Fishing The Shallows

On a dank-dull afternoon we drove to Milford on Sea pharmacy for a repeat prescription, with a loop round Keyhaven’s Saltgrass Lane on our return home.

Occasional walkers, like this couple looking across the Solent to the Isle of Wight and The Needles, made their way along the sparsely populated clifftop promenade.

We followed a steady jogger along Saltgrass Lane until we paused to photograph walkers and dogs on the Hurst spit alongside which idle sail boats were moored.

Curlews and turnstones (I am grateful to Quercus for identifying the latter in his comment) fished the shallows;

an elegant swan sailed among resting gulls,

one of which passed the time of day with a trailing cygnet.

This evening we dined on Jackie’s especially spicy pork paprika; boiled potatoes; crunchy carrots; and tender runner beans, followed by aromatic rice pudding laced with a dollop of strawberry jam with which she drank Hoegaarden and I drank more of the Malbec.

63 comments

  1. I’m glad to see the distanced walkers — and, as happened here, the birds seem quite happy with the quietude of the day!

  2. I wonder about those moored boats still in water in December, Derrick. Don’t they winterize boats, the way they do it here in the northern states? Does the water freeze?

  3. As Anne indicated above, you could be relied upon to make such a routine task as collecting repeat prescriptions on a grey day into such a beautifully told and illustrated event 🙂
    I wonder why swans are so supremely elegant?!

  4. I loved those photos of the shore, and all the birds. I can feel the breeze and smell the salt air! The day will come when Rick and I get to see our own coast again. 🙂

    Dinner sounds wonderful! Tell Jackie and I have ordered runner bean seeds, and will try my hand at growing them this year.

    1. Runner beans definitely worth doing I think, I don’t have a designated area for veg, but I grow them up the arches with the climbing roses and the Clematis. Good luck with yours Lavinia.

      1. Thank you, Jackie! I have usually grown an heirloom pole bean called “black creaseback”, which has purple flowers, green pods and black seeds. I have never eaten runner beans, and look forward to those bright red blooms too. They should be a beautiful addition to the garden and the hummingbirds will love the red flowers, too. 🙂

  5. Derrick, lavinia said this about you having to sign in to comment on my blog – WP has made some changes recently with cookies. If he makes comments through the WP Reader instead of the actual site, he should be alright, and not have to give out details. This works with most sites, but not all.

    The two birds in close up are Turnstones https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/turnstone/

    I’ve always assumed swans have long necks so they can reach down for vegetation to eat.

      1. Tootlepedal says: I use the reader and it hasn’t happened to me with your site. Sometimes it happens with other sites but if I click on the circular WP icon below the comment box, that seems to satisfy it.

        Hope this helps.

  6. The first image of the couple looking across the Solent seems to belong to the Star Wars saga, the Jedi and her companion being in deep deliberation about some interplanetary venture. The rest of the images capture the mood of the day.

  7. Those rock formations are so dramatic. They look like large ships against the horizon. I needed to look at your peaceful photos this evening. It has been one hell of a day over here on this side of the Atlantic. Phew!

  8. Your beautiful photos of all of those gorgeous birds bring joy and warmth! 🙂 Love the little birds standing in the water…the water is shimmery…and it looks like fish are a plenty!
    Those swans just command attention, don’t they?! 😉
    HUGS!!! 🙂
    PS…Ooh! I love rice pudding!!!

  9. I think you’ve got redshank there and maybe a bar-tailed godwit but it’s too dark to be absolutely certain. The woman in the first photograph is very strange. At first I thought she had a white beard and I still can’t work it out!

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