Spilt Milk

Once again the sunniest part of the day was this morning. I am happy to say that the fault on our landline was successfully repaired while I stayed near the phone and Jackie continued weeding and planting.

Nugget and Lady were both in attendance, but his new partner tweeted that she was not ready for her close up.

Nugget, as always, was perfectly happy to pose.

Now, “Where’s Nugget?” (64)

Our blogging friend JoAnna was surprised to see yesterday’s dragons. Here is another, complete with appropriate legend, that The Assistant Photographer also photographed for her.

This afternoon we drove to Brockenhurst station to enquire about train times, then further into the forest. Much of our National Park is actually owned by the National Trust. In the interests of preservation, this charitable body bought up areas before the Park was declared free from further development.

Cadnam and Penn Commons are both in the Trust’s ownership. It is these that we explored today.

Although a dry day, the skies in mid-afternoon were draped in clouds, giving a gloomier appearance than we experienced in reality.

The undulating ground adds interest to the landscape with skeletal trees and perhaps a trig point.

A few cattle appeared to be waiting patiently outside a farm for their dinner.

One calf was less patient. Another waited patiently in vain. Look at the mother’s hoof –

so eager was her calf that

much milk was spilt in the process. This is not unusual.

Further along the road, grazed sheep, some like fluffy white balls

a couple of normal sized ponies

and a little Shetland.

We diverted onto the track leading to Shady Pool and more ponies.

Jackie photographed the landscape,

a determined donkey trying to take my place,

and me photographing the ponies.

This evening we dined on Mr Pink’s fish and chips with our own pickled onions and gherkins with which we both drank Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2018.

 

 

 

76 comments

  3. You really get out there among the animals!! You’re up close and personal with them all!
    Have you ever tried to show Nugget a picture of himself?

    Reply

  7. Such a wonderful variety of photos. It was good to see Nugget again. The gloomy clouds photo is quite dramatic, and that donkey staring into the window made me laugh! 🙂

    Reply

  11. It’s of no use to “cry over split milk”… 🙂 😀

    Good to see Nugget! I see he’s got himself perched “between a branch and a hard place”. 🙂 Maybe Mrs. Nugget is “with child” and worried about being photographed in her growing-condition. ??? 😀

    Love ALL of the photos…Love all of the furry-wooly-hairy-friends… 🙂

    HA! I snort-laughed! 😛 How could Jackie turn down THAT offer!?!?!? What a sweet, determined face! 🙂 and what a wonderful photo! 🙂

    GREAT photo by The AP! The AP taking a photo of her favorite subject…The GP! 😉
    HUGS to all!!! 🙂

    Reply

    1. Not made by me, but bought by me for D to wear on these muddy trips out, they are working trousers.

      Reply

  17. So lovely. I’m hoping we’ll have a chance to see some of the countryside when we visit our son in London in March. We have a new granddaughter so I suspect that we might be doing a little babysitting while we’re there.

    Reply

  18. I’ve decided that the rust color of your bracken is much prettier than the plain brown of our ferns. I love Mr. Donkey at the window. And of course Nugget and his Lady, too.

    Reply

  19. That is the sweetest portrait of Nugget looking back over his shoulder! I enjoyed all the photos from your day, Derrick and Jackie. The milk-dribbling calf and Shetland were among my favorites. 🙂

    Reply

  20. Thank you to Jackie for photographing the dragon! That was so thoughtful. I like this one’s strong expression of quiet confidence coming out of the tree trunk, or maybe it’s part of the stumpery. I love that there are so many different kinds of animals roaming free in this post as they should be allowed to do. Maybe the dragons roam after midnight. 🙂 I must get a dragon for my backyard.

    Reply

    2. The Dragon is situated at the start of the ‘Head Gardeners Walk’ that is the main path through the Dragon bed behind the greenhouse. He appears above head height from the hole in the tree.

      Reply

  24. What a splendid photograph of that inquisitive donkey.
    By the way, robins traditionally like a little metal teapot or an old kettle to build a nest in. If you have a fence with a lot of leaves for cover, you might try nailing it up, but be wary of predators like cats.

    Reply

    2. Tea pots tucked in ivy clad walls and up trees behind shrubs, also several commercially made robin boxes in trees and shrubs, what’s the betting this robin will not use any of them!

      Reply

  25. The photos of Nugget have become increasingly splendid, probably because of his increased willingness to pose. My other favorite of the day is the trio of cattle shown just after the landscapes. That’s a nice composition, indeed.

    Reply

  27. It must be nice to live in a area with so many animals to photograph! It’s almost like living on your own farm. The photos are gorgeous and I’m sure my youngest will love the ones of the horses when I show her.

    Reply

  30. A lovely country drive. Our National Parks are quite precious aren’t they – I think it is so important that we do preserve these beautiful green spaces for our own well-being as well as for the future. The inquisitive donkey is wonderful 🙂

    Reply

  31. After enlarging the photo, I found Nugget at the back of the planter 😊.

    I had no idea that calves might spill their mother’s milk!

    Reply

  33. Oh, I saw a little girl (with her mother attending her) riding a fat little shetland pony down our street yesterday. It made a charming scene.

    Reply

Leave a Reply