Ramblings
Once again I stayed inside with Vanity Fair, until a lull in the drizzle outside led me to photograph the signs of life.
Many of the new shoots, moss, blooms, in or out of season, and even a fresh white feather, bore jewels of nurturing precipitation. Clicking on any image will access the gallery in which each photo bears a title.
This evening Jackie and I dined on chicken Kiev, chips, and peas, with which she drank more of the Sauvignon Blanc and I drank La Petite Pierre vin rouge 2022.
This afternoon I watched the Women’s Six Nations rugby matches between England and France and between Wales and Italy. I lost a bet on the first game, the penalty being that I have buy a curry.
During the half time break in that contest I photographed a few flowers in the garden. Each image is entitled in the gallery. They include Welsh poppies, daisies, tulips Lilac Wonder, rhododendron buds, Camass,hellebores, euphorbia, wallflowers, heuchera leaves, and libertia.
Later I converted the last two posts of May 2014 from Classic to Block edits and changed their categories to Garden:
This evening we all dined on pizzas and fresh salad, with which I did not imbibe because I had drunk Doom Bar while watching the rugby.
Knowing that the temperature would drop and the leaden canopy overhead become a leaky colander throughout the day, we held back Jackie’s sunlit images from yesterday afternoon.
She had transformed this second footpath across the Rose Garden from a few days ago
to this, having also re-fixed the windblown mirror to the back fence. The poppies in the first picture have all been relocated.
Elsewhere backlit borage;
sunlit azalea;
and shadowy lily of the valley also caught her eye.
After lunch today I took advantage of a minor lull in the precipitation from above and photographed raindrops
pendant from solanum;
pearling libertia;
pooling pelargoniums;
douching heuchera leaves;
bejewelling rosebuds;
caressing Queen of the Night;
refreshing rhododendrons;
purifying pale pink pieris;
cleansing clematis;
and slithering down Viulcan magnolia.
Some flowers, such as hellebores,
pansies,
and diurnal poppies, bowed their heads against the weight of the crown jewels.
While I was wandering around the garden Jackie, from the dry warmth of the kitchen,
photographed me in action.
She even managed “Where’s Derrick?” (1)
and (2)
This evening we dined on prawns: tempura prawns; prawns in hot, spicy batter; seeded prawn toasts; and Jackie’s savoury prawn, egg, and vegetable rice, followed by mixed fruit crumble and custard, with which she drank Heineken and I drank Piemonte Barbera 2016.
This morning I watched the recorded Rugby World Cup quarter final match between England and Australia.
After lunch Jackie drove us into the forest where most of the free ranging animals were on display.
Donkeys with a foal basked in the sunshine at Bramshaw, where
another wandered up a lane towards the green occupied by
red brown and black Highland and other cattle.
In the vicinity of Nomansland we drove down a lane in Deazle Woods, up and down which a pair of walkers walked several times. Our paths continued to cross as we continued towards Newbridge. Each time I left the car with a camera they were there.
Here are some scenes of the woodland I wandered through.
Returning to the road from Nomansland we encountered a couple of sows with two piglets snuffling among the mud in search of mast.
One little piggy let out a fearful squeal as its mother butted it out of reach of one tasty morsel she wanted for herself.
Another donkey foal sat in the road as we approached Newbridge.
Sheep and cattle shared pasturage here.
One mother suckled her hungry calf. There was a certain amount of avid spillage.
A young lady speeding astride a sturdy steed seemed amused to scatter the sheep.
Just outside the village a small Shetland pony kindly enhanced my view of a backlit autumnal tree,
while a larger animal gave a demonstration of how to cross a dry ditch.
Back at home I watched the rugby quarter final match between New Zealand and Ireland, while Jackie planted more pansies and snakehead fritillaries and cleared more beds.
She photographed fuchsias Army Nurse and Display, heuchera leaves, phlox, and a Japanese anemone.
Nugget was, of course, in attendance,
and wishes it known that he does feature in this garden image, perched above the central hanging basket. We considered that this was too difficult an example for the “Where’s Nugget?” game,
and made him settle for this “Where’s Nugget?” (38).
This evening we dined on Jackie’s wholesome cottage pie, the mash topped with fried potatoes; piquant cauliflower cheese; and crunchy broccoli and carrots with which she drank Hoegaarden and I drank Parra Alta Malbec 2018.
CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE. THOSE IN GROUPS ACCESS GALLERIES THAT CAN BE VIEWED FULL SIZE.
Once the heavy overnight frost fringing these heuchera leaves had thawed, the garden was warmed by the sun
which was low enough to light lily leaves and grasses,
while pearly jewels dripped from naked and semi-clad twigs,
and lingering rose leaves.
Autumn-hued hydrangeas hang on to life.
The first clusters of precocious onion-smelly alliums have pierced the soil,
and a pendulous leycesteria has already produced its kindergarten mobiles.
Shadows slanted across the Shady and
the Brick Paths.
Three winter flowering pink Viburnum Bodnantense Dawn,shrubs are doing what is expected of them.
One camellia has begun to flower and has even provided evidence that some flies are capable of making it through the winter.
This evening we dined on Jackie’s brilliant beef in red wine, boiled new potatoes, and piquant cauliflower cheese. I finished the merlot.