The day began as gloomy as yesterday. The early rain was quite light – enough for us to put in a stint of clearing up clippings and dead heading before it increased in ferocity.
I watched recordings of the Rugby World Cup matches between USA and Tonga; between Wales and Uruguay; and between Ireland and Japan. As usual I will not reveal the outcome of any of these , save to say that the sight of several of the smaller Japanese simultaneously tackling some of the larger Scots put me in mind of a pride of lions bringing down an elephant.
By late afternoon the sun emerged as the clouds sped away.
We took a drive into the forest via Holmsley Passage where the lowering sun burnished the bracken beneath still laden clouds.
I rambled for a while along Bisterne Close where ponies ambled once they left the
woodland on one side.
This mare led her foal
across to the side occupied by farms, houses and field horses. The mother enjoyed a scratch as her offspring waited patiently.
The domesticated animals now sport their rugs. The free ranging ponies grow their own.
Readers may observe that leaf shadows on one of these tree trunks have provided a template for a Halloween pumpkin face.
Mushrooms and tree fungus are found here;
varieties of tree fungus emerge from logs lying alongside Beechwood Road.
The stream under Mill Lane flows again over the ford.
Cattle graze beside the waters, and pigs
snuffle along the lane vacuuming up the fallen acorns so that they do not poison the ponies.
This evening we dined on Jackie’s nicely matured pork paprika with rice and peas, with which she drank Hoegaarden and I drank more of the Pinot Noir.