Melodic birdsong and the plaintive burbling of an unattached wood pigeon, warmed by gentle sunshine, were pleasant accompaniments to my morning’s dead heading project, and the Head Gardener’s general tidying. After lunch, Jackie raked up her herbicide weeding on the back drive and I picked up the piles and transferred them to a bin.
As the day grew hotter, following a Ferndene Farm Shop visit, we went for a drive this afternoon. The shopping was for catering tomorrow, when Elizabeth and Jacqueline plan to bring Mum over for her main meal of the day.
Ponies of varying sizes exercised their right of way at the Forest Road junction leading to Holmsley Campsite, much to the amusement of visitors on either two or four wheels.
A number of cattle joined in the fun, although this black and white cow was more interested in making strenuous efforts to suckle from the brown one who didn’t appear to need milking and remained rather nonchalant about the process.
I ventured into the paddock at Braggers Lane,
where I photographed some of the riding horses, a few of which wore fly masks.
Bright red Rowan berries, like these in the Bransgore end of Forest Road, now gleam among green foliage above burgeoning bracken.
This evening we dined on second helpings of yesterday’s Red Chilli takeaway, with addition of chicken tikka and vegetable samosas, with which Jackie drank more of the rosé and I drank Tesco finest Faugeres 2019.
Gosh, those rowan berries are really striking – even from a distance!
Thanks very much, Anne
What a lovely drive (you knew I’d say that with all the animals wandering about!!)
Looking forward to seeing Mum tomorrow. Have a pleasant evening.
I certainly did know. Thanks very much, GP
😁🐎🐴
Love the who you liking at stare on the cow. I also pity the horses with their fly masks. Have a great lunch visit with your Mum.
Thanks a lot, Pat
How wonderful that your mother is coming by! Enjoy that time. Beautiful photos as always, Derrick. ☺️🇬🇧❤️
Thanks very much, John
The forest looks cool, green and shady, just what I could do with
Yes – It was good. Thanks very much, Sheree
😎
Had to smile at the day got hotter line. We have been in fleeces and jumpers all day. Even turned on the car heating. Love the photos Derrick.
Sorry about your cold. Thanks a lot, Gary
The Rowan berries are interesting, and quite pretty. I once followed a blogger whose last name was Rowan. I believe she and her husband both had English forebears; I wonder if the family name came from the berries (or vice-versa).
Apparently the tree is prominent in Norse mythology. Don’t know if that helps. Linda. Thanks a lot
Nonchalant can get us through some interesting things. 😉 😀
BESTEST news of the day…Your Mum is coming to visit you! YAY! If hugging is doable, please give her an extra hug from me. 🙂
All beautiful photos today…and I love perusing them to see what masterpieces of art the sun makes in shadows. 🙂
(((HUGS))) 🙂
Thank you so much, Carolyn
What wonderful photos of the cows – especially the thirsty black & white one!
Have a lovely day tomorrow – I hope your mother enjoys her visit. So special – I feel that we should all put on our Sunday Best in anticipation of reading your account of the day! 🙂
🙂 Thanks you so much, Emma
Thanks for taking us along, Derrick. The photos are lovely. I particularly like the one with the fence around the paddock.
Thanks very much to you, too, Jill
I would be rather nervous on my bicycle if I encountered cows and horses on the road.
🙂 Thanks a lot, Tootlkepedal
Beautiful post.
Thanks very much, Leslie
I love visiting the month of August in Southern England. Thanks for the trip!
And thank you for coming, Cindy
I always enjoy seeing the shaggy ponies. I wonder if the brown cow is the mother of the thirsty black and white. She seems to be looking at us like, Yeah, I know, but it’s just easier to let him do this. Still… I guess we all have our issues.
🙂 Thanks very much, JoAnna. It really puzzled me
Ponies, horses, cows and nature…what a great combination 😉
Thank you so much, Ribana
Looks like a beautiful day!!!
It was, John. Thanks a lot
As always, terrific pictures of the animals who roam in your neighborhood. Very curious to see that one adult cow try to nurse from another. I wonder how common that is. So much we don’t know about other animals. Have a wonderful time with your mom tomorrow.
Thank you very much, Laurie. I’ve never seen it before
They never fail to amaze and instruct us.
Thank you for sharing your adventures, Derrick! I love the photos of the animals.
Thank you very much, Eugi
You’re welcome, Derrick.
The header photo remnds me of how my dad used to say, “How now, brown cow?” on a regular basis. (The question must be alluding to something; I don’t know what.)
Are the horses in the first series of photos traversing a roundabout? If they attempted that maneuver around here, they would be struck by a car (several cars, in fact).
My two favorite photos from an aesthetic perspective are the one with the tree branches and leaves and the one with the two trees in front of the fence rails.
It’s a phrase used for elocution lessons – or a way of asking “What next?”.
The horses were going nowhere any time soon – traffic must go round them.
Two first rate choices, Liz. Thanks very much
You’re welcome, Derrick. Thank you for the “How now, Brown Cow?” explanation!
🙂
Those shady lanes look so cool and pretty. Every time I see a cow now, I’m going to think “nonchalant cows.” 😀
🙂 I do hope so, Merril. Thanks very much
😀
Those are beautiful forest drive photos, Derrick and Jackie! I love the two littlest ponies. The brown and white cow and her friend were interesting. I wonder if the B&W one was a previous calf? The brown and white one seems to be saying “Oh, well…” 🙂
A bit of a mystery, Lavinia. You could be right. Thanks very much
Oh my, you were in quite a poetic mood today, weren’t you, Derrick?
“Melodic birdsong
and the plaintive burbling
of an unattached wood pigeon,
warmed by gentle sunshine,”
Sounds like song lyrics to me! That would be a great inspirational phrase to give to a classroom of art students – asking them to paint what the words bring to mind! I could see Dwight Roth taking off on that stimuli!
Much appreciated, thank you, Jan
A wonderful set of photos.
Lovely descriptions and photos as always Derrick!
Thanks very much, Agnes