Reflecting Headlights

Welcome rain descended all day in an ever-increasing crescendo.

Undeterred, my Chauffeuse drove us into the forest as rain battered the Modus and spattered the windscreen, across which the panic stricken wipers raced to and fro.

In the dingy early afternoon of this cold summer’s day motorists splashed through puddle-wet streets reflecting headlight beams. The occasional dog walker suffered for his pet.

On one side of a narrow lane off Burley Road invasive balsam did its best to choke a replenishing stream; native teasels stood proud on the other;

around the corner a quizzical sheltering cow clearly wondered what we were doing there.

In the grounds of the Alice Lisle pub at Rockford Green a fine chestnut pony carrying out its lawn mowing contract seemed to be availing itself of a Driza-Bone equestrian coat to keep off the rain.

Last week Ditchend Brook, crossing the Blissford Road ford at Frogham, was virtually dry. Today, raindrops bouncing off its rising surface, the stream was on the move again. This was the only point at which I emerged from the car on this trip; when the raindrops had finished ricocheting off me I probably smelt like a wet dog.

This evening we dined on Jackie’s scrumptious shepherd’s pie crunchy carrots, and tender green beans and cabbage with which she drank Hoegaarden and I drank Marlborough Pinot Noir 2019.

78 comments

  1. That’s an excellent portrait of the quizzical cow Derrick – and I could fully commiserate with the dog walker πŸ™‚ And this sentence is maybe my favourite ever: ‘rain battered the Modus and spattered the windscreen, across which the panic stricken wipers raced to and fro.’ πŸ˜€

  2. How delightful to see rain ! Here in the Charente – Maritime it’s not rained for weeks , temperatures in the upper 30’s , hopefully a touch of rain next week !

  3. It looks like the downpour I got caught in yesterday coming home from my parents. It’s great for the flowers though. Sorry for the message above. Sometimes my phone has a mind of its own.

  4. I love that beautiful black cow looking at you. Probably wondering why you’re choosing to get soaked when you could stay in the car! It was certainly wet today. Hopefully an improvement tomorrow 😊

  5. Wonderful photos despite the rainy weather that so panicked the wipers.
    I really like the photo of the cow, and I expected a caption with the photo of the two cattle because to me it looks like one is whispering some juicy gossip to the other. 😏

      1. We went in the rain and it looks like we’ll be doing the same tomorrow. Today we stuck to the footpaths, instead of going cross country.

  6. Wet Dog…that is a scent perfumers have never tried to replicate and sell! πŸ˜‰ πŸ˜› πŸ˜€

    I think the quizzical-expressioned cow is thinking, “Whoa, that man smells like wet dog.” Ha! πŸ˜‰ πŸ˜› πŸ˜€ And in that last photo, one cow is asking the other cow, “What IS THAT smell?!?” Ha! πŸ˜‰ πŸ˜€

    Your photos are beautiful, serene, smile-bringing, refreshing…just like a good rain. πŸ™‚
    (((HUGS))) πŸ™‚ to you and to Jackie!!! πŸ™‚
    PS…”If at the end of a day you smell like a dog…then it was a great day!” πŸ™‚

  7. We had a lot of rain over night and it’s still raining. I refer to the backyard as “The Bogs” of late. Right now it’s a swimming pool from the back steps to the fence. Norm’s potato bags are under water but the other veggies are just enjoying the rain.

    It’s amazing how animals just stand or sit in the rain; the water just running off their backs. The black on those cows almost look like wet rubber.

    Great photos Derrick!

  8. We’ve had so little rain lately that your photos make me want to dance in the rain when it comes back. I love the cow close up!

  9. Those images left me in no doubt about the wetness of the day. The Panick-stricken wipers of the Modus set the mood early on. The expression β€˜smelling like a wet dog’ lent a touch of vividness, even if humorous, to the conditions prevailing outside the safety of the vehicle.

  10. Yes, great portrait of the cow. I did read somewhere that horses eat around 10-15% of their body weight every day. For shrews it was 125% of their body weight. I know the feeling!

  11. I enjoyed the rainy day tour, Derrick and Jackie! I especially love that last cow photo, where one appears to be laughing at a joke being told by the other cow. πŸ™‚

    The patterns in the stream from raindrops were especially artistic. I can almost feel the rain myself. The forecast here is dry, sunny and hot, in the upper 90s.

  12. I could hear the raindrops on the puddle, feel the rain pelting the cows, and wade the washing streams. Such vivid phtography! Gorgeous images, Derrick. May I borrow you cow for a writing prompt?

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