Synchronised Grazing

This morning, while Jackie continued her general garden maintenance, including mowing the lawn, lulled by the gentle trill of birdsong and the tinkling trickle of water fountain, I enjoyed a dead heading session before wandering around with my camera.

Roses receiving attention included a peach climber; pink Mum in a Million at two of her stages of life; deep red centred For Your Eyes Only; lighter centred Summer Wine; golden yellow Absolutely Fabulous; pale pink Shropshire Lad and blushing Lady Emma Hamilton in their younger incarnations.

A Small White butterfly alighted on a verbena bonariensis between stems of Festive Jewel;

a comma stopped upon another;

a bee visited a salvia.

The first of these two white plants are hollyhocks grown from allegedly red seed; the second, Japanese anemones.

A pink version of the latter hides a lurking hoverfly.

Gauras, rudbeckia, and double lilies are all doing well.

The Lawn Bed and the Gazebo Path both sport splendid colour.

After lunch, we visited the Barbe Baker Museum shop in Lymington to buy some hand made birthday presents, then continued into the forest.

Ponies grazed on Hatchet Moor within sight of the eponymous pond and its waterlilies,

photographed by me,

and by Jackie,

who also captured the first of these cygnet images,

seen here with their parents.

I watched a wet dog return to the water where it attacked an inoffensive tree.

Its owner informed me that, like Becky’s Scooby, her animal would chase sticks thrown in the water, but never bring them back, so he resorted to replenishing the supply.

A pony foal wandered across the tarmac to the East Boldre end of St Leonard’s Road, and proceeded to accompany its mother in synchronised grazing.

Other members of the group did their best to block the road,

while another did her best to suck soup from the rapidly drying corner pool.

This evening we dined on roast chicken breasts; boiled new potatoes; and fresh salad, with which Jackie drank Greco di Tufo white wine and I drank Torre de Ferro Reserva Dao 2017.

83 comments

  1. All in all, I’d say that you and Jackie had a wonderful day!! I can’t believe how vibrant and fresh your garden still looks! We’re definitely in waning territory around here.

  2. Those are beautiful photos from your day, Derrick and Jackie. The pony foals are growing up quickly as the summer season is winding down. The pond full of lilies is particularly beautiful. That is a sweet doggie, too. 🙂

  3. HA! That doggie is having such fun! Dog vs Tree/Stick! Great photos of the action! 🙂
    Wonderful photos today, Jackie and Derrick!!! Gorgeous flower faces! ‘Tis a joy to see the insects at work! That Hoverfly probably won the game of Hide and Seek! 😉 The water lilies are beautiful! The swan family and the ponies bring smiles! I always love seeing a pony wearing a sun-made shadow-blanket. 😉
    Great title to this post!
    (((HUGS))) 🙂
    PS…”Like the water lily I embrace my surroundings and bloom into a being unique.”

  4. Oh Derrick … your collection of photos today thoroughly brightened up my gloomy morning, and especially your swan photos, as I have just posted a new poem today and the “Featured Image” was one of your previous Sygnet photos from last year, what a wonderful coincidence 😀

    1. I enjoyed your poetry, Ivor. No place on your blog to leave a comment, so I’ll add it here. <3 Nice of Derrick to allow permission to borrow his photo. It's a beauty!

  5. Some dogs are just obsessed with sticks. Beautiful flowers and ponies. I like that bee, too. “…lulled by the gentle trill of birdsong and the tinkling trickle of water fountain,” sounds like paradise.

  6. Never had I ever heard of comma butterflies, and I found this information about them, along with some splendid images: “While the comma was once a rare sight in Britain, it is now the ultimate butterfly success story after having a huge increase in the last 40 years. It is believed climate change and the increase in temperatures are the reason this butterfly is thriving.”

  7. It’s quite a mix of lovely pics in this album… I was wondering why the dog was chewing that branch until I read about it. How interesting!

  8. The tinkling alliteration is a poetic narration of the audiovisual pleasures of the garden reinforced through images of gorgeous flowers. I have too witnessed synchronised grazing before and wondered. Thanks of those pony portraits.

  9. I wonder at what stage they separate the foals from their mothers. I imagine that some stage when the foals are older they’ll be sold on.

    I loved the images of the dog in the water, and so determined to take back a stick, even if it is attached to a tree!

  10. You live in a little piece of Paradise on Earth – and you capture its beauty so magnificently with your photography skills. Thank you for sharing, {{{Derrick}}}. I loved seeing the dog and hearing you elaborate on its antics. The flowers are so beautiful…. and the horses are wonderful. What a delight!

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