Further Down The River

We continued the garden manicure this morning. My contribution was to set up a further compost bin and to dead head roses and poppies. We each filled a further trug.

Sadly, Jackie found the undamaged body of Nugget Junior this morning. His Dad visited us often, perhaps in mourning.

Shortly before lunch heavy, steady, rain set in for the afternoon, during which I scanned my final pages of Agnes Miller Parker’s flowing engraved illustrations complementing the exquisite pastoral prose of “Down The River” by H.E. Bates.

As usual, click on any image to access the gallery. Just beneath each picture, to the right, a box invites you to ‘view full size’, which can be further enlarged.

This evening we enjoyed a second sitting of Mr Chan’s splendid Chinese Take Away, with which Jackie drank Becks and I drank Alma da Vinha Douro Doc 2018.

73 comments

  1. Sad news about Nugget Junior. The lives of these small birds are so precarious. I love those illustrations, Derrick. The book looks to be a real joy.

  2. Well, I’m just broken up about Nugget Jr. I thought you were going to have generations of Nuggets hanging around. Any idea why?

  3. Oh so sad! We had a dead bird on our patio this morning. One of the Robin babies. It must have hit the window. So, I share your mourning, Nugget!

  4. I’m so sorry about Nugget Jr. Reading Gwen’s comment about him being adventurous makes me think of the risks that come with that in the wild. I had an adventurous kitten like that whose life was much shorter than her litter mates. Thank you for the detailed illustrations.

  5. So: the river of life flows on, without Nugget Junior. One of the euphemisms for death I heard occasionally while growing up is that someone had ‘gone down the river,’ which makes your selection resonate in a special way.

  6. OH, no! 🙁 I am so so SO sad to hear about little Nugget, Jr! 🙁 Poor little fellow!
    But, I am so glad he had you and Jackie in his life…and your beautiful garden to live, and, die, in.
    Did you find a burial spot for him? I know everyone doesn’t do this…but if an animal dies on our property we bury it with love.
    (((HUGS)))

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