Cat And Mouse

Last night the full moon cast a spectral spell upon the garden.

Early this morning we drove Elizabeth to Lymington Hospital for a routine procedure and collected her later after we had taken a short trip into the forest.

Unlike yesterday, today was largely overcast and consequently somewhat warmer. This was the sky above the Boldre end of Church Lane.

Field horses grazed alongside; a shaded shed stands opposite.

Towards the Pilley end I spotted a deer pack in a field. They were immediately aware of my distant presence and soon turned tail and retreated to what the felt was a safe distance. I moved slightly nearer. They backed off again. I changed my lens to a longer one. They repeated the process, then reiterated it. These were Cervidae, not Muridae, but they made me feel feline, playing cat and mouse with them.

Cattle were bearing down on the lake alongside Jordan’s Lane at Pilley, where

they stopped for a drink and grazed on the bank.

Except for one bay reflected in the water the ponies mainly crossed the road, where a pair of greys saw eye to eye.

Having collected Elizabeth we turned back to the Grove Pharmacy at Christchurch hospital where Jackie received her second Covid vaccination .

Elizabeth stayed on until tomorrow. We dined on Jackie’s delicious cottage pie; crunchy carrots; firm cauliflower; tender cabbage, and meaty gravy, with which my sister drank water, my wife drank Hoegaarden, and I finished the Bordeaux.

56 comments

  1. where do all the animals come from? You must be surrounded by farms? or are they on a reserve. you get to see so many horses, cows etc.???

    1. The deer are wild; the cows are from farms; the ponies are owned by commoners, but roam free. All except deer have right of way on the roads. Thanks very much, Q

  2. We had a super moon last night but after waiting for it to show, it didn’t look any bigger than the usual full moon. Love your eerie photo. Love them all.

  3. The moon light has made your garden look even more magical than usual!
    And the forest deer are clearly shy, but very beautiful…
    The cows obviously have a much bolder nature – no backing off for them!
    Glad Jackie has had her second vaccine.

  4. I hope Elizabeth recovers quickly from her procedure, good plan to keep her with you overnight.

    How lovely to see the cattle out and about again. The cattle are still indoors up here, it’s been such a dry month that the grass hasn’t grown enough for them. Short grass is fine for sheep but not long enough for the cattle. It finally began raining here during late afternoon, but we could do with a couple more days of it.

  5. I enjoyed all of these photos – the mysterious moonlight, the attentive herd, the crisp ponies and cows – and especially like the two grays. I hope Elizabeth has good immunity with minimal discomfort. Glad she stayed over.

  6. A gray horse named Gunmetal Gray is favored to win the Kentucky Derby this year. I’ve never seen a gray horse before seeing your photos (at least that I can remember) and they really are attractive. Now we’ll see if one of their number of fast.

  7. I join others in wishing Elizabeth a good recovery and being being that Jackie has had her second vaccine. The vaccine programme is moving very slowly here, but I have at last been able to register online to receive one – eventually 🙂

  8. Prayers for Elizabeth.
    So glad Jackie got her second dose.
    It’s joy to see the deer and to see the animals enjoying drinks of water.
    Love the photo of the two grey ponies looking longingly into each other’s eyes. <3
    (((HUGS))) 🙂

  9. On one of your deer pictures (with four deer) there’s a tree on the left that looks as if it is being used as a scratching post by something. I wonder what it would be?

  10. The moonlit scene did look quite ghostly. I loved the cow photos–they look so lovely in your photos.
    It’s good you could help Elizabeth, and I’m happy to hear Jackie had her second shot. I hope she has no ill effects.

  11. I love all those deer lined up with their white tails twitchin’ atcha! And the cattle and bay are delightful. Thanks for sharing your day with us, {{{Derrick}}} – How nice your sis could spend that time with you! <3

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