Ian returned to Southbourne for work this morning. After lunch Jackie and I drove to Tesco for some shopping, and continued into the forest.
As we turned into Hordle Lane yellow-brown ochre clouds flung a hatful of
every kind of precipitation at our windscreen as photographed by Jackie. Sleet and snow were lashed by brisk gusts of north wind making the 6C degree dropped temperature feel much colder.
During an apparent cessation I left the car to photograph an eponymous sculpture on Woodcock Lane, and was soon beset by further soft white flakes and ice-hard pellets which spared the ubiquitous laurel blossoms.
I wandered around the rippling Wootton stream alongside which a pair of discarded wellies aroused speculation. Lengthy striate arboreal shadows criss-crossed water surfaces and cropped banks alike. The last picture in this gallery is by Jackie.
Fluffy cotton clouds soon replaced the earlier heavily laden ones as cerulean skies returned.
The widening of the A35 bridge at Holmsley, scheduled to be completed next week will not now be finished before June. The causeway leading to it is not normally a road on which it is sensible to stop. Now it is closed we were able to sneak along it and I could nip out and photograph the woodland and its denizens below.
The landscape of Longslade Heath was dotted with grazing and reclining ponies.
South Sway Lane’s verges were enhanced by robins and primroses.
This evening we dined on Jackie’s beef pie meal and/or chicken and vegetable stewp with which I drank Patrick Chodot Fleurie 2019.
The ice showers seem to have come as a surprise, but you two got the pictures anyway – good going!!
Tanks very much from us both, GP
Oh, those pesky forms of precipitation can always have a surprise in the clouds! Great gallery, Derrick. (Tell Jackie we both loved her addition to the show!) And what a cute little robin, glad you spotted it and made the record for us.
Thanks very much, Maj and Sher, from us both
Bit of a contrast to last week’s mild weather. I wonder if the robin is part of the extended Nugget family?
It would be nice to think so, Sheree. Thanks very much
Love the pictures. Sounds like you are experiencing all four seasons except for fall foliage and flowers.
Thank you very much, Pat
Silly spring weather…one day forward, the next day backwards.
It’s autumn here and the mornings are less warm but the afternoon can be steamy and hot. So my indoor aircon is still on summer mode.
Thank you very much, Catherine
I LOVE the header photo, the plump little robin situated among shades of green, shadowed, and textural branches.
Thank you so much, Liz. I guess you know I did to
Thought so! You’re welcome, Derrick.
Great photos as ever. I love the path through the woods. 💗
Thank You very much, AnneMarie
Beautiful pictures.
Thank you very much, Mrs W
Your welcome.
Winter just won’t let go, will it! Lovely photos as always, and we have the same road problems here. They say the work will be complete by a certain date, then it’s extended, Grrr!
Thanks a lot, John
The wellies are a bit of a puzzle. It’s difficult to work out why somebody would bring the wellies to the waterside and then leave them there.They are lying in a place which is wet enough to need to be wearing them. Very strange!
Indeed. Thanks very much, John
Wonderful photos! Thanks for sharing your day with us. We had snow last night and I was surprised to find it still there this morning, but only a dusting. We had more throughout the day (which worried me slightly as work had taken us up into the hills), but it didn’t come to much.
Thanks very much, Nikki
Such temperamental weather! Sounds a bit like Maine. 😉 Despite the weather, you got some nice weather.
Thanks very much, Laurie. I guess the second weather must be pictures 🙂
It sounds like you got the same kind of crazy weather we’ve been having–but–stunning photos. I can’t pick a favorite because I kept saying, “this one,” “no, this one.” Beautiful light (and shadows). The mossy branches look like snakes to me. The robin is so cute.
Thank you so much, Merril
It was very distinguished to have had graupel snow. We had only plain flakes to deal with here today.
Thanks very much, Tootlepedal. This sent me to Google and YouTube – I hadn’t heard of such snow
Discarded wellies. Fallen from rider’s saddle. Or, did the owner go for a chilly swim? A mystery story ready to be written. 🙂
Be my guest, Chrissy. Thank you very much
😉
So many gorgeous photos today, Derrick. I can’t pick a favorite. I do love seeing Nugget’s kinfolk! So sweet!
Thank you so much, Jill
I do not tire of robins.
Thank you very much, Sylvie
Like many of your posts, this is like looking at a nature magazine with delightfully diverse subjects. I love the sparkling water you and Jackie both captured. And the cottony clouds. And the robin and delicate primroses. And… 🙂
Thank you so much from us both, JoAnna
I was surprised by your weather, but I was delighted by the robin. It’s such a nice portrait of one of my favorites among your birds.
Thank you very much, Linda
Now, why would someone leave a perfectly good pair of boots, er, wellies, that is?
Why, indeed, Steve. Thanks very much
Naaw, whenever you mention Robin, my heart flies out to Nugget. Disappeared, just the same as the owner of those wellies. I wonder if there is a body buried in a bog nearby. Did the killer leave them as a clue? Or did he/she also bury the wellies, and a random pony munching watergrass accidentally unearth them. Ooooh, endless possibilities. Maybe Paol Soren will write a story around it.
A wonderful stream of consciousness, Gwen. Thanks very much.
Thanks for the prompt Gwen. But your plot lines are pretty good already.
Your photos have brought home the mood of the elements. The crisscrossing shadows in the woodland further deepen the atmosphere. The abandoned wellies look ominous. Was someone turned into a tree trunk around there?
Thanks very much, Uma 🙂
Wow, a cold wet blast Derrick, hopefully your mild spring weather will be back soon … and here in Geelong it’s another cool and windy Autumn day, at 17’C
Thanks very much, Ivor
An adventurous outing that has been well documented.
Thanks very much, Anne
I too am curious about those discarded wellies.
Thanks a lot, msw
A possible explanation for the abandoned wellies.
As youngsters, my lot used to play in a stream that runs between two of our fields. In dryer weather the stream had very little water but plenty of mud. Victoria frequently came home giving a piggy back to one of the younger ones because the wellies had become stuck in the mud. The wellies remained there until my husband was able to nip down and dig them out!
That looks very feasible, Sue. Thank you very much
On a variety-weather day, you captured some wonderful photos, Jackie and Derrick! Oh, I love seeing the robin! 🙂
(((HUGS))) 🙂
Thank you so much from us both, Carolyn X
I am glad the sun came out for those beautiful photos, Derrick and Jackie. Many places are seeing some strange weather this spring. It was below freezing here this morning, but dry.
Thank you very much from us both, Lavinia
Spring is being spectacularly unpredictable this year.
Thanks a lot, Widders
Nature is so beautiful and your photos represents it so good! Those fluffy cotton clouds are gorgeous!
Thank you very much, Ribana
You are having some strange weather, Derrick.
We are. Thanks very much, Dolly
You are most welcome, Derrick.
I love all of this. You wove poetic words with photos that make me want to frolic in the forest.
Thank you so much, Rose