After lunch today Jackie drove us all to Hockey’s Farm Shop where we left the young family to explore while we took a short drive in the near vicinity.
A veritable herd of donkeys in the road outside the shop were engaged in their favourite leisurely game of disruption of the traffic. One attempted to join me in the passenger seat when I returned to the car. The greens at Ibsley, although the waters had receded somewhat, continued to offer
waterlogged reflections of trees above,
and a paddling pool for ponies,
one of whom was in sight of cousins casting shadows on the other side of the road.
Two gentlemen sat atop Rockford Sandpit;
their voices reached me at the bottom, whence I photographed the scene
and its surrounding woodland.
From Ellingham Drove, where we spotted one of our many sightings of roe deer in the shade, we drove to the main road where we filled up with petrol and returned to Hockey’s to collect the others.
Later, following the advice of SueW, I recovered the pictures from the following posts:
This evening we all dined on more of Jackie’s tasty pasta Bolognese, with which she drank Hoegaarden and I drank Valle Central Reserva Privada Syrah, 2021.
Wow, those ponies and donkeys make great hazards to driving!
Thanks a lot, John
Love your alliterative lines and beautiful pictures.
Thanks very much, Pat. ” love alliterative lines” is pretty good, too
Pat is learning at the master’s feet!
🙂
🤓👍
Those deer are so pretty. How fun to have so many animals when there is a baby around.
Thanks very much, Laurie
Beautiful pictures of the Deer and the ponies. I loved the one lonesome pony standing in the water. Loved the photos of the construction and thatching the roof.
Thank you very much, Zakiah
An interesting combination in this post of flooding ponds and dry sands! Love seeing the deer, too!
Thank you so much for this most acute observation, Janet
That’s a wonderful selectionj of mammals on an afternoon’s short drive round.
Thank you very much, John
The header with the four deer giving you their backsides is a fantastic shot, as it the one of the donkey trying to join you in the car.
Those were my favorites, too, Liz.
Great minds! 🙂
As Liz, says, “great minds….”
Thank you so much, Liz
You’re welcome, Derrick.
That is an impressive sandpit. Is it an industrial relic or a natural phenomenon?
The sand is natural – it once supplied building sand by the cartload and is now a natural playground. Thanks very much, Tootlepedal
Cute deer behinds! Sweet donkey faces! Pretty pony shadows and reflections! What s lovely day! 🙂
HA on the donkey who wanted a ride! 😉 😀 You know I love those donkeys! Whether there is one donkey or a drove of donkeys…YAY!!! 🙂
(((HUGS))) ❤️
PS… “Live like someone left the gate open. ” 🙂 🐎
Thank you so much, Carolyn X
Cute ponies and donkeys. Animals are so innocent.
Thanks again, Geeta
Lovely place
Thank you very much, Geeta
Your Roe Deer photos are delightful Derrick …
Thank you very much, Ivor
It was a beautiful angled light day there, Derrick and Jackie. The trees really show their growth pattern characteristics without leaves to mask them. I love the animals seen on your forest drives, both domestic and wild.
Thank you very much from us both, Lavinia
Looks like a great day. Donkeys doing their thing … and everyone else finding their way 💖
Thanks very much, Val X
Beautiful post, beautiful photographs sir.
Thank you so much, Gary
The donkeys look like they’re on a mission. The header photo makes me wonder if the design on roe deer rear ends is like camouflage to confuse predators.
I can only guess, JoAnna. If so, tha might be why we have so many – there are no predators here
It’s starting to look a bit springlike in your world. When I saw the Roe deer, my first thought was of pronghorn antelope in our west. Their rear ends are similar, and actually quite attractive. Do these deer flick their tails when they run, like the antelope?
I don’t often get to see them running, Linda, but I’ll try to check. Thanks very much
Beautiful photos, Derrick! Looks like a great outing.
Thank you so much, Jill
Posts such as this one make me feel quite at home – only here we dodge cows and donkeys in our suburbs.
That is good, Anne. Thanks very much
So serene😊
Thank you very much, Arlene
Those reflective images are really lovely.
I love the image of the bay pony its coat looks almost red in the sunlight.
Thank you so much, Derrick for the ongoing acknowledgement.
You have made it all possible X
Very good shadow pictures Derrick.
Thanks a lot, Andrew
Always good to see the pigs out helping to keep the horses safe from eating the acorns!
https://pacificparatrooper.files.wordpress.com/2022/09/when-pigs-fly-animated.gif
Thanks very much, GP. Clever GIF
So many stunning photos today. I can’t pick a favorite–except I love your header shot. We have white-tailed deer, not roe deer. You see the white when they run.
It does look like that donkey was ready to get into the car with you! 🙂
Thank you so much, Merril
It’s muddy here, too. I always like your horse shots.
Thank you very much, Cindy
A lovely gallery
Thanks very much, Sheree
What a beautiful day!
Thank you very much, Ribana