On another bright, almost balmy, morning, Jackie drove us out to Hatchet Pond and back.
Donkeys,
cattle,
and ponies, basked, dozed, chewed the cud, or cropped the grass on the approach to the pond. Eyes open or closed, they definitely think it’s spring.
Have the usual companions of the
sole cormorant on sentry duty
metamorphosed into a pair of swans gliding to and fro beside their posts?
Sedate gulls basked and preened on the opposite bank.
More ponies could be glimpsed among the still leafless trees within the nearby Rans Wood.
This evening we dined on rack of pork ribs in barbecue sauce, prawn toasts, aromatic spring rolls, and Jackie’s special savoury rice, with which she drank Hoegaarden, from which I abstained.
Lovely day! I wish I had’t missed dinner. I love ribs 🙂
Thanks very much, Donna
Lovely!! How are you doing derrick? I hope fully recovered from surgery xx
Getting there, but it will be a while. Thanks a lot, Lynn
So glad to hear that! I am sure it will take time
I always envy you your proximity to those Donkeys and ponies Derrick.. Cows we have plenty of lol.. Lovely collection of photos
Wishing you well my friend
Very many thanks, Sue
Looks like everyone was ready to pose for you!
🙂 Thanks very much, GP
All that beauty and a great meal too, you are blessed.
Very many thanks, Kavitha
If you think hard enough, it will be spring! Great shots!
Thanks very much, Jill
That dinner sounds pretty darn good! 😀
🙂 Many thanks, Pauline
Such beauty around you, Derrick. I’m sure all the wildlife enjoyed the almost-spring weather. I can’t pick a favorite photo. 🙂
Thanks very much, Merril
Idyllic scenes.
Thanks very much, Tootlepedal
Lovely pictures and what a lovely way to spend part of your day.
Thanks very much, Sue
The portrait of the pony brings to my mind the lyrics of that Tina Turner song:
And I’m scanning the horizon for someone recognizing
that I might have been queen…
Though he may be the king for all I know about ponies! They are known to possess an extraordinary sensitivity of elements that are riddles at best to humans. Perhaps, they are aware of something in the air we will sadly never know.
I’m glad to see you’re experiencing such moderate weather. We’re buried in record-breaking snow. The roads are too treacherous, so most people are just staying at home until it’s over. Unfortunately, the weather report is for more snow.
Your gulls look quite different from ours.
Thanks very much, Nicki. We do have a variety of gulls. I am not an expert, but these may be black-headed ones, the head of which blacken in the summer. I do hope it warms up soon for you
That looks like a beautiful, spring-like morning, Derrick and Jackie! Those grey ponies are particularly handsome.
Thanks very much, Lavinia
I thought that it was Spring until I went to play golf at 8 o’clock and had to scrape ice of the windscreen!
🙂 Thanks a lot, Andrew
Such a lovely and sunny walk. This is just a beautiful place seen through your lens – thank goodness for walks like this!!!
Very many thanks, Efi
That’s a lovely photograph of the two ponies in Rans Wood.
I’m pleased you liked that one, John. Thanks very much
They’re such lovely creatures, both the ponies and the birds.
Thanks very much, Arlene
I’m glad all enjoyed a spring-y day! 🙂
OH! I want to adopt all of those donkeys! 🙂
Those swans are so regal! 🙂
Photo #14 down-from-top…I love this one! 🙂
It was NOT a spring-like day here…but your photos brought warmth and smiles! 🙂
HUGS to you and Jackie!!! 🙂
Many thanks from us both, Carolyn X
So what does it mean if donkeys are lying down? Will it rain soon??
Amazingly we’re expecting the possibility of some rain tomorrow!
Would have liked to drop in for some of that dinner! 🙂
I think even cows lying down is a myth. Thanks a lot, Bob
So lively with all the animals!
Thanks very much, Laurie
Ah spring! ‘In the Spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.’ Lord Tennyson
It does, indeed – and not so much of the young :). Thanks a lot Leslie
Love the ‘skritching post’ and the beasties getting some ‘beams’. 😀
Thanks a lot, Widders – especially for your acute observation