This afternoon, having deiced the car windows, Jackie drove me to Southampton General Hospital for my cystoscopy undertaken to check the result of my BCG instillations. The procedure was performed efficiently and in a friendly manner; the result was given to me immediately – it demonstrated that the tumour has not returned. The after effects are minimal. A next round of vaccine instillation will begin in three months time.
Later, we dined on Mr Pink’s excellent fish and chips with pickled onions and gherkins.
When I wandered around the garden early this chilly morning I watched the overnight frost dripping from the touch of the sun making its slow climb into the branches above and listened to the rhythmic patter as it beat a tattoo on the leaves below.
Sugar-frost remained in the unshaded beds and bejewelled foliage reached by the rising sun.
Camellias and irises reticulata are beginning to bloom.
Although she does not yet have balanced coordination to stand without support Ellie has the strength to do so with it, as she attempts to turn her multiple choice toy into a teething ring while running her tongue over her first burgeoning gnasher. Her mother stands poised in case of slippage.
Beginning early this morning,
and with the aid of his saw horse,
Martin spent much of the day fixing sleepers around the perimeter of the new patio paving. Each piece is measured meticulously and levelled with the aid of a spirit level.
After lunch I completed the recovery, made possible by the help of SueW, of the pictures to the following posts:
This evening we all dined on toothsome roast beef; crisp Yorkshire pudding and roast potatoes; firm Brussels sprouts; crunchy carrots; tender runner beans, and tasty gravy, with which Jackie drank more of the Grüner Veltliner, I drank more of the Syrah, and Flo and Dillon drank fruit juice cordial. Ellie chewed at and sucked on a piece of carrot and screwed up her face in lachrymal complaint when this was removed.
Jackie has responded well to penicillin and is now recovering.
We experienced our second frost today.
The early sun sent the icy drops of the wisteria leaves melting;
it took a while longer to illuminate the lower plants
and grasses,
or paths like the Brick
or the Heligan;
and later to redden the lingering leaves of the copper beech.
This post from my first days of blogging:
tells the story of the meal I spent this afternoon cooking. As I mention, it requires powdered aniseed. This is not in our larder, so once again Susan’s chicken has no aniseed and I had to be creative with other ingredients. The linked post featured in the above one is still lacking pictures, but the text may interest newer readers.
Flo boiled basmati rice to accompany the chicken with which I drank more of the Malbec, then settled down to watch the Football World Cup Quarter Final match between England and France
Early this morning Jackie wandered around the garden photographing
the overnight frost
and misty garden views.
Later we shopped at both Tesco and Lidl, by which time the mist and intermittent periods of sunshine had both lessened. We continued into the forest in search of more atmospheric scenes.
Grey ponies dotted the hazy moorland landscapes flanking Burley Road, where
skeletal trees were silhouetted against the rapidly changing cloudscapes.
The ancient steep viridescent verges alongside the hollowed out Charles’s Lane gathered bright green moss and ivy. Tall trees slipped into the
periodically descending mist, and the sun was once more a graven orb.
This evening we dined on Jackie’s spicy paprika pork and savoury rice with which she drank Hoegaarden and I drank more of the Fleurie.
Despite our recent sunshine The Head Gardener remained convinced that Jack Frost had not yet kept his icy fingers out of reach of the garden.
Early this morning she took her camera outside to prove her point.
Later, Callum of Metro Rod brought his specialist camera to investigate a blockage in the drainage to our septic tank. His diagnosis was that the tank needed emptying. There was no additional obstruction. We are normally on an 18 months rolling cycle for clearance, yet it is only nine months since it was last emptied. I telephoned CSG, increased the frequency of the pump out, and booked one for next week.
The temperature was warmer this afternoon when we drove into the forest.
Blackie, photographed by Jackie,
and Splash, by me, two Highland bulls to whom I have been introduced, with their herd, occupied the green at Bramshaw. After a good scratch the red bovine let me know what he thought of me.
Among the others on which I focussed,
one sported a mud pack by rubbing the grass of well-placed mound.
Jackie also captured me at work, refusing to accept that it was a portrait of the muddy cow I was making, and not the other creature’s bum.
Moving on to Nomansland, an assortment of ponies were employed on keeping down the grass in the cricket outfield.
Today, most primary schoolchildren in England, have returned to school after the latest Covid-19 restrictions.
Those in the village of Hale share their playing fields with ponies on the green. The school bus driver had to shift the pony from the path in order to pick up some pupils. Meanwhile families gathered, safely distanced, to collect their charges. School was out.
I believe this was a herd of English White cattle on a hillside outside the village.
Primroses now line many of our verges, like those beside the field above, beyond which
stretch extensive landscapes.
This evening we dined on Jackie’s spicy pasta arrabbiata, and tender green beans, with which she finished the Sauvignon Blanc and I drank Primitivo Solento 2019
On a dull and frosty morning Jackie photographed some aspects of the garden.
A perky dragon was garlanded in frosted ivy; the ‘Autumn’ sculpture vied with winter;
euphorbia, cordyline Australis, and rose leaves bore fringes of frost and lingering water drops;
some potted pansies were rather limp, while iris reticulata and tulips broke the soil in defiance.
By the time we drove over to Pilley to present Elizabeth (in our bubble) with a tub of Jackie’s substantial chicken and vegetable stoup, the skies had brightened.
In the woodland alongside Undershore a soft toy had successfully scaled the wall that is the undercarriage of a fallen tree.
The decorated postbox in Pilley Street now bears the year date 2021;
the icy old quarry lake bears branches and reflections.
At Walhampton I photographed a pheasant on the verge and Jackie focussed on a silhouetted wood pigeon;
on Monument Lane while I caught the lowering sun behind trees Jackie picked out its tipping the monument railings.
Finally the Assistant Photographer caught me
focussed on the dying sunset and twilight haze shrouding the Isle of Wight and The Needles at Milford on Sea.
This evening we dined on succulent fillet steaks; crisp oven chips; moist mushrooms; nicely charred onions; cherry vine tomatoes; and a colourful melange of peas and sweetcorn, with which Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I drank Patrick Chodot Fleurie 2019.
Today we took an early lunch and drove to Tesco for our big shop. As usual I sat in the car, Jackie did the business, and I intended to read my book. After one page my sister, Jacqueline, phoned me and that was the end of the reading.
In fact Tesco wasn’t too difficult, so the Caterer in Chief wouldn’t let me unload the shopping into the car for Covid safety’s sake.
We took a diversion round Holmsley Passage and its misty, frosty, landscape on our way home.
As I wandered, fingers and toes tingling, I discerned just one group of grazing ponies.
Others, on Holmsley Road
and Wootton Common were nearer at hand. One, as soon as I paid it any attention, huddled against its companion seeking security.
A weak sun, putting in an appearance over Hordle Lane, silhouetted a number of oaks.
Undeterred by the fact that we are still consuming provisions bought in for Covid-cancelled Christmas, Jackie had made her first Easter egg purchases.
This evening we dined on more of Jackie’s perfect spicy pork paprika; boiled potatoes; firm carrots and cauliflower; and tender runner beans, with which she drank Hoegaarden and I finished the Malbec.
Jackie took an early morning walk around the garden with her camera.
First she produced general frosted garden scenes;
then focussed on various similarly coated leaves;
not forgetting Camellia blooms;
or Nugget in his thermal vest. “Where’s Nugget?” (62)
Late this afternoon we drove to Elizabeth’s house at Pilley where we joined her, Danni, Andy and Ella for the infant’s first birthday celebration. Elizabeth produced an excellent spaghetti Bolognese with fresh salad and garlic bread. This was followed by a most moist carrot birthday cake. Jacki drank Hoegaarden; the rest of us various red wines. Ella abstained.
For the second time today Jackie took all the photographs.
Ella continues to be a great pointer. In the second of these pictures she is clearly aiming for the camera.
She is gaining confidence in furniture walking even though the process gets a bit tight at times;
sometimes she forgets she is meant to hold on.
The one-year old enjoyed opening her cards
and presents;
the wrapping paper bearing various animals was equally attractive to her.
Her birthday cake candle especially delighted both her and her mother,
Danni.
In truth she was past caring when it was time to eat the cake.
