View From The Pillbox

The briefest glimpse of the weak sun effecting a halo on the silhouetted lonely pigeon in the copper beech that Jackie photographed this morning was its only appearance on this otherwise grimly dismal day.

She had left the house from the stable door in order to sweep beneath the wisteria arbour.

Nugget, immediately perching on her long-handled dustpan, had other ideas.

The Head Gardener decided to use her other broom. Her robin was onto that, too, so

she simply photographed him, on the ground, on the broom, and on the coiled wisteria, until he suddenly took off

( “Where’s Nugget?” (54) )

to sing war cries to Muggle. Now “Where’s Nugget” (55).

Sway Tower from South Sway Lane emerged into view from the murk as we drove into the forest this gloomy afternoon.

 

Through the five-barred gate pillbox slit the red deer herd were seen stepping elegantly across the lawns of Burley Manor.

On the outskirts of the village a sudden rapid jerky movement alerted us to the presence of a squirrel among a pile of logs awaiting the decomposition that would return them to the soil.

Further on the sodden terrain contained pools reflecting trees;

fresh reflecting streams bubbling along;

and loosened shallow roots of toppling trees. It is not simply the gusting winds that bring down these forest residents.

This evening we dined on Jackie’s wholesome shepherds pie; crunchy carrots, cauliflower, and Brussel’s sprouts with which she drank Hoegaarden and I finished the Bordeaux.

 

55 comments

  1. Where’s Nugget #1 Which bit of Nugget is that? #2 in the tree πŸ™‚ Similar weather here today too, it rained all night and shows no signs of letting up. I believe an ark is in order.

    1. Sorry to hear you are having a wet summer Pauline, that’s not right! Nugget flew right past my ear as soon as I tried to focus on him, to many rivals to sing to!

  2. Gloomy day, but wonderful photos. Jackie’s photos of Nugget are wonderful–the first “Where’s Nugget” photo made me laugh. You really do have herds of deer!
    It looks like you photographed the toppling tree as it was toppling.
    We were supposed to get snow mixed with rain today, but it’s mostly just gray and gloomy.

  3. Love the free roaming deer! I had to laugh in # 54, Nugget practically sits on your face as you look for him. Number 55 – he tried to blend in the shadows.

  4. Nugget seems to be in the midst of a hundred year war with Muggle. He appears to be taking off through the top left corner of the frame in the first quiz, and is nearly centrally placed in the one that follows. Too bad Jackie is not an ally in the hostility. The squirrel too is nearly a quiz in Frame 1. Those rain drenched images make me feel the cold that has descended upon the neighbourhood.

  5. The pools of reflecting trees were my favorites. And of course Nugget always amazes me. What a gorgeous bird … and amazingly calm around Jackie. She must be a Bird Whisperer!

  6. So good to see Nugget! And glad he takes his job as Supervisor seriously! πŸ˜‰ πŸ˜€
    Ha! Maybe he was saying, “Breaktime, Mom! Pause for a bit…and notice me!” πŸ˜‰

    The dear deer are so beautiful! As are your reflection photos! πŸ™‚
    HUGS!!! πŸ™‚
    PS…we are to have more rain and even snow next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday! Just in time for Santa!!! πŸ˜€

  7. I was wandering what Nugget is up to these days ? cute and careful at every move as always ? very difficult to spot in where’s Nugget 55…??
    Have a great day Derrick!

  8. We used to have a copper beech. It was a very beautiful tree, but it cut out so much light that we eventually got rid of it. This morning is the darkest so far. 8.06 and no birds out and about yet as far as I can see.

  9. Despite what I was going to say, I must preempt my comments to say how startled I was by the next to last photo on this post! It looks exactly like an alligator swooping up from the depths to scare anyone looking in that direction! Spooky…

  10. Jackie has her hands full with two robins in the garden. πŸ™‚ Those are sweet photos of little Nugget.

    I always love the forest photos. That is an impressive herd of deer, and I love the old trees reflecting in the water. It is amazing how shallow the roots are on the toppled trees.

  11. I read this the other evening but became sidetracked before I was able to comment!
    I love the photos of the deer, I saw a similar herd at Harewood just the other day, magnificent aren’t they. Nugget’s photos are just as cute as always, such a character!

  12. Nugget is like a troublesome child wanting attention! Poor Jackie! I love the reflections and the deer and am amazed at the shallow roots of the toppled trees.

  13. The deer sightings are a delightful treat, just like nugget. I’m seeing some intriguing reflections in that fresh reflecting stream bubbling along – looks like a deer or pony head turned sideways on the bottom left.

  14. Little Nugget was certainly full of himself that day! I was particularly interested in the deer photos. The heads and faces are shaped differently from those of the white tail deer we have here in New England.

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