The morning was dry with bouts of sunshine when
Jackie wandered around the garden with her camera. She went out to photograph the Amistad salvia but got carried away and also pictured agapanthus seeds, dahlias, rudbeckias, roses, clerodendrum trichotomum, begonias, fuchsias, sedum, phlox; and a fly, wasps, and a shield bug perched on ivy flowers. As usual individual titles appear in the gallery which can be enlarged by clicking on any image.
On our afternoon drive we witnessed dramatic skies releasing a number of heavy showers as seen descending from the louring clouds in two of these images and producing at least one rainbow. The last three of these pictures were taken from Beaulieu Road on our way home. The first two from Coombe Lane, Sway where
sunlight picked out the autumn colours in the trees as a lone horse walked down its sloping field.
The first shower sent a group of ponies alongside the Brockenhurst road to shelter as close to the trees as possible.
Pannage pigs munching on sweet chestnuts brought a number of visitors’ cars to a halt in order to disgorge their drivers and passengers to watch and photograph the animals delighting in their change of diet from the more available acorns.
This evening we dined on Jackie’s delicious sausage, liver, and bacon casserole; creamy mashed potato; firm and flavoursome Brussels sprouts; crunchy carrots; and tender runner beans, with which she drank Hoegaarden and I finished the Cotes du Rhone.
Great pics. Your hardens look so besutiful and the flowers are so vivid. Love the other pics too! So much fun!
Thanks very much, Gary
Sounds delicious and oh that rainbow!!
Thank you very much, Michelle
You’re welcome Derrick ?
Your roses are breathtaking, Derrick! Dramatic skies are very impressive as well.
Thank you very much, Dolly
You are very welcome, Derrick.
Who would have thought autumn would bring so many flowers!
I’m glad you got some photos of the horses before they disappeared for shelter!
Thanks. very much, GP
Wow! These photos are fantastic, Derrick. I love the brilliant colors.
Thank you very much, Jill
Who knew pigs could be so Instagramable?! My goodness, people are amusing, aren’t they? What bittersweet garden photos, too. Soon most of the days will be louring and that pink rose will be a faint memory. Stay well, Derrick and Jackie!
Thank you very much from us both, Sue
What a magnificent rainbow
Ponies, pigs and a mouth watering description of your evening meal – what more could I ask for? ?
Thanks very much, Sue. At least we didn’t have pork (except for the sausages)
That’s going to be my lunch today, pork sausages- toad in the hole.
🙂 Enjoy
I saw that cover photo and had to figure out what I was looking at. I was glad to see it was a happy pig. That is a fabulous post of some great photos. Jackie has shared the abundance of your October garden and the skies and the horses were great. The rainbow actually made me gasp. And dinner sounds spectacular.
Thank you so much, Jodie. I thought the rainbow looked like a watercolour blending.
Yes, it does! It is stunning!
A wonderful set of photos, Derrick. Does the pannage last 60 days? Interesting that hog rings are utilized, I am assuming to keep deep rooting in the forest to a minimum?
Thanks very much, Maj. The pannage is normally six weeks or so, but in recent years it has been extended. You are right about the rings.
That fuchsia is doing very well. I liked the photograph of the photographers. You will have to institute a queuing system as they have at that famous salmon leaping spot in Canada.
🙂 Thanks a lot, Tootlepedal
When I saw the title of your post come across my email, I was wondering whose diet had seen a change. I wasn’t expecting pigs! Those skyscapes are magnificant. They must have been even better to experience in person.
Thank you very much, Liz. I’m pleased you were set wondering by the title 🙂
You’re welcome, Derrick.
I have enjoyed the autumn beauty in your gardens, and the scenes from the forest drive. Thank you, Derrick and Jackie! The pigs certainly did get a treat there with the chestnuts. I am sure they taste much better than acorns. 🙂
Thank you very much from us both Lavinia. I hope your skies are smoke free, now.
We get a little smoke depending on the winds, but the percent containment is improving as the season moves along. Our area is pretty clear now.
Good
You’re post are like a field trip always lovely.
Hope you and Jackie are doing ok.
We are, thank you, More – as I hope you are
Those colourful flowers are simply stunning! Is incredible how beautiful they are in October ??
And that sky! Stunning! I see the pigs really enjoy the chestnuts ? ?
Thank you very much, Ribana.
Lovely flowers, soft and bright. The ponies look expectant of autumn, or maybe that’s just me. It’s always nice to have variety in a diet. We bought one of those boxed meals with all the ingredients for you to cook at home. It had strong Moroccan spices. Very different!
Thanks very much, Joanna. I think the ponies certainly knew it was going to rain
Garden is still so beautiful! We have had a number of frosts that have pretty much nipped all the plants.
Thanks very much, Laurie. It’s a shame about the frost, although I know you expect it.
oh i would be carried away too! great shots by Jackie! delightful horses as always and the pigs are so cute. they’re so busy munching chestnuts they don’t seem to be bothered by company. 🙂 🙂 the rainbow is special! 🙂 🙂
thank you very much for all this, Lola.
I came to a full stop when I reached the Clerodendrum trichotomum. Those blue berries within the red calyx are just wonderful. I had to read about it a bit, and was delighted to find it has some interesting common names: harlequin glorybower and peanut butter tree!
I did wonder whether the pigs ever get a chance to roast their chestnuts over an open fire. Probably not — pity!
Thanks very much, Linda. I like the further information and the song.
Lovely shots as always Derrick.
Thanks very much, Arlene
Why does the Agapanthus always remind me of Agamemnon? Perhaps it’s the Greek origin of the names and the legend of the Trojan War that fascinates me till date. Isn’t this flower known as the Lily of the Nile too? For a while, when the internet connection is weak, which is often the case, the larger images in the gallery play the vanishing act, so I am still waiting for the flower to appear. Meanwhile, I have been able to enjoy the other offerings even as they play hide and seek. Being the rebellious spirits the pigs are, I can imagine the trouble the folks would have gone through putting those identification jewellery on those ears and noses. And I can vouch for the little girl there who doesn’t like those creatures one bit!
Your internet problems make your careful viewing even more valuable, Uma. You must be right about the root of the name agapanthus – I just learned that it is called the Jewel of the Nile, too. A good understanding of the little girl. Thanks very much.
I’m smiling at the pigs enjoy their special savory meal … just like us humans, enjoying a change in our diet, with the occasional special treat… !!
Thanks a lot, Ivor
Jackie and Derrick…Your photos are spectacular!
Those flower close-ups AND the sky shots are so beautiful! Oh, that rainbow is like an Albrecht Dürer watercolor masterpiece! 🙂 (His painting Left Wing of a Blue Roller is one of my favs!)
I’m glad the pigs diet changed and not your diet! I would so miss drooling over your descriptions of your delicious meals! 🙂
HA! there are probably not a lot of adjectives to describe nuts. Although we do enjoy eating raw nuts for snack or in recipes. 🙂
HUGS!!! 🙂
Thank you very much from us both, Carolyn. I am so pleased that you spotted the watercolour aspect. I just googled the painting which I hadn’t known. X
What a wonderful from your garden on to the road. Your journals are always interesting.
Thank you so much, Rupali
Beauty ⚘
Thank you very much, Maria
Such varied and beautiful photos from you and Jackie. The flowers are so colorful, and the wildlife so photogenic. And a rainbow, too! What a treat today!
Thank you so much from us both, Merril
You’re both very welcome.
I especially like the skyscapes.
Thanks very much, Andrew
Looking at your garden Derrick, I understand the global warming :-). In the middle of October to have so colourful garden is unbelievable. In my childhood time we already had a fun to skate on a frozen pond. Sometimes we even had snow by that time. See what happened now around the World – it is green and colourful.
Indeed, Alexander. Thanks very much
Quite interesting post with a lot of observation and learning
Thanks very much, Rachana
??
Would you believe I’ve never tried Brussels sprouts? They are probably loaded with vitamins!
I really like them, Barbara. Thanks very much.
Such beautiful autumnal colours.
x
Thanks very much, Melanie X