My share of the today’s garden maintenance was a little dead heading and feeding the compost bin; Jackie’s was mostly making and mending.
This dull and cooler afternoon we drove into the forest.
Ponies and their foal grazed on a stretch of meadow at the East Boldre end of St Leonard’s Road, where a pigeon had left a little plumage.
An unidentified yellow flower, cow parsley, blackberry blossom. white and pink dog roses, attracting bees, lined the lush hedgerows.
Later, while we sat in the Rose Garden with our pre-dinner drinks, listening to trilling birds in the Copper Beech tree, fluffy clouds sped across the sky and strangely silent smaller birds too far away for us to identify against the light, gathered in the Weeping Birch.
For dinner this evening, Jackie produced spicy hot pasta arrabbiata and tender green beans, with which she drank Hoegaarden and I drank Cepa Lebrel Gran Reserva Rioja 2011.
Afterwards I watched the last three quarters of the England v. Ukraine Euro 2020 Quarter Final football match.
It rained most of the day here so no evening drinks in the garden.
The little foal is just a clone of her mother and so beautiful.I have foal envy!
They are all around us at the moment. Thanks very much, Sue
Sounds like a lovely day.
Thanks very much, Pat
I wondered if you watched the soccer match Derrick. My Derek is thrilled! Gorgeous photos!
Thanks very much, Jill. Ask Derek if he’s ever heard a commentator describe England as “a well oiled machine” before 🙂
I adore your photos of the birds in the Copper Beech tree, and the Weeping Birch .. maybe there is a story/poem to be had, as I store the photos in my “Derrick Photo File”
🙂 Much appreciated, Ivor
Beautiful photos, Derrick. Those hedgerows are certainly lush!
Thanks very much, Maj
Not a bad match to watch.
For us 🙂 Thanks a lot, Tootlepedal
I especially enjoyed the birds-in-the-trees photos, but that bee snuggled down into the rose is nice, too. It sounds like a lovely, relaxing day.
Thanks very much, Linda. That bee alighted just as I aimed 🙂
Idyllic!
Thanks a lot, Leslie
Sitting in your Rose Garden listening to the birds and watching clouds cross the sky sounds idyllic. Simple pleasures are the best!
They are, indeed, Liz. We are lucky to have them. Thanks very much.
Another beautiful day surrounded by nature 😉 Beautiful!
Thank you very much, Ribana
Wonderful photos of the ponies and their foals — and the feather is a lovely gift! How relaxing to sit in the garden and watch the birds and the clouds!
Thank you so much, Janet
Beautiful ponies and wildflowers. You are blessed to live in such a place.
We are, indeed, JoAnna. Thank you very much
Birds in the tree lovely photo of nature.
The bee in the rose is pretty too.
Thank you so much, More. I was lucky with the bee – it landed as I aimed 🙂
Haha that’s awesome.
And you’re quite welcome
Those hedgerows and horses sure do look pretty.
Thanks very much, Laurie
Oh such lovely garden photos and hope the football match was enjoyable
It is not often a commentator describes an English team as “a well-oiled machine” 🙂 Thanks very much, Yvette.
Oh that description does say a lot
It is good to think of the two of you sitting outdoors in the fading light after a busy day.
Thank you so much, Anne
I’ve photoshopped the mystery photographs, although this didn’t really provide a great deal of information. If I absolutely were forced to identify them, I would say that they are redpolls, but that is far from being a 100% certain conclusion.
Thanks very much – especially for the effort, John.
Even a dull cool day can be lovely, it seems. Silent birds on a weeping tree creates quite an image, and sitting there in your beautiful garden sounds splendid, especially when followed by a delicious wine and dinner.
Thanks very much, Merril. The wine was really good.
I will have to look for it.😀
We got it from Lidl – I don’t know if you have them over there.
I think there is one in the general region, but not right around here. New Jersey grocery stores aren’t allowed to sell wine though (it varies by state here). 😔
Good luck, then
Loved the photos Derrick… Good to be back within WP for a while… And so many beautiful photos you have shared… The rain freshens everything up and we had a huge thunderstorm here last evening with a torrential downpour… But saves our arms from carrying water on the plot..
Many thanks for your lovely visit Derrick.. So happy to see you 🙂
🙂
A great trip with ending up in the rose garden! Perfect, Derrick!
Thanks very much, GP
I enjoyed the photos of your forest trip, Derrick and Jackie. The foals are getting bigger and sturdier!
Thanks very much from us both, Lavinia. We haven’t seen a tiny one for a while
I am glad things are back to normal, with England vs. Ukraine 4:0.
🙂 Thanks very much, Dolly
You are very welcome, Derrick.