“Have You Seen My Dog?”

The weather today alternated between brief bursts of bright sunshine and darkly hammering heavy hail and rain. We probably picked the best time for a drive into the forest, where,

on Sway Road it was the turn of cattle and donkeys to create traffic mayhem.

I took advantage of the sunshine to photograph autumn at my feet before moving on.

We turned into Black Knowl where Jackie parked and I wandered on down. I had said I would walk back to the car when I was ready, but, because of the showers, she ignored that and followed me at a safe distance. The gentleman walking his dog in this shot exchanged friendly greetings with me as our paths crossed.

Fenced fields flanked my right side,

while open woodland graced my left. The orange mark on one trunk indicates the need for minor foresters’ attention; acorns and holly berries decorate some of the trees, although the acorns constantly clattered the tarmac; fallen boughs and trunks, making their decaying contribution to the ecology, gradually return to the soil from whence they came. The comparatively sheltered ferns cling to their youthful green hue.

Suddenly the sweeping sough of the wind was muffled by rapidly advancing thudding hooves of ponies on the run.

I just about managed to picture a few as they sped, seemingly panic-stricken through the trees.

Soon, a second wave surged ahead, passing a couple of walkers and tearing into the trees. Note the spaniel getting involved. The second of these pictures is Jackie’s.

The clacking and thumping of hooves of the next wave of rather more and larger equines had me taking immediate evasive action by leaping (figuratively speaking of course) into a dry ditch. Fortunately they turned off before they reached me. The idea of photographing them disappeared from my mind.

I then decided it was time for me to return to the car. A small group of humans had gathered at this point. There was some speculation that the animals may have been escaping from a Drift https://derrickjknight.com/2016/08/30/the-drift/ because they are happening about now.

“Have you seen my dog?” asked one woman. We had, of course; it was a spaniel. I pointed her in the right direction and her pet came scampering to her side.

From the comparative safety of the Modus, I photographed the fourth wild wave as it rushed on by.

We had reached Ober Corner, beside a stretch of Ober Water, as usual reflecting the surrounding landscape.

Jackie poked her camera in my direction.

This evening we dined on a second sitting of last night’s spicy delights with an additional tasty omelette and tender green beans with which Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I drank The Second Fleet, Shiraz 2018, a smooth full bodied red wine from Australia’s Limestone Coast.

106 comments

  1. Quite an adventure! I’m glad the dog came back and no one was harmed. I can imagine someone could have been trampled. I love Jackie’s action shot of the horses.

  2. Looks like everyone (“man and beast” 🙂 ) wanted to commune with the forest today! I can understand why! So beautiful! 🙂
    All amazing photos, Derrick! I especially love the autumn at your feet, the Ober water reflection photos, the horses, the trees! 🙂 And The A.P.’s photos of The G.P. are wonderful!
    Thank you for explaining about the orange mark. I was wondering about it and then I read your explanation. 🙂
    That doggie had quite a run with the horses! I love how you captured them in action!
    Glad the doggie came back to it’s owner. 🙂
    HUGS!!! 🙂
    PS…Whenever I hear, or read, the words “my dog” or “your dog” I think of this clip from one of my fav movies…

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnXtuktNdlM

    HUGS!!! 🙂

  3. It’s a moment that one may call a frightening beauty or a thrilling experience caption in time. Great photography and quick leg work. I could imagine the leap of faith into the ditch. And you thought you were getting too old for that sort of thing. 😉

  4. We also find Australian Shiraz quite tasty, Derrick.
    The black and whites, when viewed in succession, create a perfect feeling of the ominous weather. I was very impressed by the dynamic photos of running ponies; the movement is superbly conveyed.

  5. you and Jackie beautifully captured the speeding horses, Derrick. it must be scary though especially when a large number of them come running. the sun-kissed leaves look magical.

  6. Your photos and story of panicking ponies, and “have you seen my dog”, reminded me of this joke Derrick…. enjoy…

    Two men were walking through the woods and came upon a big black, deep hole. One man picked up a rock and tossed it into the hole and stood listening for the rock to hit bottom. There was no sound.

    He turned to the other guy and said “that must be a deep hole…let’s throw a bigger rock in there and listen for it to hit bottom.” The men found a bigger rock and both picked it up and lugged it to the hole and dropped it in.

    They listened for some time and never heard a sound. Again, they agreed that this must be one deep hole and maybe they should throw something even bigger into it.

    One man spotted a rail-road tie nearby. They picked up the tie, grunting and groaning, and lugged it to the hole. They tossed it in. No sound. All of a sudden, a goat came flying out of the woods, running like the wind, and flew past the men and jumped straight into the hole. The men were amazed.

    About that time, an old hayseed farmer came out of the woods and asked the men if they had seen a goat. One man told the farmer of the incredible incident they had just witnessed…they had just seen this goat fly out of the woods and run and leap into the big hole. The man asked the farmer if this could have been his goat.

    The old farmer said “naw, that can’t be my goat…he was chained to a railroad tie.”

    1. How very disappointing, Sherry. There are quite a few copies advertised on line, but I expect you have looked at those. I imagine whether or not you can return it will depend on how it has been described in the advert. Thanks very much.

  7. The dog of course should have been on a lead. All dogs should be on a lead. Dog owners really annoy me.
    I like the fence pictures but my favourite is ‘Autumn at my Feet’

  8. What a wonderful world. I totally agree with the other remarks, the b & w photos are lovely. I think sometimes, with the right subject matter the black and white picture has an air of mystery that’s not so easy to capture in color. And the tree shots need to be framed. Lovely! Thanks for sharing, Derrick.

  9. Those “normally somnolent ponies” were really riled up, weren’t they? Glad no one was trampled. Great photos by Jackie. (Oh and of course, yours were their usual brilliant captures, too, {{{Derrick}}} . ) So, thank you for your always excellent sharing.

  10. I enjoyed your photos of autumn, Derrick and Jackie! The Drift sounds like an interesting event, to be attended at one’s own risk. I wonder if someday hot branding will be augmented or replaced by microchipping for identification, as much more detail can be registered..

  11. What a marvelous sight seeing the ponies thundering by. Thank you for the link with the information about the drift, so interesting.

  12. What started with stunning photographs quickly turned into a thriller: “Suddenly the sweeping sough of the wind was muffled by rapidly advancing thudding hooves of ponies on the run.” I am absorbing my lessons well at your blog! The Drift must be an alarming event for the hoofed marauders. Once again, the photography is top notch.

  13. I am grateful to Jackie for turning the camera on you every so often. 🙂 Those photos of the running horses are marvelous. What a ruckus, and in the first few shots, it’s interesting to see people who appear to be casually walking as ponies and a spaniel tear into the forest. My favourite photo from this set is the larger black and white of the fence. That one is a work of art. I also like the shot of the man walking his dog – the way you framed it. Derrick you make your world look magical for us.

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