Aaron is continuing to work as long as he can. This very sensible proprietor of A.P. Maintenance has taken advice and uses his plentiful common sense. We leave the gate open for him so he doesn’t have to touch it and he knocks on the window to announce his arrival. He keeps well away from us, doesn’t come into the house, and brings his own refreshments.
Jackie photographed him reading the list of tasks that she has taped to the inside of the kitchen window.
Blackthorn lines the hedgerows of
Hordle Lane, along which I walked after lunch as far as the paddock and back.
Because the overnight temperatures at the moment are close to freezing, the horses still wear their protective rugs.
Daffodils still brighten the verges, but
the drying ditches are lined with carelessly lobbed bottles, cans, and food packaging.
Arable fields flank the winding lane;
some are divided by hedges and trees sculpted by prevailing winds.
Pine cones cling to branches before eventually dropping to the ground.
It is now two or three years ago that a young teenage girl died in a car accident on this site. Her mourners keep her memory alive.
There wasn’t much reduction in traffic along the lane today;
a cheery cyclist kept his distance as we exchanged greetings;
I was slightly nervous about whether this group of four pedestrians and a dog maintained the requisite distance from me as we passed. I imagine they lived together.
This evening we dined on Jackie’s spicy hot chilli con carne with a mix of brown and white boiled rice. The Culinary Queen drank Hoegaarden and I finished the Mezquirez.