I began the last push on clearing the two rooms Nick is currently working on together at 4 a.m. this morning. These are the new sitting room and our bedroom upstairs.
Our friendly decorator began prepping before Jackie and I took a mid-morning forest drive.
A framed crocheted Queen welcomes visitors to St. Mark’s Church, Pennington.
We travelled along the very narrow Pauls Lane on our way to Pitmore Lane
alongside which I photographed the landscape with horses.
Further along we encountered a group of donkeys and their foals which
attracted a number of other photographers including this Frenchwoman. I quipped that these donkeys would become very familiar with the camera, and realised that her husband did not understand me. He told me so in English and followed in his own tongue which I didn’t understand. When he explained this to his wife I suddenly tuned into his French accent and replied, haltingly, in his own language. The three of us then spoke about how difficult it is to speak in another language for the first two or three days of a visit. The husband told me that they kept two donkeys at home.
One of the foals appears to have been attempting to emulate the stereotypical female Argentine tango dancer. Tossing its head around, scratching against the stiff grass, first on its feet, then sinking to the ground and rolling its muzzle close to the ground, the little animal failed to grasp the secret of how to get rid of dandelions.
By this afternoon Nick had made considerable progress and will begin applying paint tomorrow.
This evening we dined on Jackie’s excellent chicken korma and various leftovers from last night’s Red Chilli takeaway, with which Jackie drank Hoegaarden, Ian drank Cobra, and I finished the Bordeaux.
Great work by Nick.
I didn’t think anything could be cuter than the donkeys and foals until I saw the next gallery with the foal and dandelion. I think this little one is wiser than you know, and understands the pleasure of stopping to smell the dandelions–knowing roses have thorns. 😏
A nice dandelion/rose comparison, Merril. Thanks very much
You’re welcome. 😊
agree with Merril
nice!
😊
All, text and images, delightful as ever..
Thank you so much, Roland
Nick smiled some winsomely for his close-ups! I love your comparison of the donkey foal to a tango dancer.
Thank you so much, Liz. I’m pleased you loved the tango image
You’re welcome, Derrick. 🙂
Nick does great work, Derrick! The donkeys are so cute. ❤️
Thank you so much, John
The crocheted Queen is wonderful. It deserves to be taken into the church and preserved for people far off in the future to see. There could be no finer monument to how much we respect our monarch’s character than such a time consuming labour of love.
What a good idea, John. Thanks very much
I wouldn’t like to cycle along that narrow lane, but i would like to see those donkeys in real life. Thank you for the pictures.
Thanks a lot, Tootlepedal
Hahahahs
The tango to rid the dandelions – thanks for the smile
Also – the cross cultural language chat sounds fun!
–
I was shopping a while back and aided the Mexican cashier, is this dos or tres?
He answered – that one is two and the other is four ( no Spanish reply – lol)
Thanks a lot, Yvette. I’m pleased you like the tango image
☀️☀️
Oh, those donkeys are just gorgeous.
Thank you so much, Sue
The mothers and the foals have such pretty markings.
Great work, Nick! And your beautiful smile lights up the day! 🙂
Oh, you know I love donkeys! These photos are fabulous, Derrick! Imagine being that cute AND being able to deal with dandelions! 😉 😀
Love your tango dancer comparison! 😀
The upstairs sitting room window and view with coffee mug is a cool photo!
(((HUGS))) 🙂
thank you very much, Carolyn. I’m pleased you got the comparison X
Oh, I meant to add a fave quote:
“When you look at a field of dandelions you can either see a hundred weeds or a hundred wishes.”
🙂
Good one, Carolyn 🙂
The tiny foal with the dandelions doesn’t look more than a week old.
That is probably about right, Chrissy. Thanks very much
Nick is a pro! If you keep sharing photos of these adorable foals I’m going to want one of my own. 🙂 I love the header photo.
Thank you very much, Jill
Adorable donkeys and foals. I can imagine spending all day with them, but your photos will do nicely. I like your cottage windows. Good work, Nick!
Thank you very much, JoAnna
Yeah … donkeys and more donkeys with their gorgeous foals … thank you Derrick, you’ve made my day ..
Cheers, Ivor. Much appreciated
Nick certainly gets an early start, and so do you. Those donkey foals steal the show.
Thank you very much, Laurie
The donkey foal is adorable. Your description of the foal trying to get rid of dandelions is hilarious. Meanwhile, your homestead is certainly in the process of reincarnation.
Thank you so much, Uma
The little donkeys are just so adorable.
Thank you very much, Aletta
I wish I had Nick’s skills! There are a number of projects of that sort I would like to do here.
The donkeys, especially the foals, are always adorable. This group has some unusual markings that are quite beautiful.
Thank you so much, Lavinia
It is funny how we begin a conversation in either English or Afrikaans in this country depending on where we are when travelling. We once stopped to ask the way and the conversation proceeded in Afrikaans until my husband got stuck for a word … only to discover the other fellow was a native English speaker too!
This made me smile 🙂 Thank very much, Anne
Fun day and wonderful progress from Nick
A+ day.
Fun day and wonderful progress from Nick
A+ day.
Thanks very much, Pat
The secret to England’s beautiful countryside is the adorable livestock, eh?
Nick is doing an outstanding job!
Thank you so much, GP
Long time since I’ve seen an English lane with hedgerows. I remember driving down them was a challenge. The donkey foals are too cute.
Thank you so much, Sherry. It is still a challenge
Those donkeys are too cute for words. You have such lovely landscapes to enjoy.
Thank you very much, Eugi
You’re welcome, Derrick.
Nick is doing a great job and smiling.
Always love the baby donkeys.
Thank you so much, Flow
I must say that Nick has a great smile. I love the pictures of the foal and the dandelions, so sweet!
Thank you so much, Robbie
Another great post, Derrick. Nick is really making good progress – how exciting to see each room become picture perfect. And those donkey babies! What cold be cuter?
Thank you very much, Jodie
xo
I love the little foals! Your cottage will be every bit as gorgeous as your garden when Nick is done with it. 😊
Thank you very much, AnneMarie
Love those donkeys! So cute 🙂
Thanks very much, Barbara
The baby donkey is adorable. I wonder if the author of the crocheted Queen is the same lady who decorates the mailbox.
We doubt that, Dolly. There are quite a few crocheters in the villages around. Thanks very much
This is amazing crocheting, though. I haven’t realized that more than one person would have the skills.
It’s so difficult to get good tradespeople, people promise to come out to fix things then don’t show, so I’m happy you have someone so reliable and thorough.
We are fortunate to be where we are, Charlotte. Thank you very much
Great work!
And those donkeys are way too cute 🥰
Thank you very much, Ribana
Paul’s Lane looks so inviting to me. Your series of the donkeys are delightful. And what great work Nick is doing once more.
Thank you very much, Crystal