A Dappled Day

Yesterday morning Jackie was startled by a thud on the sitting room French windows. Knowing it would have been a bird she investigated and found a

stunned young thrush on the other side of the panes. After a while it flew off to the squawking of alarmed parents who could spot Mrs Knight inches away. They presumably could not see the glass either.

This morning a carried out a stint of dead-heading before we went trawling for a lunch venue. Our local cafés were packed out or impossible to park at, so we set off for The Green Dragon at Brook.

Service here was of variable quality. We were led to our table and served drinks by someone who was either not very well or would rather she or we were somewhere else. After a lengthy wait a much more friendly personality took our food order, giving us the useful and accurate advice when we each ordered sides of onion rings that one portion would be enough for both of us.

My choice was haddock, chips, and peas with Wadworth’s 6X beer; Jackie’s was beef burger and chips with Diet Coke. The peas were served chopped up, possibly without cooking, and so strongly minted that I chose not to eat them all. My Culinary Queen agreed with me.

Along the woodland lane at Bramshaw we encountered two donkeys with their foals grazing and suckling among the dappled sunlight,

which also cast shadows across healthy living trees and dead and broken trunks lining the route on the way to Nomansland,

where ponies seemed intent on blocking the road.

One mare and foal took their differing sustenance on the moorland beside Roger Penny Way where, as in many such a location,

ponies and foals clustered to shelter from heat and flies in their own dappled shade.

This evening we repeated yesterday’s dessert of fruit, cheesecake and cream with which I drank another glass of the guv’nor.

65 comments

  1. The baby donkeys are so cute! I’m glad that the bird flew off after a few minutes. Last summer, a bird hit my bedroom window and didn’t make it. I buried him/her in the dirt in my backyard, poor baby.

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  2. I logged in to my computer just now specifically to tell you Happy Birthday! I missed it yesterday. I like the pic of you and the dragon and hope your day was special despite the less than perfect service. The weather and the company was perfect. 😉

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  4. We used to eat peas fresh and raw, straight out of the pod, when we were little kids, but I never imagined that a restaurant would sink to serving it as part of a dish.

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  6. You always have such wonderful meals that I’m stunned to read about one that wasn’t–but a delicious dessert at home. (We’ve been eating cheesecake bars with fruit this week, too.)

    I’m glad the little thrush seemed OK.
    The set of photos of the donkeys in the dappled light were my favorite.

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  9. Oh, I’m so glad the little birdie was able to fly home to mom and dad! I worry about them when they hit the glass like that! 😮 🙁 But, it always reminds me that when we Human-Beans are hurt, scared, stunned, discouraged, etc., we MUST get back up…we must shake our heads…we must flap our wings…we must fly again! 🙂
    You know those pony AND donkey foals have my heart! ❤️
    The Green Dragon himself is lovely (great painting ? ), sorry to hear the service and peas were not.
    Love your tree photos! So much beauty and nature’s-art in the trees at every stage of their lives.
    (((HUGS))) 🙂

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  13. The Green Dragon sounds wonderful but I don’t think you’ll add it to your favourite places to eat. The horses look fit and sturdy – creatures that would leave quite a bit of damage to a car or bike I would imagine. Are there many vehicle v’s horses incidents?

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    1. They don’t really make the news but there are c100 animal deaths in a year. You are right about The Green Dragon which was very different pre-Covid when we last went there. Thanks very much, Chrissy

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  14. It is disappointing when we go out to eat and the food is not what it should be. A restaurant here was very popular for decades, we went there at least once a month. A few years ago we were disappointed and we have not gone there since. It was our favourite place and we did not want to spoil our memories. Recently Aravind’s friend told him the food is good there now. Thank you for the beautiful photos.

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  20. A good meal out and a forest drive look like a very pleasant way to spend the day, Derrick and Jackie. The donkey and pony foals are adorable!

    We have had a lot of birds conking themselves on the windows this year. The wild pigeons make the biggest thuds, and sound like they will break the glass.

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  23. I hope the bird will be alright and will learn quickly the danger of windows. The ponies and donkeys are certainly out and about!!

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  24. In New York there is a movement called Project Safe Flight to get buildings to use bird safe glass or put stickers on the windows to prevent bird collisions. You could add reflective collision stickers to your windows. Inexpensive and not ugly https://www.amazon.com/Deterrent-Stickers-Adhesive-Anti-Collision-Glassdoor/dp/B08BJVHV97/ref=asc_df_B08BJVHV97?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80195725728412&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4583795269846325&psc=1
    Birds never learn about windows.

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  25. I love that Mama donkey with her little one nursing! As usual, your photos and narrative took me back to your beautiful setting with much appreciation! I’m glad we had dinner out in a spot with much better food and service than what you ended up with yesterday!

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