I spent the bulk of the morning in boring administration, earning a trip out in the warm and sunny afternoon.
Our first pheasant sighting was just a few hundred yards away, strutting along Hordle Lane.
Most verges displayed golden celandines and varieties of daffodils. These embellished those of Barrows Lane.
Walkers at the high point of Middle Lane could, as I did, look down on a bucolic landscape featuring a grazing grey horse cropping a field.
Most forest views were dotted with foraging ponies, such as these along Burley Road,
or these beside Forest Road.
One attempted to enter the Modus
before enjoying a scratch on the lichen coated tree trunk;
another sported a fine head of lockdown hair.
In recent days we have acquired a new young couple of collared doves. While preparing this evening’s dinner Jackie, sadly, witnessed a lightning sparrow hawk swoop and carry one off, leaving a pile of fresh feathers. Its mate is wailing its grief.
Said dinner consisted of breaded cod fillets; cheese-centred haddock fish cakes; moist ratatouille; and creamy mashed potatoes, with which I finished the Cabernet Shiraz and Jackie drank sparkling water.