Another splendid pastel sunrise heralded a cold, bright, morning, which sent us into the forest early.
We pulled into the entrance to The Joinery Barn, a short distance along our Christchurch Road,
so that I could photograph the sun-misted landscape alongside.
Since there is no real verge I needed to perch on a little bank at the entrance to the field gate.
Gaps in traffic along this road are in short supply, so I had to employ considerable concentration to nip across. The Assistant Photographer was on hand to catch me.
In search of Christmas gifts, we visited Setley Ridge garden centre. It should not be difficult to discern that we did not come away empty handed.
From there we continued along Sandy Down where trees shadows striated sunbeams.
Jackie parked alongside the nibbled tarmac of Church Lane while I wandered back to photograph
cattle in a still misty field,
and fallen trees with reflections in the old mill stream.
Jackie, meanwhile photographed the garden beside her, including its bench and its stream, complete with ducks.
Further up the lane a pair of pampered ponied chomped on heaps of hay.
One took great interest in us as we focussed on
the garden next door, with its dying bonfire
and boxing hares exchanging fisticuffs on the sloping lawn.
A grazing pony could be glimpsed beyond a bend in Undershore on our way home.
Our wood pigeons mate for life and grieve for days when, as a day or so ago, their mate is slain by a predatory raptor scattering feathers.
Nugget, however, is still going strong. He had just left his feeder when Jackie produced “Where’s Nugget?” (50)
This evening we dined on Jackie’s wholesome cottage pie; crunchy carrots and broccoli; and tender cabbage with tasty gravy. The Culinary Queen drank Hoegaarden and I finished the Minervois.