day should be clear so it’s time to catch up on garden chores.
Such very bad luck, Mary. Thank you
So sorry to hear of the damage in your garden, wish I could help you to clear up!
Thanks, Jackie. I’m slowly putting things back in order.
The flowers are gorgeous, but I loved the horses, especially the mothers and foals. It looks like you had a great day.
Thank you, Merril. We did
I had to look up “gammon” because that word is not used around New England….it was fun to see it was derived from the French “jambon” which definitely is a word often heard here.
I think your favorite rhododendron would be my favorite also.
I had to look up gammon and jambon. Now I’m going to go and boil an egg!
I had to go and find out what that was, also. And, being the consummate copy-cat, I loved that rhododendron, too. I’ve got my digits crossed that there’ll be some of those flashy blooms here in the colder part of Australia.
Thank you Cynthia. Jambon makes sense
The tiny solanum’s look so fragile…they’re beautiful. I can see why the rhododendron is your favorite, Derrick.
Great shots of the horses! I especially like the one of the pony nuzzling its mother.
Thanks, Jill. A very tender scene
Ah dad is smiling. I remember when Ringwood ales launched much to his delight. There was a wine bar in Lym – dad wouldn’t normally be seen dead in such establishments but they served a selection of fine ales – Wadworths 6X being one – and that’s where he found it. Late 70s or early 80s I’d guess. Happy days. Thank you for the homage! And many is the time I’ve cycled home a little worse for wear from the Plog H as it was known, once ending in a six foot ditch full of god knows what. Boy did I stink that night. Mum hosed me down.
Thanks, Geoff. Good to bring back memories
We call a “cattle grid” by the name “cattle stop”. When I was a teacher I set up a theatre in an old building next to a cattle stop (the school had a farm). We called it “Cattle Stop Theatre” and had the motto: It might stop the cattle but it won’t stop the bull.
Thank you, Bruce. I wonder who dreamt up the motto? 🙂
We – the royal we – got an old priest (a Latin scholar who spoke 16 languages) to translate the motto into Latin. He said it was the most impossible thing he’d ever been asked to do. But did it – and I can’t remember how he translated it to Latin! O woe!
Google has this: “Merda taurorum animas conturbit” (Bullshit baffles brains) …. After the battles come the rewards ….. This Latin phrase was said to have been written in the sky before Constantine, before the battle at Milvian Bridge, North of Rome in 312 A.D.
This was one of my favourites Derrick. It was already fantastic with the flowers but the shots of the ponies really made it incredibly beautiful. Thanks for sharing such a fantastic day out!
Thanks a million, Geetha
Welcome Derrick 🙂
Your speckled rhododendron makes me think of orchids! The foals are quite cute. Did the collie dog really cause the alarm?
Thanks, Lisa. It was the dog. The owner had no control over it.
I love the trellis! I really need to have one now! lovely
Thank you, Lynn
‘Deep Secret’ is one of my favourite roses ever and you have caught its velvety texture beautifully. The ponies must be delightful to watch as you wait for them to perambulate out of the way – does anyone ever get impatient?
Amazingly, Pauline, people are very patient. Thank you.
Horses before cars-es. 😀
Thanks you, Widdershins. That’s how it is in The New Forest, which is actually at least 1,000 years old 🙂 I suppose the horses did come first, anyway
Roses and ponies! What more could I ask for?,
Thanks, Luanne
Perfection … the ponies, the roses, the other blooms and most of all that exquisite rhoddy.
Thanks, Osyth
“Give Way” seems like an awfully rude sign for an English countryside. What happened to the “please”?
And, maybe a “Sorry” before the “Give Way”?
In Texas (where I was raised), the sign would say: “Get the (expletive) out of the way, or else!” And no doubt the sign would also have a picture of a gun on it.
I can well believe it, Johnna
There was a ‘Sorry’ afterwards, but the pony obscured it 🙂
🙂 With our road signs we have to do what the EU says. Thanks, Johnna
The deep secret look very attractive.
Thank you, Miranda. It is like velvet
Roses are such show offs, but so good at it. And the ponies seem to love to commandeer the byways–who can blame them for being show offs, too? They have a way about them! And your way with a post is always good.
Many thanks, Cynthia
The ‘Deep Secret’ rose is a beautiful deep contrast to the lighter shades – the roses are all looking wonderful. Also wonderful to see the ponies again – the foals are so cute.
Many thanks, Peggy
Your writing is as charming as your photographs. Perhaps a book in the future?
Thank you very much, Rose. I think this is my book
Well, I think it would be a best seller then 🙂
Most kind of you
You are really lucky to have those horses! I hope everybody values them properly, they are so lovely.
Thank you, John
That Deep Secret rose is superb, bought back memories of my days growing old English roses, they always had a beautiful aroma, your garden must smell like a perfume garden.
Enjoyed the great pics of the horses and your photographic skills.
Cheers.
Thank you, Ian. The garden does have amazing scents, and thanks for the compliment
I can see why that rhododendron is your favorite. But as for that collie … I love dogs, but have no patience for a dog owner who would allow a dog to harass the horses–especially horses with foals.
Absolutely, Brenda. Thank you
Ooh… what a beautiful, pleasant, enjoyable post! Great photos of these horses. 🙂
Thank you for sharing, Derrick.
Many thanks, Amy
Flowers and horses… Wow! Two things that I love very much in my life 🙂
Thank you, Monica
🙂
Amazing photographs – the horses and the roses are gorgeous. The photograph of Solanum is so beautifully composed, a treat for the eyes.
Many thanks, Inese