Still Tagging Along

Work continued on the Rose Garden this morning. We used a metal mallet to straighten the legs of the recent acquired rusty obelisks and hammer them into position.

More fallen leaves from the copper beech tree were swept, gathered up with big hands, and deposited into

black bags in bin subsequently transferred to the compost area. The potted pansies in the above pictures have settled in nicely.

Penstemons and fuchsias continue to thrive.

As seen on the Shady Path there are many more leaves to be collected.

This afternoon Jackie began our Christmas shopping at Otter Nurseries while I sat in the car and read more of Edwin Drood.

Although we had enjoyed the best of the light this morning we then drove into the forest where

trees are turning on Pilley Hill.

At the Lodge Lane road junction

donkeys foraged;

fallen trees stretched across the woodland;

and burnished mushrooms burgeoned beneath golden-brown beech leaves.

Indigo clouds swept across pale pink skies over St Leonard’s Road where

our familiar miniature pony still tagged along with the big girls;

and strutting pheasants trotted across adjacent fields.

This evening we dined on second helpings of Hordle Chinese Takeaway’s tasty fare with which Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I drank more of the Corbieres.

82 comments

  2. It was a perfect day for squeezing more gardening in before the end of the season here, too! I hope you’re both not as sore and stiff as I am now – I was weeding avidly before planting wild flower seeds.
    I love your Penstemon – such a delicate colour.
    And the rusty Autumn leaves, with the light seeping through them…
    Quite magical.
    And so calming – even when every joint is aching!
    E 🙂

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  3. No wonder why your garden is so beautiful with all the work you and Jackie do!
    I particularly liked the donkeys in the lane and those donkey faces today.

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  4. Your splendid gardens takes so much hard work, but the results are certainly worth the effort!
    The little pony with mohawk hairdo is very cute. I am curious: are the “burnished mushrooms” (love the slightly tautogrammic sentence!) edible?

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          1. I remember the entire orientation given to us in 4th grade before the first mushroom hunt field trip. The main point was not to taste any until shown to experts.

  9. Pheasants, donkeys, wild mane ponies and iron obelisks make for a marvelous grouping. And of course live action of Jackie in the garden. Nice and interesting post as usual, Derrick.

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  10. Your garden teamwork reminds me of Norm and me doing same. I make the mess when pruning, trimming and dead heading, Norm follows to take the garden refuse to the garden bin. 🙂 I tend to miss the bucket when dropping leaves and stuff directly into it or the small bin I carry around with me, leaving more mess to be picked up as he follows.
    I like being the boss even if it’s just in our small garden.
    Ponies are lovely but I think I like the donkeys better.
    Corbieres, A white wine?

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  11. Your sky looks like ours today, Derrick and Jackie. Your gardens still look like they are producing some lovely flowers! And thank you for the forest drive photos, too. That littlest pony looks so sweet!

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  19. That’s one adorable close up of the miniature pony. The photo of “trees are turning on Pilley Hill,” was interesting in that at first I could not tell what was foreground and background as the ? weeping tree is so vibrant. Or maybe it’s just my evening eyes playing tricks on me. 🙂

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  20. I especially enjoyed seeing the pheasants. My father and uncles and their friends always had one or two pheasant hunts in autumn. We kids never hunted, but we’d see the birds from time to time when we were playing in the corn fields. We never got to tag along on the hunts, though. Kids were allowed, but only if they were hunting, and responsible enough to handle a gun.

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  23. I wonder if each leaf has a life of its own before it turns into compost and finds its way back into verdant expressions of Nature. And it certainly means Autumn clamours for its own pound of sweat from a caring gardener. The photographs from Pilley Hill are charming.

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  26. Christmas shopping already!
    That said, I know my eldest has already purchased one of my gifts I mentioned I might buy a certain item for the kitchen to which she replied – No No don’t do that, just wait and see what Santa brings!
    Your garden is still looking lovely, it deserves to after all the hard work you both put into it.

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  28. Oh, love the sweet donkey faces AND the sweet little pony girl’s beautiful face! They bring such warmth and joy! 🙂
    The leaves, the trees, and the clouds…all spectacular! 🙂
    Oh, those pleasant pheasants strutting their stuff! 😀
    HUGS!!! 🙂

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  33. I love that middle photo of Jackie holding the garden hands, and I love your garden in general. You tend it beautifully and it shows. The shots of the foraging Donkeys are spectacular. I feel as thought I could reach into my computer and scratch those soft ears.

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  35. Ik weet het zeker: Derrick is zijn roeping mis gelopen, als artiest en had altijd al kunst-schilder willen worden … Zeg maar: De Engelse Rembrandt, maar hij koos voor een gelikt leven met van-alles-erop-en-er-aan … Ja, kinderen zijn ook niet goedkoop! In het leven van een artiest kan het gek lopen, hoor … Heel onvoorspelbaar …
    Kijk, die kleuren composities zijn zó mooi, al dat groen met een wit hek en al die waterplassen met spiegeling en schaduwen en vooral al die herfst kleuren, om niet te vergeten. Hij heeft er oog voor … Ja … , die oer oude eiken zijn ook geweldig mooi: PRACHTIG!
    * http://www.friedabblog.wordpress.com * Amsterdam * 16 november 2020 *

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