Who Lived Down Here?

This morning Jackie drove me into the forest.

At the bottom of Bull Hill a troop of donkeys blocked the road. After negotiating her way round them, Jackie drove on until she could stop safely, when I disembarked and walked back to find that the animals had

ambled off to disrupt traffic further down the road.

Undeterred, I followed, trying not to inconvenience the traffic myself, and found them separately secluded in various entrances.

At the narrow, Portmore, end of Jordans Lane

I spotted a stationary stone squirrel sited on slate tiles.

We wondered who lived down here.

On our return home I received a message from EE stating that my number had been transferred – and another from O2 informing me that I was on emergency calls only.

Flo then helped me get my head around using the new device. This, of course, required much patience from her as she watched her grandfather’s nervous fingers stubbing away, often inserting the wrong information, if only with one incorrect digit. She positioned the various icons in Grandpa-friendly locations on the screen.

This evening we dined on tricolore fusilli pasta arrabbiata with cauliflower and broccoli al dente sprinkled with Parmesan cheese accompanied by Hoegaarden in Jackie’s case, and more of the Cabernet Sauvignon in mine.

87 comments

  1. I’m glad that you finally got your new device, Derrick. It’s a learning curve! Those donkeys are totally clueless about blocking traffic. ?

  2. I don’t know why, but I love those plaintive donkey faces. That winding lane is mysterious and compelling.
    So, all the phone issues are settled? That was good of Flo to help you.

    1. I wish I had an inhouse helper with my gadgets – but so nice you have your phone issues just waiting for you to learn how to use them…

    1. That is awful, Sheree. You may have seen from other comments that they have been enjoyed by other readers. Perhaps they will come back for you. Thanks very much.

  3. Great donkey pictures and the stone squirrel is a good spot too. Good luck with the phone. Does it have a camera you might think of using?

  4. “We wondered who lived down here.” – Perhaps the stone squirrel. 😉

    The new devices are not user friendly for me either. I have very few aps but mostly use internet for Google Maps. Phone, Text messages and Photo Gallery are the only aps on on my home screen.

    The younger generation can have the mods and cons. Just leave me the basics.

  5. YAY for Flo! It’s nice to have a young patient helper! 🙂
    You know I am in Donkey Heaven with your photos today! 🙂
    Beautiful lane photo! The squirrel might be playing “Hide and Seek”! HA! 😀 He blends right in! 😉
    OOH! I’m not gonna’ look in, or crawl in, a hole that big! 😮 Wouldn’t want to disturb the fellow living in there! 😉 😛
    (((HUGS))) ❤️

  6. I’ve never heard of a stone squirrel — but your mention reminded me of the Stone Poneys, the group that Linda Ronstadt fronted. I just spent a few minutes browsing through the old songs, and discovered a few I’d never heard, like this lovely “Sweet Summer Blue and Gold.”. It’s a perfect song for overlapping seasons.

  7. I’m very glad you have your new phone working and got help with the setup which would take me days. There are many features on my phone that will probably never be used. I love the sweet donkey closeups.

  8. Donkeys! You know, we don’t ever have an issue with donkeys where I live, but more than once I”ve had to work my way around a group of pack llamas on the trail…

  9. So, you have halted horsing about to focus on donkeys 🙂 We have them all over town too now – recently there were fourteen of them on the pavement outside our house, where they had decided to settle for the night. Their braying in the early morning was a pleasant sound.

  10. I find that my grandchildren are my “tech experts” almost daily. And such patience they have with us! Donkeys/stubborn and yet by their eyes, they seem quite at ease with their reputations. Just seize the day, yes!

  11. Excellent news about the phone. I’m so glad Flo helped you out.
    All we need now are those photos transferring from the new phone to your computer!

  12. I was blessed with two excellent IT specialists over the years where I worked. They patiently lead me through the crises that proved to have simple (for those in the know) solutions. I think the best thing I learned from them, though, was you truly have to work at messing things up so bad the computer shows the fatal blank blue screen. It can happen, but it just doesn’t usually happen. It gave me confidence to risk trying things, thereby learning what works and what doesn’t when it comes to doing and undoing things on these devicess1 This understanding became very helpful after I retired and didn’t have access to IT specialists as handy as “just down the hall” and as easy to reach as picking up a phone. Oh, there was a little panic the first time I needed a helping hand on my computer problem, and I had to figure it out on my own, yet the confidence it built when I realized I had a similar problem once at work that I learned how to fix from one of those IT specialists and I managed to survive this at home problem made me a happy camper! I could solve my own problems or, at least, not panic when I got into a mess. May you benefit from the IT specialist in our home…um grandchild with IT knowledge you need! And learn what it takes to operate your phone!

    1. Thanks very much, Doug. When I was consultant to an adoption agency in the ’90s, I was offered the opportunity to join their staff training on computers. I later regretted that I had declined 🙂

  13. I love all your donkeys wandering up and down the road! They are beautiful animals. Amazing to see. New technology is a challenge for us old pencil and paper folks!

  14. I love the photos of those soulful-appearing donkeys and the photo of the winding road. I’m glad Flo was able to help you with your phone.

  15. I’m glad Flo was there to help you get started. I’ll bet you’ll need her a few more times till you are comfortable with your new phone. I truly hope this is the end of technical issues for some time. That stone squirrel looked real to me for an instant; I had to stare at it for a while. And the narrow end of Jordan’s Lane is simply perfect. Nice shot. <3

  16. Oh, I love the donkeys! They have the sweetest faces. And that squirrel would have fooled me. Even with the big picture on my computer, I thought it was real.

  17. Oh, and yay Flo! Over here we have a commercial (I forget what it is advertising) where a grandchild goes to visit their grandparents and as they walk in the door the grandparents both hand them dozens of electronics to fix. I remember the commercial because it is 100% accurate.

  18. The donkeys are adorable! I also suspect one can herd a donkey anywhere the donkey wants to go. 🙂 The stationary squirrel was a nice find! Burrow entrances are also fun to contemplate. 🙂

    I am glad the phone troubles are over, Derrick. One less vexation!

    1. Thank you very much for your perseverance, Charlotte. The glitches are gradually being ironed out.

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