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This afternoon we visited Otter Nurseries in order to buy rambling roses to supplement the planting Jackie carried out this morning.
The Head Gardener was soon into a discussion about campanulas with a another customer seeking information.
I wandered around the plentiful displays while Jackie selected Perennial Blush and Super Elfin ramblers. A bee flitted from lavender to lavender.
As we parked for me to investigate the Heywood Mill stream, a family group wandered, chatting, down the road.
The stream itself was unhindered one side of the road bridge,
and bore the reflections of a fallen tree on the other.
As we drove away, I spotted a deer. This necessitated by driver screeching to a halt and , heart in mouth, reversing back along the narrow, winding, lane until I could poke my lens into the hedgerow. The creature did not hang around.
English bluebells lined the verges and
carpeted woodlands.
Tempted by the sight of two white ponies, one of which was very pregnant, we drove down an even narrower lane.
Further on we encountered a horse and rider, requiring us to stop for them to edge on by.
Next came the penned-in horned sheep. One of these woolly animals was particularly inquisitive.
There were so many ponies on the road near Pilley, that a young driver was unable to move on. Jackie had to drive round her. She apologies, saying that she was petrified by the ponies. It was only when the horses thinned out a bit that she was able to get back into gear.
One of this group was a foal, still very wobbly on its legs.
This evening we dined on Jackie’s sublime cottage pie, served with carrots and Brussels sprouts. I finished the Vacqueyras. Jackie didn’t imbibe further as she had drunk her Hoegaarden on the patio beforehand.