Dougal

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This afternoon Jackie and I took a drive around the East of the forest.

Out of Lymington we turned into Snooks Lane, where we passed a white field horse.

Naturally we explored Pilley a little more. This time a couple of cows showing a partiality for stinging nettles occupied Holly Lane. A cyclist drew up alongside our waiting car. She managed to negotiate her way past the bovine blockage.

The buttressing and thatched roof suggested some age to the white houses on the far side  of the green beside the lake I have often featured.

The surrounding woodland adds to the charm of the scene.

Passing another field accommodating a very sturdy working horse, we back-tracked to photograph the back-lit animal in a bucolic scene. As so often, as soon as my intended subject spied me leaning on a five-barred gate he trotted over to make my acquaintance, coming to rest against a possibly electrified barrier. We settled for a portrait.

It was at Shirley Holms that we met Magic Roundabout’s Dougal masquerading as a Thelwell pony.

Dougal wears a reflective collar intended to alert motorists at night should he venture on to the road. Someone had hung one of these on a post at the cattle grid at the end of this road. Drivers in the dark may imagine the post is our little character. I hope the neckwear’s  owner has not met an untimely end.

This evening we dined on Jackie’s superb beef pie; luscious gravy; new potatoes; crisp carrots; Brussels sprouts; and red cabbage. Jackie drank Hoegaarden; Elizabeth, Marlborough Pinot Noir 2017; and I finished the Malbec.
 

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  7. I really liked the work horse and the fact he was friendly. It means he’s been well-treated. When I was a teenager, I had a friend whose horse could be summoned by walking to the field gate and waving a bridle. He was a treat to ride, very excited about going out. No doubt that’s temperament, but I also think it had a lot to do with how he had been trained as a colt. I love the white cattle, too. They look like Charolais, but undoubtedly are a British breed instead.

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  10. I love coming here! You take us to such nice places and introduce us to good food and great shots of nature and it’s animals and plants. Thanks for brightening my days dear Derrick!!! 🙂 <3 xo

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  14. Lovely photos of such beautiful scenery, Derrick! 🙂
    And those faces are all so sweet! 🙂
    I love the way the cow is watching you! 🙂
    That pony with the collar has such a great hair-do! 🙂
    I imagine those trees have survived many years and seen all kinds of weather.
    HUGS!!! 🙂

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