This afternoon we took a drive out to Pilley, first to book a table at Fleur de Lys, then to have another look at the new foal. The pub was no longer serving meals and would close again in two weeks until new management took over; there was no pony in sight in the village. So we were doubly disappointed yet counted our blessings for having seen the new foal yesterday.
We turned to the Red Lion to make our evening booking.
We drove on to Holmsley, where we felt sure we would see some wild life. This was not to be, and confirmed our growing feeling that ponies at least enjoy a siesta on either side of our lunchtime.
Although some could be seen on distant moorland through the trees alongside Bisterne Close, trilling birdsong was the only sign of life in the woodland.
I wandered among shade-patterned and nibbled trunks with mossy roots;
fallen tree remnants with peeling bark;
decaying branches contributing to the ecology;
and a teepee erected as a shelter for small creatures of all kinds.
The seasonal pond now sports flowing kingcups and iris shoots.
By the time we returned home via Holmsley Passage the previously empty gorse landscapes were populated by grazing ponies, others of
which foraged among grasses on the lower slopes.
The postbox outside the cottage on Wootton Road is ready for the weekend’s Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
This evening we all dined on excellent fare with friendly service at the aforementioned Red Lion at Pilley where Flo and I enjoyed battered haddock, chips, and peas; Jackie, Cajun chicken burger, chips, and salad; and Dillon steak and ale pie; we all shared onion rings. Jackie and Dillon drank Peroni; Flo, Apple juice; and I, Ringwoods forty-niner. We then returned home for Flo’s delicious banana cake and clotted cream.