Walkers In The Field

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.

 

 

 

86 comments

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

    1. 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.

  3. You write so beautifully, Derrick – wonderfully flowing descriptions that find a happy audience in my inner ear.

  4. 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!! 😀

    1. 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.

  5. 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

  6. 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.

  7. 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 🙂

  8. 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. 🙂

  9. 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!

  10. 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.

  11. 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. 🙂

  12. 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?

  13. 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!

  14. 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.

  15. 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!

  16. 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.

  17. 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.

  18. 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!

  19. 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.

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