Late this afternoon we took a drive into the forest.
The deciduous trees shielding Sway Tower from South Sway Lane are turning chestnut brown.
Jackie parked beside Beaulieu Road, Brockenhurst on a verge beside which an exhaust box kept pace with the turning of fallen oak leaves. From there I walked along
the undulating banks of the reflecting waters of Lymington River.
The woodland floor, like most, is littered with lichen coated twigs. Ponies basked in hazy sunlight in fields on the opposite bank.
We visited Hatchet Pond where
ponies wandered among gulls, swans, and dog walkers; a solitary donkey tried its luck among the parked cars; a rooks cawed from the trees.
Jackie also photographed the pond with its swans; me on my return to the car;
and the signs explaining the need for restoration and the nature the wildlife.
Elizabeth joined us this evening for dinner which consisted of succulent roast pork with baked apple slices and sage and onion stuffing; crisp brown roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding; carrots, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts al dente; and tasty gravy with which the Culinary Queen drank Hoegaarden and my sister and I drank Patrick Chodot Fleurie 2019.