Jackie produced a few photographs of dawn this morning.
Although the skies would darken with rain squalls and the windspeed increase at intervals after lunch the morning was brighter and the speed 45 m.p.h.
I toured the garden investigating what turned out to be very little damage.
The patio planters in front of the French windows were unscathed;
a few pots, like this one on the Kitchen Path,
and this beneath the clematis Cirrhosa Freckles, had toppled;
a few slender branches had been ripped from the copper beech and the weeping birch;
the already disintegrating rose arch had lost a piece of its top;
the back drive gate had shed some of its screen;
empty compost bags had been blown about a bit;
but many areas, such as the Shady Path were unscathed.
Nugget’s Wisteria Arbour was intact. “Where’s Nugget?” (67)
This afternoon the weather alternated between dark sleet showers and bursts of sunshine during which
darting blue tits took what opportunities they could to grab a peck
between those squabbling sparrow trapeze artists swinging on the swaying feeders
from which they spilled more than they consumed.
This evening we dined on Jackie’s spicy pasta arrabbiata plentifully packed with peppers, mushrooms, onions and garlic. The Culinary Queen drank Hoegaarden and I drank more of the Cabernet Sauvignon.
one of their own needed to wait its turn while perched in the winter flowering cherry.
A long tailed tit joined
blue tits tucking into the suet balls.
Soon after 11 we left Aaron to his work in the garden and drove to The First Gallery in Bitterne where Margery and Paul were hosting their 45th Christmas Show.
Margery herself exhibited a number of paintings including this Barn Bird II, its dynamic composition perhaps suggestive of Piet Mondrian.
Here is Billiard Players by one of her favourites, Eric Meadus;
and Cockerel by Joanna Williams.
Crafts of various natures share space with the paintings.
Ingenious automata,
welded ironwork, like the impressively elegant ‘The Violinist’,
and inviting handmade knitwear are specific examples.
Here Jackie takes delight in discovering
the watercolour ‘In Jackie’s Garden’ by John Jones who has produced a fine composition from various elements depicted during his sessions in our garden. Naturally we bought it – at a generous discount.
This evening we dined on medium rare fillet steaks; duchess potatoes; sautéed chestnut mushrooms and red peppers; and al dente green beans, with which Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I drank more of the Merlot.
We have now realised that the birds partaking of the front garden feeders are field residents from across the road.
Their numbers now include gymnastic blue tits
and patient sparrows here waiting their turn at the trough.
Our young visitors bear only so much rain before disappearing, following further leakage from the clouds, leaving the winter flowering cherry to carry the torch for signs of life
amid dripped drops clinging to glistening branches,
dotting netting; slicking crab apples; offering sparkle to the dank morning.
before a further temporary lull lured the great
and blue tits back for a brief breakfast refill.
The grey day gathered relentless gloom.
This evening we dined on Jackie’s spicy pork paprika, special savoury rice, and stringless runner beans, with which she drank Hoegaarden and I finished the Malbec.
Aaron works in all weathers. This morning, however warm enough, was even too wet for him. He visited anyway and we enjoyed a pleasant conversation over tea, coffee, and biscuits.
Afterwards I watched England’s World Cup Rugby match against Tonga.
Although this afternoon the skies remained overcast, the steady rain let up; Jackie worked on cuttings in the greenhouse; and I tried to photograph
Nugget without his getting too much under my feet as he darted back and forth after prey.
“Where’s Nugget?” (28)
Rosa Glauca hips and pelargoniums are just two examples of wearers of glistening pearls;
Virginia creeper perspired precipitation,
which weighed down one solitary bedraggled wasp’s antennae.
We have never before had so many nuts dropping from our copper beech. They have to be swept up daily, the husks making good mulch.
Later, with the sun made fairly regular appearances, we drove out into the forest.
One flock of sheep occupied the green at Bramshaw
while another streamed out onto a side lane.
A lone pony was carrying out lawn mowing duties at Nomansland.
Pigs, such as these at Landford, sought out mast;
we wondered what this one at Fritham had caught. soon we realised that
she had trapped a rat
and that she had bitten off more than she could chew. Jackie exclaimed that this sight had permanently put her off pannage pork.
We took the lane leading from Fritham down to Eyeworth Pond where
small birds flitted to and from the trees and the peanuts birders had left on the posts.
An inquisitive cow raised its head in the woodland,
and ponies enhanced the moorland landscape.
This evening we dined on fish pie and a medley of carrots, cauliflower, greens, and runner beans, all perfectly cooked al dente. We both drank Albarino 2017.
This afternoon Jackie drove me to Eyeworth Pond and back to watch the birds.
Golden gorse glowed in the sunshine on Hinchelsea Moor and many others.
The deciduous trees, like this oak, are all filling with foliage.
Walkers along the Rhinefield Ornamental Drive
gave scale to the giant redwoods.
Mandarin ducks are not native to UK, but we now have a feral population which originates from escapees from collections. These two males brightened an otherwise dull Eyeworth Pond.
Birders tend to place nuts and other food on the posts of the gate to the woodland footpath. A moss-covered log has recently been added. The blue tits, a coal tit, a nuthatch, chaffinches and sparrows were extremely busy today swooping to pick up and dart off with nutriment for the babies in their nearby nests.
A pair of sparrows left a tardy chaffinch on the ground beneath the post upon which they filled their beaks, debating who should set off first. Although not up to his flying bird sequence the last of these pictures is a nod to Tootlepedal.
Alongside Cadnam Lane a couple of pigs have joined
the grazing ponies and recumbent cattle now fertilising the greens alongside Cadnam Lane
One pony demonstrated its ungainly rise from the ground;
a small Shetland was definitely having a bad hair day.
This evening we dined on succulent chicken Kiev; Lyonnaise potatoes with lashings of onions; red cabbage cooked with butter and red wine; and crunchy carrots and cauliflower. Jackie finished the Sauvignion Blanc, while I drank the last of the Carménere.
The final fatal body blow to my hopes for a daily post during my hospital stay was dealt by EE mobile on the late afternoon of the day before my surgery. Today I began to fill in the gaps with the entry planned for
8th January 2019
On this bright, sunny, morning we set out to enjoy a drive in the forest and to gather a few photographs for my final pre-op publication.
We began by joining a number of bird watchers at Eyeworth Pond near Fritham. Three gentlemen sat on rails, at their lunches, and watched the waterfowl.
Others, like me, photographed
the various tits, including those of blue, marsh, and long tailed examples; thrushes; and a robin, tempted by feeders suspended from branches, and by nuts left on posts, flitting about among the surrounding trees and shrubs, pecking up scraps among the gravel beneath.
Ducks, geese, and a moorhen, occasionally diving for their prey, and surfacing dripping and glistening with pond-water, could certainly be said to have gone fishing.
Ponies basked in the midday sun at Fritham,
where donkeys also grazed
We brunched at Hockey’s Farm Shop before continuing
via Roger Penny Way where pools were filling up for drinking and paddling.
As we drove along the Poulner stretch of Southampton Road, we wondered why there was a seemingly equal body of water being sprayed by vehicles on its surface.
The answer lay in a Christmas tree that still had its lights cascading.
I had, this morning received a message from Alex at Peacock Computers informing me that my laptop was ready for collection. This, of course, meant that I could be on line in hospital.
It was therefore with a certain amount of glee that I sat down to draft this post.
Then came the blow. We had no internet connection and the router was dead. I took this equipment with me to Peacock Computers where James confirmed my diagnosis. Even though it was close to his own closing time, James sped off to the EE shop, attempting to obtain a replacement. After more than an hour of negotiation he returned with a loaned device and an undertaking to repair the faulty article. At least I came home with my MacBook Pro.
I was unable to make the loaned router work. The reason will be revealed in a subsequent post. Eventually I conceded defeat.
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE. THOSE IN GROUPS ACCESS GALLERIES THAT CAN BE VIEWED FULL SIZE.
No, there is no letter missing from the title. All will be revealed to those who have the perseverance to make it through the bumper morning’s photographic haul.
Although Jackie is far from well, she was determined on a lengthy forest drive on this clear, crisp, morning. Each time I tried to convince her that I had enough pictures, she refused to turn back for home.
Just around the corner in Hordle Lane, gaps in the hedge brought us into eye contact with sheep who have adopted the colouring of the stubble they have been sent to nibble, and the soil they are revealing.
Our first stop was at Wootton, where the breath of a ridden horse wafted against the arboreal backdrop.
From there we parked on a gravel path beside a group of ponies. While my eyes were fixed on these, Jackie became highly excited by a herd of deer bouncing through the bracken. They were about to cross the road. I abandoned the horses and rushed to the tarmac where
I was fortunate enough to hit my cervine target.
My luck held when I returned to the ponies,
where one, ignored by its drowsy companions, showed two clean pairs of heels in rolling over for a scratch,
then clambered to its feet.
A little further along Wootton Road I spent some time exploring the stream,
partly iced over and penetrating still frosted landscape.
Negotiating networks of roots, and taking advantage of the apparent firmness of
frozen terrain,
I was able to explore areas that had been too muddy to venture into in the past. Mind you, I did manage to fill my left shoe with freezing water, and make the rest of the trip in a more than adequate ice-pack.
A frozen hat hanging over the stream had me wondering whether the owner had got a bit wet.
It hung beside one of the many tyre swings that I have spotted in the forest. Had there been a mishap?
Eventually, glancing back at the more open landscape,
I joined Jackie, patiently waiting in the car with her puzzle book.
We moved on to Helen’s favourite view, from the Picket Post car park near Ringwood.
I walked out along the ridge around a deep valley, where I noticed a gentleman looking down the hillside.
He was waiting for female and canine companions.
Frost still lay in the sunless sides of the slope,
whereas it had melted on others.
A beribboned tree provided me with a mystery. My solution is that an enterprising wedding photographer led the bride and groom to this spot for some romantic images. That’s what I might have done, anyway.
Leaving this landscape behind us
we progressed to Eyeworth Pond where twitchers were out in force.
Someone had hung a number of feeders on the trees, and placed seed on the barrier to the footpath. They attracted, among others, blue tits, nuthatches, robins, and blackbirds.
Was this a sparrow hiding in the holly?
Numerous ducks paddled on the lake,
and the area bore its own frosted landscape.
Here, I did manage to miss a tree root and take a tumble. Never mind, the camera was safe.
Before leaving Fritham I failed to interest a pair of dozing donkeys in conversation.
It was then I noticed a phenomenon that should not have surprised me. The breath of the slumbering equine creatures came at very slow intervals and was feeble in its ascent into the ether. One could not hold up its head. The exhalation was nothing like that emitted by the exercising horse at the beginning of this saga. Makes sense really.
This evening Jackie produced a dinner of tender roast lamb, perfect roast potatoes, and crisp carrots with green beans, followed by spicy rice pudding. She drank sparkling water and I began an excellent bottle of Barolo 2012, given to me for Christmas by Helen and Bill.
This morning we went for a driveabout in the forest.
It is not unusual to notice cartoon character flattened squirrels on the winding lanes. On the very narrow track bounded by thick impenetrable hedgerows that links Newtown with Minstead, a young tree rat caught ahead of the car tried to outrun us. Jackie in turn, attempted to drive slowly enough to allow it to do so. This was a bit like allowing a toddler to win a race. Not until we reached the wider road leading down to the ford named The Splash, did the creature spot a giant oak for which it made a beeline.
The sky was a clear blue, and strong sun filtered through the trees, dappling everything in its path.
This was especially apparent on Roger Penny Way,
and off the paths on either side of it.
This area was well supplied with ferns,
and the occasional buttercup.
The lane that leads towards The Royal Oak at Fritham drops down steeply, bends frighteningly, then soars up past the pub and on to Eyeworth Pond.
Behind Myrtle Cottage, which stands in the cleft,
sheep graze on sloping hillsides.
A cyclist took on the challenge of climbing the hill.
When he reached the top, another was preparing to coast down in no time at all.
The residents of these lanes clearly suffer from overflow parking from The Royal Oak, and have resorted to sensible signage.
The Water Lilies on Eyeworth Pond are in full bloom.
Canada geese dominate the water;
and mallards,
when not in full sunlight, are as dappled
as the shrubberies.
I had an interesting conversation with another photographer who told me that it was common practice for people to place titbits on the gatepost to attract birds. Apparently there are no takers for peanut butter.
A moorhen (I am grateful to Simon of Quercus Community for this identification) even left the water to investigate today’s offerings.
Other visitors were blue tits,
and chaffinches, which were happy to take their pickings from below. They must have been deterred by whoever shed that feather.
The Hordle Scarecrow Competition is now on.
Seven entrants are propped against the hedge outside Hordle Parish Church.
This evening we dined on haddock and cheese fishcakes, sautéed potatoes, carrots, green beans, courgette bake, and baked beans in tomato sauce. I drank Patrick Chodot Fleurie 2014, while Jackie abstained.
