This morning I posted https://derrickjknight.com/2021/08/31/a-knights-tale-25-a-papal-honour/
By mid-afternoon the earlier Stygian gloom had lifted enough for us to drive to Puttles Bridge and back after buying another, larger, bag of tree bark mulch.
With barely a ripple the now very shallow Ober Water could hardly be said to flow under the bridge.
The root trip hazards, often framing pools of water, are now bone dry.
Two or three families were frolicking in what was left of the stream flanked by dappled woodland devoid of the usual mini-pools. I enjoyed a pleasant conversation with the mother in the first of these pictures, whose son, while manoeuvring a small dinghy, was heard to say “It’s not deep enough”. I told his Mum I had never heard that before.
Ponies, including a large foal, grazed beside the road.
A child had hopped home with one shoe.
Chips fell from a fallen tree.
On our return through Brockenhurst, a Highland cow, with its cumbersome rocking gait, lumbered among the patient vehicles.
Among the multicoloured heather on the moorland beyond the town, other, tail-swishing, ponies with another foal clinging to its mother, grazed or took their ease.
Two remained obdurately planted in the road until a tour bus, like a gentle snow plough, proceeded to shift them.
This evening we dined on succulent roast pork; boiled new potatoes; crisp Yorkshire pudding; crunchy carrots and cauliflower; moist sautéed peppers, mushrooms, and onions; and tasty gravy, with which Jackie drank more of Pino Grigio Blanc and I drank more of the Faugeres.
If it weren’t for the vehicles,. I’d swear this was the late 19th or early 20th century
Gorgeous.
It is like a previous age, Pat. Thanks very much
With the Highland cow in the road, it’s a good thing you drive on the left side of the road!
My horses and ponies are looking good, Derrick. Thank you.
Thanks a lot to you, too, GP
Have you ‘virtually’ adopted the horses and ponies or do you actually own a couple?
🙂
Unfortunately, just virtual. haha, I’d love to see the look on our HOA if I rode up to the clubhouse one day!! 😵
What fun to see a Highland Cow on your page – quite unexpected.
Thanks very much, Anne
I wasn’t expecting that as well…having never seen you post one before.
They do crop up now and again, Catherine: https://derrickjknight.com/2019/09/02/commandeering-cattle-go-unchallenged/
Horses rule!
They do, indeed, Laurie. Thanks very much
Your dinner sounds so delicious, Derrick! I would love to try Jackie’s cooking. I’ve never seen horses and other critters walking on public roads before. You’ve never heard the term “it’s not deep enough”? As an avid boater years ago, that was a common saying. The Highland cow looks really huge!
Thank you so much, John. I wouldn’t want one of those beasts to stand on my foot.
I was wondering how a snow plough was going to come into the post! Your dinner sounds really good!! I have a hankering for a good pork roast now. It’s been ages since I’ve had one.
I was wondering the same thing about the snow plow, Liz!
😀
Thanks very much, Liz. I do like to keep people guessing – it must be the crossword compiler in me 🙂
You’re welcome, Derrick. There is nothing wrong with establishing a little narrative tension in one’s blog post. 🙂
🙂
As gorgeous a post as ever! I took my six year old grandson for a walk to the store this more – with an umbrella. It has never taken me as long to get such a short distance!
That must have been fun, AnneMarie. Thanks very much.
Those ponies seem to have slowed down the tour bus on purpose, to give tourists a better chance to admire them.
Thanks very much, Dolly. They gave Jackie a bit of a shield as she parked beside them 🙂
Very considerate of them. You are very welcome, Derrick.
The cow and car composition is very good. It is a pity that you can’t capture the look on the drover’s face at the same time.
🙂 A good thought – and a splendid typo, Tootlepedal. Thanks very much
Sorry about the typo.
Don’t be – it was perfect
Such wonderful photos, Derrick. I can’t pick a favorite, though I do like that Highland cow.
The first mossy roots photo looks like a bird’s leg with clawed foot to me. 😀
I see that, too, Merril. Thanks very much.
You’re welcome. 😀
HAHAHAHA! That Highland Cow owns the road! 😉 😀
Love your photos of the pairs of ponies and the blue bus!
Always enjoy your reflection photos, your light ‘n’ shadows photos!
The roots photos remind us how well-seasoned those trees are…they’ve seen so much! And remind us to be grateful for our own roots! 🙂
Aw, on the little lost Peppa Pig shoe! 🙁 I bet it was missed for a long time.
(((HUGS))) 🙂
Thank you very much for your usual careful observation, Carolyn X
The Highland cow looks fearsome.
They all do – almost prehistoric. Thanks very much, Rosaliene.
Your intriguing photo of the highland cow slowly lumbering down the road is an image I could’ve used in my post “Time Strolls”, but I am sure there will be another time …
🙂 Much appreciated, Ivor
Fantastic photos, Derrick!
Thank you so much, Jill
‘Obdurately’…what a lovely word. I’ll find a use for it. Roast pork, another lovely word, or two, as the case may be. Nice post, Derrick.
Thank you so much, Steve
The roots are fascinating, the ponies are beautiful, and I love the word, “frolicking.”
Thank you so much, JoAnna
Thus allusion of Stygian gloom startled me! It was a very refreshing tour as usual. The lumbering Highland Cow is confident like a Don.
Thank you so much, Uma. It is really strange for August that all our days at the moment start in such a way.
a great variety of photos for today, Derrick. delightful to see the highland cow and ponies and reflections. i’m not too sure about the exposed roots though. kinda eerie.
Thanks very much, Lola. Eerie is a good word
It was surprisingly gloomy
Indeed. Thanks a lot, Sheree
Your daily journals are always a pleasure to read, Derrick.
Hello Derrick
It’s fun to see the shape these roots took when they were no longer covered by water.
I still love to see the ponies walking around like this at your place
Hello Jackie and have a nice day in the garden? to both of them
Thank you very much from us both, Yoshimi
10/10 for “Dry Roots”. It looks like a map of Middle Earth!
Thanks a lot, John
A lovely day finished with a delicious dinner 😉
Thank you very much, Ribana
Hi Derrick, I’ve always wondered about the lone lost shoe I sometimes see. Perhaps this young girl was carried home. 🙂
Good to see you back, Barbara. I trust all is OK. Thanks very much
There is a website for lost teddy bears, bunnies, etc to be matched up to their owners. Perhaps a lost shoe location would be helpful
🙂 A good idea, Rose. Thanks very much
I love the photo of the Highland cow. It’s amazing the animals are free to walk on public roads. It’s unfortunate those roots are lacking water, however, trees can be real survivors.
Those tree roots are used to the variable amounts of rain, Eugi. Thanks very much
Thank you for the explanation, Derrick, and you’re welcome.
YOur wife is a very good cook, Derrick. I also cook a lot and my sons are used to home cooking. I wonder if they girls still learn to cook now. Why is your river so low, I thought the UK had been getting a lot of rain this year.
We have had less than many other parts. And several weeks now with no rain. Two of my granddaughters are very good cooks. Thanks very much, Robbie.
The weather is very peculiar this year.
Nice to know you are eating well. 🙂
Thanks a lot, Quercus
🙂
Love the cow 🐮
Thanks very much, Sherry
I love the description “Stygian gloom”. It is not one I have seen in a long time, and you have captured it well in the woodland photos. Highland cows are unique-looking, and I always love to see the ponies.
Your appreciation is reciprocated, Lavinia. Many thanks
That is amazing!
Thanks very much, Dwight
You are welcome!