Tag: cattle

More Recycling Years Ahead

Now it has dawned on the Southampton General Hospital urology team that I have lacked information since my procedure six weeks ago, I am receiving a plethora of calls. In today’s I was given a date and time for a telephone appointment with a urologist. I informed the caller about Nick Lewis’s call yesterday. She did not know about this and we agreed that I no longer need the new one.

In the four days since our last dump trip Jackie has filled 13 more spent compost bags with green refuse which, along with an old ceramic cistern once used as a breeding ground for mosquitos and a broken plastic plant container, we transported to the Efford Recycling centre on a much colder day with a similar, though less severe, weather pattern to that of yesterday, and, as is our wont returned with two items with more recycling years ahead of them –

a stone container suitable as a plinth when upturned, and a metal potted plant stand.

I read more of ‘The People’s Act of Love’

By late afternoon the weather had settled down and we took a brief forest drive.

Cattle and a calf occupied the verge at Pilley,

ponies having moved to Bull Hill to forage among the browning bracken landscape.

It is always advisable when confronting tractors on our narrow lanes to pull over and wait for them to pass. They are always very appreciative.

A group of pheasants crossed St Leonard’s Road in front of us

and sought camouflage in the shade of the banked verge before vanishing through the hedge.

This evening we dined on Jackie’s colourful vegetable rice; tempura, and hot and spicy prawns, with which I drank Séguret Cötes du Rhöne Villages 2022 and the Culinary Queen drank Diet Coke

Cattle, Ponies,Donkeys

A couple of weeks ago I had not even been able to reach Elizabeth’s Bed against our southern fence, such was the jungle beyond

the Shady Path.

In addition to all else he managed yesterday, Martin completed his

clearance of this area, around which I walked with ease on this cooler, breezier morning. The top centre of the last image shows that he has also continued into the Rose Garden.

This afternoon, after buying a cucumber and other vegetables at Ferndene Farm Shop, we continued into the forest.

Burley was swarming with both ponies and tourists.

How, I wondered had this grey received slashed flanks.

Jackie produced this image of a foal sleeping beside the War Memorial.

We followed a veteran vehicle along Gorley Road until it turned off in the direction of Fordingbridge.

The donkey family at Hyde hadn’t moved far since our last visit.

Ponies in traffic at North Gorley amused a pair of cyclists who had to ride round them.

Cattle, ponies, and foals shared the green, although

the soggy pools were left to equine adults.

This evening, seated on the sofa while watching the Gold Medal Olympic rugby sevens competition between France and Fiji; then the highlights of the second day of the third Cricket Test match between England and West Indies, we dined on pizza and plentiful salad with which I finished The Reprobates Italian red wine.

Exercising Her Priority


Soon after lunch today we set out on a forest drive.

A pair of ponies with their foals occupied corner of the bank of Beaulieu River. One rose to its feet and trotted off for a feed.

On our way into Brockenhurst several cattle stretched above a fence to crop garden shrubs; while a photographer examined her mobile phone to investigate the pictures she had produced of two ponies at the crossroads by the bank.

More ponies with their offspring wandered over the moorland at South Weirs. The last of my pictures in this set is of the prone foal lifting its head when startled by the sudden cough of a passing cyclist; Jackie’s are the last five images including the suckling foal and the last image of the pony exercising her right to priority over oncoming vehicles.

When driving home through Lyndhurst Jackie parked the car and photographed donkeys attracting attention on the opposite pavement.

A cow guided her calf across the road outside The Rising Sun, while

around the corner in Tiptoe Road, another mare and foal grazed on the verges.

This evening we dined on roast breast of lamb; boiled new potatoes; firm carrots; and tender green beans with which I finished the Cahors.

I Didn’t Leave The Car

On a grey overcast morning, after Jackie shopped at Nisa Local in Stopples Lane, we took a forest drive on which I remained in the car while producing pictures of the journey. This was the first time I had left the house since my operation on 25th.

Nisa is fundamentally a refurbished subsidiary of the previous Coop shop. It is no longer a cooperative but happy to sell produce of the Coop. I’m sure there is some logical process to this.

Apart from having removed the useful hole in the wall cash machine, and changing the frontage, the outlet looks pretty similar to me, although as I said I remained in the vehicle while a gentleman leant on the railings while he enjoyed a phone conversation.

A determined cyclist made his way up the steeply undulating Holmsley Passage.

Further down we passed a large rambling wild rose and a damp moorland landscape bearing cotton grass.

From my passenger seat I enjoyed the sight of splendid magnolia blooms in someone’s garden; wild woodbine, rowan berries, and bramble blossom; and a five barred gate to an upland field.

Ponies, foals, and cattle had begun to gather sheltering along Forest Road, causing chaos by hindering the traffic.

The powerfully heady scent of privet rising above the hedgerow along Beckley Common Road permeated the air around and within our car.

This evening we all dined on King’s House Chinese takeaway fare, the portions providing second helpings for tomorrow.

Rippling Highland Water

On the first morning of a predicted run of warm, sunny, weather, we took a drive into the forest.

This car that wound up in a ditch on Lymore Lane had probably been driven by someone pulling over to let someone pass on the other side without realising that the verge would drop.

Roadworks holding up Traffic on Christchurch Road enabled me to photograph buttercups, dandelions, their clocks, and cow parsley on the verges.

Cattle occupied the moorland at one end of Beaulieu Station Road; thereafter ponies roamed among the gorse until they suddenly took off in the direction of Lyndhurst.

We stopped at the dappled Balmer Lawn where I kept a diplomatic distance from the couple on the ground, and discretely focussed on

the now receded rippling Highland Water.

This afternoon I published

The Mistress Of Husaby

We had been regulars at The Wheel Inn, Pennington, when It had been a community pub; Covid lockdowns destroyed it. This evening we visited The New Wheel Inn under its new management.

We had been somewhat disconcerted when we couldn’t find a spot in the car park which was packed with vehicles. I entered the bar to investigate and found, when I was greeted most warmly that most of the cars belonged to people who had just popped in for a drink. Very soon their cars departed, leaving space for Jackie. We were given a choice of tables and I was engaged in conversation with a very friendly couple while Jackie scanned the menu and ordered her glass of San Miguel.

My chosen beverage was an excellent Merlot served at the right temperature.

As usual in such locations Jackie photographed the interior ambience including various menus and an Only Fools and Horses poster signed by Sir David Jason.

The Assistant Photographer thoroughly enjoyed her chicken Katsu curry, rice, and a poppadom, as did I

my well filled chicken and ham pie with chunky chips in a basket, seasonal vegetables, and tasty gravy.

It is clearly still a very friendly pub with first rate food, delightful service, and no piped music. We are pleased to have returned.

The House That Jack Built

Heavy rain and gale force winds persisted overnight and into the day, although we were treated to

some sunshine in most changeable weather as the afternoon went on, following a trip to Pennington’s Morrison’s to buy bread and tea.

This horse rider acknowledged with a wave each driver of passing traffic who slowed and gave him a wide berth on Pitmore Lane,

which, like a number of roads retained waterlogged stretches through which motorists, crossing tentatively sprayed water, rippling the surfaces.

Cattle alongside Holmsley Camp Site off Forest Road, included the English Longhorn variety with their crumpled horns.

Here is the source of the title.

Along Beckley Common Road we scattered a flock of pheasants.

This evening we are on our way to dine at Britannia Thai Restaurant in Milford on Sea.

We Had Been Conned

Anticipating more showers after a short spell of sunshine this much clearer morning we took an early trip down a very wet Lower Pennington Lane and back.

Vehicles en route along Christchurch Road continued to splash sprays of standing pools over themselves and others.

The occasional dog walker waded among the overflow from the

rippling reflective rivulets running down the gutters joining runnels across the pock-marked tarmac.

Overhead branches relinquished onto ruffled runlets ripped leaves that sank beneath or imprinted themselves on the mirror of accumulated rainwater.

Vehicular lights, front and back, gleamed on the fluid surface.

Skeletal trees were silhouetted against the constantly changing skies.

Further down the lane waterlogged open fields were a more natural element for honking Canada geese, cawing crows, more silent waterfowl, and squelching cattle.

I was forced to wait in the car before photographing these fauna because the only shower – a heavy one blurring the windows – that we experienced during the rest of a sun-filled day hit me head on as I ventured out. Clearly we had been conned by the meteorologists.

This evening we all dined on Jackie’s herby penne Bolognese with which she drank Hoegaarden and I drank more of the Italian red wine.

Flies Come With The Territory

The red climbing rose ascending the lopped cypress has lagged behind the white Generous Gardener on the opposite side but recently began making up for it.

On another searingly hot day, after a Tesco shopping trip, having succeeded in finding accessible water yesterday, we set off to Mudeford in an attempt to do the same. No such luck. Every car park was fully occupied; other drivers slowly circled around hopefully; each area of grass swarmed with pedestrians.

We therefore fled to the forest, where, wherever we drove, animals clustered together sheltering where they could;

along Bisterne Close;

up Forest Road;

and at Burley Lawn, where cattle had commandeered the favourite spot, accepting the flies that go with it.

A grey pony had no intention of giving up its post in the middle of Burley Street.

Becky and Ian having returned from Southbourne last night made up the full complement for dinner this evening, which included Maple flavoured racks of pork spare ribs; Jackie’s colourful savoury rice; and corn on the cob, with which the Culinary Queen drank Zesty, Ian and Dillon drank Warsteiner, and I drank Trivento Mendoza Reserve Malbec 2021.

Who’s Up Here?

Whoever has again begun to decorate the letter box on Pilley Street must have applied this before the recent Women’s World Cup Soccer final.

It was a most unusual herd of cattle grazing on the green there that, instead of displaying their customary curiosity and approaching me for a better view, quickly moved off at a trot and showed me clean sets of heels and bony hips.

Shetland ponies on the opposite side of the road simply pressed on with their important pasturage business.

Who was perched upon South West Cradles’s crane in New Road, Blackfield but Superman and Wonder Woman?

This evening we dined on Jackie’s colourful fried vegetable rice with tempura prawns, two hot and spicy types of the shrimps preparations, and vegetable spring rolls, with which she drank more of the chardonnay and I drank more of the GSM.

Getting Cold Feet

Fierce gales that gusted throughout the night had somewhat lessened this morning, although they set up again with increased fervour, beating a tattoo on the unflinching Modus, as we set off for an afternoon forest drive.

An unusually long tailback on Christchurch Road gave us the opportunity to turn round and head for home, but we persevered. Eventually we saw that the cause had been a stationary large lorry with flashing lights which reversed into a side road in which was an emergency police car and another vehicle blocking the road. We have no idea what had happened, But of course drove past.

In a field alongside Sowley Lane entered by muddy ruts bearing puddles, on the surfaces of which swam gradually increasing raindrop ringlets,

a soggy group of horses silently tolerated their damp surroundings.

Further along the road a small herd of cattle cropped the verges and chomped branches stripped from trees with their lichen and ivy coated trunks surrounded by dripping ferns alongside

a glistening five-barred gate.

From May to October I customarily adopt footwear of sandals without socks. Throughout this July I have been getting cold feet. This is predicted to continue until September.

Becky left before tonight’s dinner to return home to Southbourne. She had made some flavoursome chicken stock with which Jackie cooked this evening’s sticky savoury rice to accompany meaty barbecue spare ribs and tender baby sweetcorn. The Culinary Queen drank Vineyard’s Juicy Spanish Rosé, while I finished the Douro.