Bad Hair Day

This afternoon Jackie drove me to Eyeworth Pond and back to watch the birds.

Golden gorse glowed in the sunshine on Hinchelsea Moor and many others.

The deciduous trees, like this oak, are all filling with foliage.

Walkers along the Rhinefield Ornamental Drive

gave scale to the giant redwoods.

Mandarin ducks are not native to UK, but we now have a feral population which originates from escapees from collections. These two males brightened an otherwise dull Eyeworth Pond.

Birders tend to place nuts and other food on the posts of the gate to the woodland footpath. A moss-covered log has recently been added. The blue tits, a coal tit, a nuthatch, chaffinches and sparrows were extremely busy today swooping to pick up and dart off with nutriment for the babies in their nearby nests.

A pair of sparrows left a tardy chaffinch on the ground beneath the post upon which they filled their beaks, debating who should set off first. Although not up to his flying bird sequence the last of these pictures is a nod to Tootlepedal.

Alongside Cadnam Lane a couple of pigs have joined

the grazing ponies and recumbent cattle now fertilising the greens alongside Cadnam Lane

One pony demonstrated its ungainly rise from the ground;

a small Shetland was definitely having a bad hair day.

This evening we dined on succulent chicken Kiev; Lyonnaise potatoes with lashings of onions; red cabbage cooked with butter and red wine; and crunchy carrots and cauliflower. Jackie finished the Sauvignion Blanc, while I drank the last of the Carménere.

69 comments

  1. I was thinking recently that I rarely if ever see a pig around here. My suspicion is that it might be too hot to raise them successfully, although the feral hogs and javelinas do a marvelous job of multiplying and, by the way, tearing up the landscape. Your bad hair day pony is delightful. My bad hair days should look so good.

  2. I love the “golden gorse,” and the Mandarin Ducks are definitely eye-catching. Somehow I didn’t notice the top photo, and I wondered who was having the bad day. I’m glad it wasn’t you or Jackie. 😉

  3. The golden gorse is gorgeous…wonderful shots, Derrick. I’ve never seen a Mandarin duck. I love their markings. I’m laughing at the photo of the first pig…he’s huge!

  4. Those Mandarin ducks are stunning. And it’s sweet that the birders put out food – just like people put out food for the ponies. Are you guys nicer than we are ? Or maybe more connected to nature? You certainly live with a lot of nature wandering about. Just thinking out loud a bit.

    I’m not sure why that bad hair pony reminds me of Tina Turner – but there you have it.

  5. What a marvelous collection of creatures. The pigs look enormous. Love the pony’s bad hair day. I’m going out for dinner tonight and it’s very windy here, so mine will most probably look a bit like that but not nearly as cute. ?

  6. Fantastic pony shot. I like her hair – wild and free! I learned something again from one of your posts, that Giant Redwoods grow in England. I had thought them native only to California.

  7. A beautiful post – so full of life and the grandeur of the trees. I like the pony’s wild hair and that ponies don’t care what their hair looks like. 🙂

  8. That is a gorgeous outing, Derrick, and your photographs attest the fact. The walkers have truly given a scale to the giant redwoods. The immigrant ducks appear to be as content and home as the ponies and pigs in the greens.

  9. HA! 😀 Bad hair day, indeed! I snort-laughed! Then I frowned because my hair might look exactly like that when I get out of bed in the morning! 😮 😉 HA! 😛
    Lovely photos, Derrick! A joy to look at each one of them.
    Oh, I love the redwood trees. We lived among them in northern California. I never grew tired of seeing them. I even hugged a few of them.
    You always capture the details and colors of the birdies so beautifully!
    Thank you for taking us out and about with you!
    HUGS for you and Jackie!!! 🙂

  10. Absolutely beautiful bird photos today Derrick! The Mandarins are spectacular aren’t they?

    I think the pigs are looking decidedly boared! 😉

    OK – i know when i’ve over-stayed my welcome! 🙂

    Hope your Sunday is serene!

  11. I been having bad hair days since January. First it was because of the hats to keep me warm. Now it’s because of the wind. Wrangler asked when I was going to start wearing my hair down again. When the wind is normal again

  12. Those ducks are as pretty as a picture;
    The giant redwoods that you picture ; are they the same as the giant sequoia’s in California or a different species?The ones in Yosemite are truly magnificent

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