On a gloriously warm and sunny Good Friday, being the start of a four day holiday weekend, the government was still urging the public to adhere to the coronavirus lockdown regulations; the UK reported death toll was now approaching 1,000 in the last 24 hours; and a small but significant minority of people were transgressing and being variously dealt with by the police.
The diurnal poppies that, if regularly deadheaded, will last for another six months have appeared in the back garden.
In the front we have pink cherry,
two different crab apples,
and Amanogawa blossoms;
while clematis Montana and vinca vie for purchase on the low wall.
After lunch I walked along Christchurch Road to the fallow field, down into Honeylake Wood, and back.
My chosen entrance to the field, avoiding the kissing gate was now becoming quite well trodden.
The arable land is fronted by blackthorn hedgerows
with wild flowers such as daisies and dandelions at their base.
Tractor tracks bend round the opening to the wood,
while through the hedge to the far left the screeching of groupie gulls alerted me to ploughing in Roger Cobb’s top field.
Stretching shadows striated sylvan footpaths and attendant celandines.
I stepped into the trees to keep my distance from two male neighbours I had never met before who lived at the corner of Hordle Lane opposite The Royal Oak.
Among the ubiquitous yellow flowers, in various stages of disintegration in their return to the soil
lay broken branches of birch and other arboreal debris.
Velvet moss coated trunks and roots of trees entwined by meandering ivy.
A very shallow trickle was all that remained of a small stream that usually joins
the greater watercourse which would normally cover
this fallen limb against which it now laps and ripples.
This time I crossed the bridge, continued a short distance up the mounting slope. and backtracked past
a clump of starry wood anemones.
A walking couple crossing the field in my direction on my way back thought better of it and turned round to cross the path of
the two gentlemen I had seen earlier as, keeping their distance, they crossed to my chosen hole in the hedge and presumably returned home before I did.
This evening we dined on succulent roast pork; roasted new potatoes in their skins; crisp sage and onion stuffing and Yorkshire pudding; crunchy carrots and firm Brussels sprouts; red cabbage cooked with onions and garlic in red wine with a touch of balsamic vinegar; and tasty gravy, with which Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I finished the Mezquiriz.
Love the cherry blossoms!
I stayed indoors yesterday because of the light rain. Today is overcast with the promise of more rain. Thankfully, there will be sunshine tomorrow (Saturday) when I can get outdoors for gardening.
Enjoy the sunshine, Rosaliene. Thank you very much.
The flowers are fantastic, your dinner sounds so delicious, Derrick! 😎🇬🇧
Thank you very much, John. I can still taste the dinner 🙂
Lovely photos. Are the crabapples fragrant? I always love those that are. The blackthorn hedgerow is great too.
Thank you very much, Donnalee. I don’t think they are fragrant – not noticeably so, anyway. 🙂
Perhaps it’s only the more fuschia ones that are so fragrant. We grew up with them and they are a marvel.
My curiosity is piqued: what crop(s) are farmed by Mr. Cobb, and what does the plowing expose that draws the gulls? Insects, worms etc.? The flower images are once again most colorful and appreciated.
Thanks very much Maj. Roger’s crops alternate a bit. It is often maize or sweetcorn. We think it must be worms that attract the gulls. They always follow the tractors.
You write so beautifully, Derrick – wonderfully flowing descriptions that find a happy audience in my inner ear.
I’m so pleased you express it like that, Anne, because I always imagine my prose being spoken. Thank you very much.
Such a lovely abundance of spring blossom to be had on your side of the globe now! There’s a part of me that finds it oddly amusing at the complex avoidance steps we take nowadays to avoid coming within infection distance of our fellow human beings…….. Gone are the days when we carelessly chatted and petted each other’s dogs. Or even walked within a hairs breadth of each other with no more than a friendly nod …… Now we lurk in the bushes, a thing that once would have marked us out as a certain kind of danger to society. And so it goes!! 😀
I agree entirely, Pauline. I felt slightly ridiculous as I called out to the two men approaching yesterday to tell them I would go into the trees. Especially when I learned that they lived so near us. Thanks very much.
I am thankful it was not this bad at Christmas.
Thanks very much, Mrs W
Your welcome.
Thank goodness for our gardens Derrick and isolated wooded footpaths… Beautiful images of your garden Derrick and your walk.. Stay well and enjoy your Easter weekend both of you.. 🙂 <3
Thank you very much, Sue. Your good wishes reciprocated.
Those blossoms look wonderful and you’re obviously in for some good weather over the long weekend.
Thanks very much, Sheree
The spring flowers are so beautiful, and it looks like you had quite a nice walk. Thanks for sharing. It’s cold and windy here!
I hope you warm up soon Merril. Thank you very much, too.
A good walk in the forest and field. I like seeing the woodland flowers.
Thank you very much, Lisa.
I always love the pink cherry…gorgeous! It looks like it was a beautiful day for a walk. It was sunny here, but cold and the wind was howling. Thanks for the lovely walk, Derrick.
I really raised a sweat, Jill c25 degrees. Thanks very much.
It’s sad that we have to avoid human-beans…but, so wonderful that we can embrace nature and it is bringing us such joy! 🙂
Your photos…beautiful! Your descriptions of what you saw…poetic! 🙂
Your descriptions of Jackie’s chef-ly masterpieces make my mouth water. I shall go now and grab a valuable-tissue to wipe the drool off my chin! 😉 😛 HA! 😀 (Amazing how tissues and toilet paper have become so valuable. 🙂 )
(((HUGS))) and <3 🙂
Your description of you drool is delicious, Carolyn. Thanks you very much. XX
Oh my. After that walk and a meal like that, It’s time for a nap I think. 😉
🙂 Thanks very much, Chrissy.
It is good to see perfectly choreographed social distancing. I had rather an undignified scramble when I met a walker on a narrow path today.
That was what happened to me when the two gents approached 🙂 Thanks a lot, Tootlepedal.
Looks like a beautiful day there, Derrick and Jackie, and i enjoyed your photos. Your crab apples are ahead of ours but if our sunny and warm weather holds up, we should have blooms soon. 🙂
Thank you very much, Lavinia. I hope your weather holds up. We have had no rain since the lockdown began three weeks ago.
Thank you for your poetic post! So glad hat you and everyone around you practice social distancing—a necessary habit we must all learn for now!
Thanks very much, Diane. It still seems very strange.
What a delightful and charming walk. I cannot imagine how some people cope with living in tight little units in huge gloomy blocks. Being able to walk down a street with roses blooming is a great feeling.
Thank you very much, John. Domestic violence and murder figures are on the up over here.
Same here. Locking violent men in with their wives in not very conducive to wellbeing. You might like to see what our Prime Minister said a week ago.
https://www.pm.gov.au/media/11-billion-support-more-mental-health-medicare-and-domestic-violence-services-0
Thanks for that. He has acquitted himself much better this time than over the fires.
Yes. Certainly has.
This has all the elements of my favorite kind of path: natural and winding but not too difficult, a creek with ferns and dappled sunlight, and a rustic bridge. Oh, and I love the starry wood anemones.Thank you for taking us along. 🙂
And thank you very much, JoAnna.
No need to travel to Japan to see the blossoms – you have spectacular ones in your own backyard. Good to see you are still getting out and walking. Keeping those knees lubricated. I suppose you knew in your running days, they would eventually wear out?
No, I didn’t know. I was Superman 🙂 Thanks very much, Gwen
What a lovely walk on a nice, warm day. In So California, it’s rained every day since the first of March — very unusual, and not conducive to getting out for exercise! I’m afraid that we’ll completely miss spring here, and jump to a hot summer still sequestered!
Thanks for your comments, slmret
Great post, derrick
Thank you very much, More. I hope you are OK
You’re welcome,
I’m ok now I was a little sick. But thankfully I am doing fine now.
I hope you and Jackie are doing fine
We are, thank you. I had wondered about you, so I’m pleased you are better.
Yes thank you, Derrick
I’ll be back to posting and catching up reading post.
Thank you for a lovely walk, Derrick. I really enjoyed it.
I’m so pleased, John. Thank you very much, too.
The post is a literary delight apart from being a commentary on the weird times we have come upon. I could almost savour the fragrance of those flowers.
Thank you so much, Uma.
I enjoyed our walk, and just love the little bridge.
Seems strange when we refer to this weekend as a four-day holiday seeing as most of us are on one long one!
🙂 Quite so, Sue. I’m pleased you came along. Thanks very much.
A lovely trek to and from the field, Derrick. You are always there to remind me of how beautiful the crab apples trees are. I used to look forward to the 2 in my front yard blooming when I was growing up.
Glad to see you’re keeping your distance!!
https://pacificparatrooper.files.wordpress.com/2020/04/fun-bear.jpg
Great pic, thanks, GP. And thanks a lot for reading and commenting, as always.
Love the photo, GP!
Thank you, Lavinia! Have a very Happy Easter
I cannot explain why but I do like that tractor picture!
I’m pleased. It took several goes to get the right bit in focus. Thanks very much, Andrew
I am amazed by the Amanigawa blossom – so much of it, the tree is heavily laden.
Anyway, I am glad that you have been able to get out for a walk – and got back without anyone getting too close to you.
Thank you very much, Helen
Those blossoms are truly stunning. An isolated walk these days is a treat to be thankful for.
Thank you very much, Gary. We are lucky here.
Thanks for the welcome respite from the news. As an aside, I love the name of the wine you drank. It’s name alone makes me feel cheerful.
The wine is one of my favourites from one of the Beaujolais villages. Thank you very much, Sue.
Your delightful flower photographs are often my favorites, Derrick–you also have such a wonderful variety to show us. And your language is a pleasure, too. 🙂
Thank you very much, Cynthia. Coming from you, that is praise, indeed.
You are great with that camera, Derrick!
🙂
The spring flowers and especially flowering trees are very uplifting, Derrick! One of our two crab apple trees up front opened up today, the pink one. Tomorrow I will take some photos.
You and Jackie are eating well and enjoying life. Good to see!
Thank you very much, Lavinia.
Beautiful photographs Derrick.
Thank you very much, Rupali
Flowering trees make me very happy. Thank you for sharing them with us. Your dinner sounds really, really good.
Thank you very much, Liz. It really, really was. 🙂
🙂
I’m glad people keep the distance 😉
Nature is so wonderful! This lockdown is doing it only good 🌱 🌸
Thank you very much, Ribana
I find it positive that people are still out there walking, while prudently keeping their distance from others. I hope you are not overdoing it on your walks, Derrick.
A wise hope, Dolly. I am now not doing 3 days in a row. Thanks very much.
My pleasure, Derrick.