With help and encouragement from SueW, I have today replaced the missing photographs from the following posts dated from 23rd to 28th October 2022. New followers from before mid-December may not have seen them.
Flo, Dillon, and Ellie were collected by Ian at mid-day to take them for a few days to Southbourne.
After lunch we took a forest drive.
On Forest Road a grazing pony blended with the bracken.
We looked down on the landscape below Braggers Lane,
Where a paddock was entered through a fence that lay between a decaying stump and a gnarled tree trunk;
a New Forest pony accompanied a field horse protected against the cold temperatures by a rug, of which the hardy little equine has no need. Throughout the day we noticed field horses wrapped up and ponies uncovered.
During their safe season, pheasants abound in certain areas of the forest. Most scurry through a hedge when poked at by a camera lens. Not this fellow on parade on Ringwood Road who happily strutted about showing his best side.
This evening we dined on Jackie’s wholesome shepherd’s pie with fried potato topping, crunchy carrots, firm cauliflower and tender cabbage with which she drank Hoegaarden and I finished the Shiraz.
Within two years of qualifying as a Social Worker at Croydon I began supervising students on the course. These were one at a time until one of the established tutees gave up to become a Director of Social Services elsewhere. in mid-course. By this time I was conducting the weekly Experiential Group designed to facilitate learning what it was like to be a member of a group and how roles were established. Wolf asked me to take on another student. I agreed, as long as I was able to choose one who I knew from the group. Pointing out the name of Carole, who was to become a lifelong friend, I said “As long as I can have that one”.
I should explain that these tasks were undertaken in time I that, to some extent, balanced out considerable extra hours worked as first a Deputy, then as Area Manager in Westminster.
Later, when I had a vacancy for a Team Leader and Carole was ready for the post, she applied for and gained, a post heading the team in which she had been a student.
Rats, as we well know, can be friendly and loyal pets. This is not necessarily the case. When we lived in Soho’s Chinatown the story was rather different. In London you are said to be never more that a few metres from a rat. In this area, where the sun never sets on restaurants, it was more likely centimetres. We had very thick window frames and one very stout window box. We wondered what could be gnawing its way through this seasoned timber. Our friend Carole Littlechild, one night provided the answer. Asleep on the floor in the sitting room she had been disturbed by the patter of tiny footsteps. Across her face. It was indeed a rat.
Carole has, for most of her life, owned a horse. The one we knew was April. This was the only time I ever became a fleeting equestrian.
There is no doubt that Jessica, Carole, Matthew, Becky, and Michael all had better seats than I.
‘A piñata (/pɪnˈjɑːtə/, Spanish pronunciation: [piˈɲata] (listen)) is a container, often made of papier-mâché, pottery, or cloth, that is decorated, filled with candy, and then broken as part of a celebration. Piñatas are commonly associated with Mexico. The idea of breaking a container filled with treats came to Europe in the 14th century, where the name, from the Italianpignatta, was introduced. The Spanish brought the European tradition to Mexico, although there were similar traditions in Mesoamerica, such as the Aztecs’ honoring the birthday of the god Huītzilōpōchtli in mid-December. According to local records, the Mexican piñata tradition began in the town of Acolman, just north of Mexico City, where piñatas were introduced for catechism purposes as well as to co-opt the Huitzilopochtli ceremony. Today, the piñata is still part of Mexican culture, the cultures of other countries in Latin America, as well as the United States, but it has mostly lost its religious character.’ (Wikipedia)
During her stay here, Tess, for an upcoming birthday party, has produced this unicorn piñata using balloons, capable of being burst by boys with sharp implements, as containers for the papier-maché body trimmed with castellated slices of scrap paper; coloured tissue strips; and a twisted card horn.
It was a delicate operation for Tess to place her creation safely in the car.
This afternoon we led the family on a pony and donkey hunt.
At the top of Holmsley Passage we stopped for a foal and other ponies among the bracken and the heather.
We did encounter one baby donkey trotting with its mother along the road at South Gorley, but by the time we managed to park the cars it was long gone.
In fact the traffic, especially along the narrow lanes, was so congested as to make the trip somewhat abortive, until it was rescued by a trip to Hockey’s Farm Shop for ice cream and fun with the livestock of this establishment, where Poppy was pleased to
stroke a donkey;
see lamas;
pigs at trough;
geese blending with buddleia;
a horse attending to pedicure;
and especially chickens.
We parted at Hockey’s and each made our ways home.
This evening Jackie and I dined on chicken marinaded in Nando’s lemon and lime sauce; her own savoury rice, and fresh salad, with which she drank more of the Sauvignon Blanc and I drank more of the Douro.
Melodic birdsong and the plaintive burbling of an unattached wood pigeon, warmed by gentle sunshine, were pleasant accompaniments to my morning’s dead heading project, and the Head Gardener’s general tidying. After lunch, Jackie raked up her herbicide weeding on the back drive and I picked up the piles and transferred them to a bin.
As the day grew hotter, following a Ferndene Farm Shop visit, we went for a drive this afternoon. The shopping was for catering tomorrow, when Elizabeth and Jacqueline plan to bring Mum over for her main meal of the day.
Ponies of varying sizes exercised their right of way at the Forest Road junction leading to Holmsley Campsite, much to the amusement of visitors on either two or four wheels.
A number of cattle joined in the fun, although this black and white cow was more interested in making strenuous efforts to suckle from the brown one who didn’t appear to need milking and remained rather nonchalant about the process.
I ventured into the paddock at Braggers Lane,
where I photographed some of the riding horses, a few of which wore fly masks.
Bright red Rowan berries, like these in the Bransgore end of Forest Road, now gleam among green foliage above burgeoning bracken.
This evening we dined on second helpings of yesterday’s Red Chilli takeaway, with addition of chicken tikka and vegetable samosas, with which Jackie drank more of the rosé and I drank Tesco finest Faugeres 2019.
Today I scanned Charles Keeping’s next seven illustrations to ‘The Old Curiosity Shop’ by Charles Dickens.
‘ ‘Go, sir,’ returned Dick, leaning against a post and waving his hand’. He is quite clearly drunk.
‘The boy threw his wasted arms around the schoolmaster’s neck’ is a typically tender scene.
‘They drew up there for the night, near to another caravan’
‘The game commenced’ leaves us in no doubt that these are three rogues and the un-pictured gentleman facing them will lose his money.
‘One young lady sprung forward and put the handkerchief in her hand’ pictures a rare act of kindness.
‘Miss Brass went scratching on, working like a steam engine’
‘ ‘Hallo there! Hallo, hallo!’ ‘ faithfully depicts the author’s description of a scene in which two characters are now clearly recognisable.
This afternoon we drove to Everton Garden Centre the where we purchased a garden water feature which we hope to set up tomorrow, and continued with a short trip to the east of Lymington.
We stopped at Saint John the Baptist Boldre Parish Church, in order to photograph
the clusters of daffodils on the bank and around the grounds. The first two of these images are mine; the rest Jackie’s.
While I was wandering around the side my Assistant Photographer featured in her third picture,
a horse, protected against our currently cold nights by a rug, trotted over to the fence between the field and the church. I thought perhaps it was interested in me.
No such luck. I had noticed a gentleman take up a seat in the churchyard. His equine friend had found a way to get to the church fence where her gentleman friend was waiting to continue the conversation that ensued. It was clearly a regular occurrence.
I comforted myself over the rejection by communing with a bay pony on the verge further along the road.
My next conversation was with a family of donkeys;
then alpacas at East End where stands
one of the three mimosa trees was saw blooming today, and numerous gnarled oaks awaiting their own plumage;
a lone thatcher exercised his craft.
Variously coloured crocuses are bursting through the soil before the war memorial on South Baddersley Road.
Jackie’s final offering is a rook she photographed from Hightown Lane yesterday.
This evening we dined on Jackie’s savoury egg fried rice; tempura prawns; and a rack of pork ribs in barbecue sauce with which she drank Hoegaarden and I drank Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2020. This was followed by Bakewell tart and New Forest Rhubarb and Ginger ice cream.
Before Jackie discovered that, for the first time in 15 years, we can now view Test Matches live on free to air terrestrial television I listened to the first day of the England v India match on BBC sport. I watched the last couple of overs on Channel 4.
This morning I took advantage of a break between showers to wander round the garden with my camera.
The irises reticulata are all now in bloom, with tulips beside them pushing up.
Other irises and numerous hellebores still collect raindrops.
Camellias are quite prolific.
Honesty seed pods now have a skeletal presence and the metal plant Louisa gave us for Christmas will live on for a while.
Some winter flowering clematis cirrhosa Freckles have survived their recent heavy pruning.
Wherever we go we encounter a plethora of snowdrops.
This afternoon we paid a brief visit to Barry and Karen to deliver his prints.
Afterwards we took a brief drive along the lanes, like Coombe Lane largely waterlogged.
Sunlight streamed across the landscapes, lit the lichen coated hedges, and silhouetted the bones of an oak tree.
A small shaggy haired pony eyed me as I photographed its more delicate be-rugged cousin.
Jackie photographed a pair of rooks – or were they crows? – conducting a corvine conversation.
Several donkeys were installed on Wooden House Lane.
The stream running under Church Lane reflected the trees above.
This evening we dined on the varied flavours of Jackie’s piquant cauliflower cheese; creamy mashed potatoes; smoked haddock; with carrots and petits pois for splashes of bright colour. We both drank Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2020.
where a robin drew our attention to the parking restrictions.
As we passed Beaulieu Mill Pond I spotted a pair of long necked log peacocks on the far bank.
Jackie parked and I walked back past the border of reeds to photograph them.
On the way there I managed to get all my ducks in a row.
Down a bank along Lymington Road a solitary donkey enjoyed a breakfast of spiky thistles.
Ponies preferred grass
or languorous cogitation of the thawing frost in the hazy sunshine.
In her Modus Jackie aroused the attention of an inquisitive field horse which she photographed along with
golden silver birches and glistening white terrain.
This evening we dined on Mr Chan’s Hordle Chinese Take Away’s fine fare with which Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I drank more of the Coonawarra which involved opening another bottle.
blooming yesterday morning. Here are the Assistant Photographer’s contributions. The first three are of Mrs Popple fuchsias and a giant which has lost its label; next is a white solanum with the bright blue Ali Baba planter in the background; the hanging baskets following contain petunias and bacopas; next, not actually a flower, are bejewelled weeping birch catkins; and finally we have raindrops on black eyed Susans.
Mine were chrysanthemums of varying hues, still hot lips, and, believe it or not, yellow antirrhinums.
Before lunch today we took a short drive into the forest, via
Lower Sandy Down which offered
a number of autumn scenes.
Church Lane, running up and down from Boldre to Pilley, came next.
Jackie parked on a verge while I stood on the road bridge contemplating
the now fast-flowing stream and its reflections.
This tangle of oak branches and the weeping willow tresses were also visible from my vantage point.
At Pilley we encountered a number of ponies beside the lake,
and noticed that Foxglove and Twinkle now have chickens for company.
The cyclist who squeezed past these donkeys on the road must have been intrigued at the number of times we passed him as we wandered around in circles at this point.
Back at home Nick continued working proficiently yet at a rate of knots. Moving from room to room as he put curtains back up and another coat of paint on the door in the sitting room; he further prepared the kitchen and added paint to walls and ceiling. One of the horrors he had to deal with was the hole in the lath and plaster wall into which had been driven by our predecessors a bracket on which swung a large fridge that blocked the doorway during their residence.
Unfortunately our craftsman will have to leave the work in the kitchen until after 19th January which is the earliest that Barry Chislett-Bruce can repair our leak. Reflecting their reliability and the quality of their work, both these men, thorough experts in their fields, are very busy, so we are happy to wait.
This evening we dined on crisp oven fish and chips; green peas; piquant pickled onions and gherkins, with which Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I drank Prestige de Calvet Cotes du Rhone Villages 2019.
Jackie wandered around the garden with her camera. She went out to photograph the Amistad salvia but got carried away and also pictured agapanthus seeds, dahlias, rudbeckias, roses, clerodendrum trichotomum, begonias, fuchsias, sedum, phlox; and a fly, wasps, and a shield bug perched on ivy flowers. As usual individual titles appear in the gallery which can be enlarged by clicking on any image.
On our afternoon drive we witnessed dramatic skies releasing a number of heavy showers as seen descending from the louring clouds in two of these images and producing at least one rainbow. The last three of these pictures were taken from Beaulieu Road on our way home. The first two from Coombe Lane, Sway where
sunlight picked out the autumn colours in the trees as a lone horse walked down its sloping field.
The first shower sent a group of ponies alongside the Brockenhurst road to shelter as close to the trees as possible.
Pannage pigs munching on sweet chestnuts brought a number of visitors’ cars to a halt in order to disgorge their drivers and passengers to watch and photograph the animals delighting in their change of diet from the more available acorns.
This evening we dined on Jackie’s delicious sausage, liver, and bacon casserole; creamy mashed potato; firm and flavoursome Brussels sprouts; crunchy carrots; and tender runner beans, with which she drank Hoegaarden and I finished the Cotes du Rhone.
Heavy rain and violent winds raged throughout the night and until midday, after which the cloud canopy cracked revealing a range of skyscapes such as these over Beaulieu Heath on our forest drive this afternoon.
Before this we dumped the rest of our garden refuse in the Efford Recycling Centre and returned home with
two rusty obelisks which took up rather a lot of room in the car.
Having cleaned ourselves up a bit we continued on up South Sway Lane where, yesterday I had been unable to identify the mare at the far end of the field occupied earlier in the year by the horse we had named Gimlet.
The field had been empty and unkempt since before lockdown, but a new fence had been built around it. The mare and her foal were nearer my vantage point today.
There was no mistaking those gimlet eyes or the rear white socks, although they had been decidedly grey during the muddy season. This was indeed our equine friend
back home with a foal whose eyes left no doubt about its parentage.
Further along the lane I noticed an unusual fungus decorating an oak tree.
We returned home via Rodlease Lane
and East Boldre where a group of ponies seemed to be debating how to spring a cousin enclosed beyond a second gate at the end of a mowed stretch of ground.
One of the East End llamas was trying out a mudpack.
This evening we dined on Hordle Chinese Take Away’s excellent fare with which Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I finished the Shiraz.
