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This afternoon we drove to Homebase in Christchurch and purchased a lavatory seat, a handle for the cistern, and a tin of touch up paint to cover a repair to the guest bathroom wall where a visitor had pulled the towel rail off.
After this we toured the forest until after dark.
Some way north of Ibsley our path was blocked for a good fifteen minutes by an obdurate bovine that, head down and white tail swishing, made its deliberate, stubborn, way down the centre of the road. Even the approach of another car did not deter this red cow. Eventually we were able to draw level, by driving onto the grass verge. The idea was to take a close-up photograph with the window open. An upturned head, and a warning bellow gave me second thoughts. The creature then turned left and continued down to a ford which it crossed by means of the footbridge. Giving a couple of ponies a wide birth the animal carried on up the opposite slope and vanished from sight.
A 4X4 then crossed the ford and stopped alongside me. The driver asked me if I had been photographing the deer. When I explained our interest in the cow, she explained that this was a ‘rogue’. It was quite aggressive and possibly dangerous. Efforts were being made to trace the owner, because it needed ‘to be taken out of the forest’.
Jackie had seen the deer and pointed them out. I walked back to the ford to photograph them. Despite the distance, at each click of the camera, more of the creatures raced across the field, as if they were posing for the Lascaux caves.
Further on along the road, we passed two more families behind the trees, with others on the far side of a fence. They were more inquisitive.
Up on the moor at Abbots Well, we watched a sunset rather more muted than of late.
The pool in which these trees were reflected had been dryer a couple of weeks ago.
On our way back, at two different points along an unlit Roger Penny Way, three deer and a pig risked their lives by running across in front of the car. The pig was intent on joining its snuffling, snorting, grunting, family hoovering up a fine crop of beech nuts.
We stopped for a drink at The White Hart in Pennington on our way home. We then dined on Jackie’s lovely lamb curry, onion rice, and naans. I drank a glass of Axis 251 Coonawarra cabernet sauvignon 2015.
Looks like an orange cow to me. 🙂
I love the shots of the deer, Derrick. They reminded me of a trip to the mountains many years ago. We were driving through a National Park and in a meadow were hundreds of deer. I’d never seen that many gathered in one spot. Oh, I love the red cow on the bridge…that made me smile.
Thanks very much, Jill
Good to see you’re drinking a red, from the Adelaide hills of South Australia. Wynns do make some fine wines. The Barossa and the Hunter certainly produce some excellent drops! 🙂
You do seem to have a thing about photographing the rear end of animals; some would take it as a fetish, whereas I believe the poor creatures are fed up being photographed, and are doing their best to get away from anybody holding anything remotely resembling a camera! 😀 🙄 :bear:
Many thanks, Brian
the missing ‘h’, be oblidged if you’d bung it in for me please Derrick 🙂 Thanks 😀
Dun. Also dun camera 🙂
The Lascaux deer made me smile, perhaps direct descendants? The rogue cow might be a bit scary to meet on one of your narrow country lanes though ……………
Thanks, Pauline. Glad you liked the Lascaux reference
What nice day, Derrick, and thank goodness for the warning about the evil tempered bovine. The deer are lovely. They made me remember a photograph called “Running White Deer” by Paul Caponigro (possibly misspelled), which shows both form and motion…
Many thanks, Lisa – https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=paul+caponigro+running+deer
A rogue cow…that’s a first for me!
Me too, Donna, Thank you
Your silhouettes of tree and the swaths of purple, indigo and peace sunset remind me of the scenery as I pulled out of work today! I ended up deleting them due to not as lovely and crisp as I had hoped. Yours is perfect, Derrick!
The cow which has a temper and gone rogue made me crack up a bit. Yes, scary in person but still funny!
Those deer are adorable and seem all very young. Are they not too old? 🙂
Thanks very much, Robin. I think the deer were families, mostly young
Yes, I now notice young parents with their fawns, thanks, Derrick! So sweet! Your deer seem smaller than ours.
Those we have are quite small. Up in the Highlands of Scotland they are much bigger.
Yay, some good Aussie wine, well done you!
Thanks, Yvonne. Jackie bought it 🙂
Good choice, Jackie.
People are always going on about how dangerous wolves or big cats are , but they probably are unaware that farmyard cows kill around a dozen people a year in Britain. A friend of mine was attacked by one years ago and she was really badly traumatised by the event. Some excellent low light photographs by the way.
Many thanks, John. I certainly didn’t know that
Hahahaha. Turn them into supper! 😂
Thank you, DLF
DLF! I like it~
You have a wonderful life. 🙂
Many thanks, Kim
Beautiful Derrick.
Thanks very much, Micheline
How lovely to see all those deer! A rogue cow sounds really dangerous. Just as well you didn’t try to stroke it. 🙂
Thanks, Sylvia. No way 🙂
Beautiful photo’s Derrick and I Loved the deer 🙂 I hope that rogue cow finds its way home.. 🙂 Wonderful countryside.. Thank you Derrick xx
Many thanks, Sue
A great group of photographs for your afternoon Derrick.
Thanks very much, Mary
I very much enjoy the thought behind your incredible photographs, especially your images of reflecttions.
Very many thanks, Oglach
Lovely photography of the deer and the water points. I liked the other ones too. Funny to note you were trying to get up close and personal with the mad cow 😀
🙂 Many thanks, Geetha
Welcome Derrick 🙂
Pigs this time! 🙂
🙂 Thank you, Cynthia