Stand-off

This afternoon our drive began at Keyhaven.

From the hill above the village we had a clear view across The Solent to the Isle of Wight. The mainland buildings are in the foreground. A solitary yacht passes the island.

At the bottom of the slope a field of black sheep introduced their very young lambs to life. Just two of the offspring were white.

A young cock pheasant face-off was under way at East End. Quite suddenly the more timid of the two turned and disappeared into the moorland,

leaving the victor to strut his stuff.

Casper, at East Boldre, enjoyed his own observation grill.

This evening we dined on Tesco’s finest fish pie; Jackie’s even finer piquant cauliflower cheese; crunchy carrots; tender peas and green beans. We both drank New Zealand’s The Quintet 2017.

70 comments

    1. Behind the gate, Caspar had at least three acres to run about in! It is one of the larger estates in the New Forest! Don’t feel sad for him, it is a sign of the owners concern that the peephole had been cut into the (very expensive ) gate so he could watch the world.Perhaps a shot of the enormous double gates to the property would have put it in perspective!

      Reply ↓

      1. Thanks for the extra info Jackie… mind rested! πŸ˜‰

        We have our own ‘Caspar’ (named ‘Bear’) next door to us, usually left with his darker friend and otherwise on their own in a 20 x 15 yard for most of the day (and night). They only get to see what they can that is over a 6ft solid fence πŸ™
        Recently Bear went of his nut barking. It went on for 15 minutes solid so i went to see who was robbing his house. Turns out that a man was adjusting an antenna on a roof 3 houses away that he could see from standing on the back verandah! The man was clearly no threat but the Bear did NOT like him The man stayed for 45 minutes and bear was warning him off consistently.

        A week later bear was barking again. Sure enough the man had clearly not got the right antenna the first time and was replacing it.

      2. Oh, awesome, Jackie! I had no idea what was going on behind that little face in the fence. Thank you for the update. My trust in humanity has been shaken of late and I am a bit suspicious. Feeling better. πŸ™‚

  1. I’m still upset about Casper. That photo made me sad. Perhaps he’s the happiest dog in the world and I’d like to hear that he is.

    I think of myself as a country girl, but I couldn’t even tell what those first lovely animals were. I thought the babies looked like calves. But then I hear they are sheep. And mostly black sheep at that! We have a different looking sheep around here.

    1. Behind the gate, Caspar had at least three acres to run about in! It is one of the larger estates in the New Forest! Don’t feel sad for him, it is a sign of the owners concern that the peephole had been cut into the (very expensive ) gate so he could watch the world.

  2. Those look like serious sheep. Pheasants seem very keen to have a go at each other when you think that they should learn to combine and attack the people shooting at them.

  3. What a wonderful time! Such beautiful scenery! πŸ™‚
    I’m so excited…those lambs (such cuties!) and the pheasants! (relatives of Lucky?!)
    Oh, and Casper is handsome! I hope he got out to run around! πŸ™‚
    HUGS!!! πŸ™‚

  4. Thank you so much for taking us with you on your routine tours Derrick.
    Your neighbourhood is so quite but full of life.
    Those black sheeps look quite large πŸ™‚

    1. I can tell you, those tides are vicious. There is the phenomenon of two high and two low to the normal one. With a good breeze blowing and a bubbling wake, I found myself going backwards on a windsurfer, once. And, sailing to Cowes, I had to aim the yacht at right-angles to the apparent course or be swept past.

  5. Excellent photos again Sir! I love the lambs. πŸ™‚

    The pheasant also looks particularly resplendent, not to mention a little proud of himself, perhaps? πŸ˜‰

  6. Nice capture of the pheasants. I appreciated seeing the Isle of Wight across the water, and had to look it up on a map to imagine myself where you were and which direction you were looking. πŸ™‚ I think it’s funny that so many people are worried about the dog. You both are so kind to reassure everyone.

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