Early this morning, once again in steady rain, Jackie and I transported another Modus-load of soggy garden refuse to the Efford Recycling Centre, and continued on a damp forest drive.
A pair of wet donkeys at East Boldre with little leaves adhering to their spiral-patterned hides hopefully raised their mournful heads as I disembarked to photograph them.
Ponies and their foals seemed happier in nature’s cool showers along Furzey Lane. Equally damp they contentedly cropped their pasturage.
One foal took time away from suckling to have a good scratch;
another rested beneath an oak tree surviving against the odds which was laden with acorns ready to drop.
Raindrops must have slid down this chicken’s feathers.
I never met Queen Elizabeth II, but I did once bump into Prince Philip.
Sometime in the early 1990s when Jessica and I were staying in Cumbria in the premises of the late Hugh Lowther, married at the time to my late wife’s cousin Angie – possibly not the holiday spent with Ali, Steve, and James, in 1992, during which today’s header photograph was taken – we attended a show event in the grounds of Hugh’s father, the 7th Earl of Lonsdale. Willie, Viscount Whitelaw of Penrith, was one of the dignitaries I recognised within the secure palisade surrounding the area.
When wandering around, I passed the entrance to a marquee just as an elegant gentleman dashed out unable to avoid a collision. Thus I met the Queen’s Consort.
This evening we repeated yesterday’s wholesome fare, except that Jackie drank Hoegaarden while I drank more of the Burgundy.
Were the donkeys hoping to be fed? A brush with royalty….
That’s what I thought as well, that the donkeys were hoping for something tasty from Derrick.
That’s what the donkeys we feed do. They aren’t our donkeys but we feed them regularly. When my husband Hee-haws, they come trotting or ambling from the back pasture. Yesterday, Emmett, the yearling briefly broke into a gallop.
What fun! What do they like to eat?
Carrots, sweet potatoes, chocolate chip cookies, apples, pears, peaches, broccolo. Not fond of sweet peppers or mangoes. Emmett the yearling is by far the pickiest and won’t eat anything that falls out of his mouth. His parents will eventually eat it.
That’s quite a variety of food! Isn’t Emmett the persnickety one . . .
Absolutely.. Buddy and Holly will eat anything but mangoes and peppers which maybe because they’re unfamiliar.
Carrots, sweet potatoes, chocolate chip cookies, apples, pears, peaches, broccolo. Not fond of sweet peppers or mangoes. Emmett the yearling is by far the pickiest and won’t eat anything that falls out of his mouth. His parents will eventually eat it.
We are urged not to feed them because they carry ticks potentially fatal to humans, and crowd round cars. But, yes, they do hope for treats
Very wise. The donkeys that we feed are in a pasture and under the care of a local farmer.
Indeed
I think they were, Pat. Thanks very much
Those two do have a look of hopeful anticipation! Encounters with famous folks are always memory worthy. Thanks for sharing your “meeting” with the Prince!
Thanks very much, Maj
I call that a privilege to have bumped into him! The animals look miserable but I guess they aren’t…
Thanks a lot, John
You are welcome, Derrick.
So you bumped into him quite literally? Did this feature in the Knight’s Tale?
It doesn’t seem to have done. I did look 🙂 Thanks very much, Susan
Poor Prince Philip. You’d have thought he’d have qualified for a mention.
Perhaps I’ll slip it in.
What a great story/memory! Hope you both stayed on your feet! ??? I always enjoyed reading things that Prince Philip said. 🙂
YAY for the donkeys! I love seeing them…I get all smile-y! 🙂
Good to see the ponies and chicks, too! That chicken is beautiful!
(((HUGS))) 🙂 ❤️
No harm was done, Carolyn 🙂
I love that header photo! It’s good to see the ponies feeling perkier after some miserable hot weather.
Thank you very much, Liz
You’re welcome, Derrick.
Today it was raining buckets of water . This did not block you both and you visited various meadows and their equine inhabitants!
And at the end of the day a good meal with Belgium beer and Bourgogne ( Burgundy) !
Thank you very much, Michel
I remember you telling this story! What great times we had though, with or without royal presence! Xx
We did, indeed. Thanks very much, Ali
That’s a charming photograph of the two sheep on a hill.
Thank you very much, John
It’s unlikely you know of the late Dr. Paul Johnsgaard, who was a major figure in the world of ornithology and author of 104 books (!) mostly on topics relating to that science, but he was a personal hero of mine.
I chanced upon him taking lunch at a favorite wildlife refuge of mine where he and graduate students of his from the University of Nebraska were doing summer field studies.
After gushing over the man’s books, of which I had the then-38 in print and how much I admired the man and his work, the fellow birder with whom I was with insisted I go over and meet him in person.
Reluctantly yet in great anticipation, I approached Dr. Johnsgaard, extended my hand, and said, “Dr. Johnsgaard, you are a god to me!”
Well, I am sure I blushed and I’m sure the smile on his face said all that needed to be said about that moment! LOL!
After he descended from Mount Olympus, Dr. Johnsgaard proved to me very tolerant of my hero worship and appreciative of my enthusiasm for his books. He even let me in on the news that he was about to publish Nr. 39 and planning Nr. 40 for later that year.
I trust you were less, um, exuberant, when you bumped into a Prince Phillip!
Absolutely, Doug 🙂 Thanks a lot
That is an improbable oak tree. I like your donkey shots but the sheep shot at the top is even better.
Your wet weather seems to be settling in Derrick … maybe a wet Autumn and Winter ahead?
Who knows these days, Ivor? Cheers
Handsome donkeys. I trust no one was hurt in the royal collision and apologies were exchanged?
Yes, JoAnna. Thanks very much
Top storytelling Sir. I absolutely adore that hill sheep photo.
Thank you very much, Gary
Well, my goodness! We’re you flustered after the encounter? I know I would have been.
Not at all. More amused. Thanks very much, Laurie
Oh my! What a surprise that must have been… As always, I get such a pleasure out of your pony/donkey pics. Usually a lot more photogenic than a prince, come to think of it.
Thank you very much, Anna
We can never have too many pictures of donkeys. I’ve never met the late Queen or Prince Phillip though I have met and spoken to King Charles III and the Queen Consort. The first at a charity event and the second at the hairdressers.
Excellent hairdresser obviously. Thanks very much, Sheree
Indeed
It was a treat to see the little red hen, they don’t feature here very often. The ponies and donkeys are always a treat for sore eyes.
I read above where someone fed chocolate chip cookies to the donkeys! I was shocked.
Feeding sugary, fatty, processed food to any of these animals has to be one of the worst things to feed horses and donkeys.
Experimenting by offering different food stuffs to find out which they like the best is not a sensible move. An occasional carrot would be far safer.
One of Sophie’s ponies, a black gelding, died a painful death because the warden at the adjoining scout camp regularly fed him bits of food, including fish and chips.
We were unaware of his stupidity until after our pony died; the warden told us he would miss sharing his lunch with the pony and said he often shared food with him and that he was very fond of fish and chips.
The post-mortem showed the cause of death as an ulcerated stomach.
The man was clueless, as are many others; I’m sure people don’t intend to harm the animals; they simply don’t realise that some of our foods could kill them.
There are a few horses over the lane opposite our place and the fence next to the footpath has a number of signs at regular intervals asking people not to feed the horses.
Thank you very much, Sue. Such warnings are all over the forest and often ignored
Okay…so your pairing of the header photo together with the title “Bumping Into Prince Philip” is meant to convey to us that he was a bit of a goat. Have I got that right?
Not really, Gwen. I still can’t use new photographs in WP, so I just used one from a roughly contemporary holiday. Thanks very much.
Guess I shouldn’t make quips about him now he is King. That might not end well for me 🙂
The animals getting cool, plus a lovely story about the Prince. He had been my favorite, but I can understand the country mourning her Queen.
Thank you very much, GP
Wow! The header photo is superb and also the colors in the chicken’s feathers show up beautifully.
Thank you very much Eugi
You’re welcome, Derrick.
You ran in some fancy circles, Derrick! I didn’t think the bump would be literal. If something like that happened now, it would be all over social media.
The header shot is stunning, and I always love seeing the donkeys.
Thank you so much, Merril
You’re very welcome, Derrick.
I found the wet fur fascinating, but love the red hen the best. <3
Thanks very much, Crystal X
<3 love the ponies 🙂
Thank you very much, Sue
I hope you remembered to salute as you picked yourself up!
Of course, Andrew. Cheers
You have an amazing life story, and equally amazing connections, Derrick!
I am sure the animals like the cooler weather now. It is still quite dry, but getting more autumnal here.
Thank you so much, Lavinia X
What a wonderful close encounter!
Derrick…I’m thinking about a post I could write about donkeys. If I write it and post it could I share one of you donkey photos in my post? I’d give you credit of course.
Let me know.
Thank you very much, Carolyn. I would be delighted X
Thank you! I’ll see if I can figure out how to get the photo from your blogsite to mine.
I hope you can
I’ll try to post it next Tuesday. 🙂