woodland – derrickjknight

Dump Trip And Forest Drive

This morning we transported eight bags of garden refuse, a rusted sack barrow, and two lidless dustbins surplus to our requirements, to Efford Recycling Centre.

The blue-sky-bright sunshine belied the acute chill in the air as we took a forest drive towards the end of the afternoon.

The postbox outside the eponymously named cottage on Wootton Road sports an Armistice memorial.

Autumn colour lingers along Holmsley Passage where the stream ripples across the larger ford;

along the Bisterne Close woodland fallen leaves and mossy trunks were lit by late shafts of sunlight,

and a bay pony cropped and chewed holly leaves impervious to prickles in her leather-lined jaws.

We were just in time for sunset at Barton on Sea’s Marine Drive East,

where cloud colour was muted when looking east.

This evening we dined on breaded scampi, chips, onion rings, and peas.

Pursuing Potting Up

Sunlight shadows in the kitchen beckoned me outside this morning.

Jackie has been buying myriads of bulbs and potting them up in the last few days.

With the aid of a rusting sack barrow she has transported them to prospective sites, such as

this collection on the north west corner of the patio. The pot in the first image above in the gallery above is destined for the plinth recently bought from the Efford Recycling Centre. The black paint spilled on that is presumably why it was dumped.

This afternoon we scoured the garden centres for suitable slabs to cover the plinth, and eventually found a couple at Redcliffe Nurseries. The pot may have to reside over winter in the greenhouse. An owl has been left keeping watch.

An earlier support from the dump now contains a pot of violas; the recent acquisition awaited its flowers until this evening when Jackie filled it with violas and Erigeron keeping daffodil bulbs warm. It now stands on the patio.

The bulbs are all labelled in their currently over-planted containers, such as the one beneath the Gazebo; the one spilling over with heuchera and begonias; and the one marked Tete-a-Tete.

The Gazebo clematis warranted its own photograph, as did

the view from the Stable Door, the Brick Path, and the Japanese anemones above the wooden mushrooms.

Beds worthy of attention were those named Weeping Birch and Dragon; the first waiting for climbers to cover its eponymous trunk, the second featuring seasonal Michaelmas daisies.

There are two scenes of the Rose Garden and another of the apples to which it plays host.

Later, I watched the penultimate episode of ‘Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams’.

After leaving Redcliffe Nurseries we continued into the forest by way

of Holmsley Passage flanked by moorland landscapes.

Scampering pink pannage piglets grunted and snuffled in the woodland beside Bisterne Close.

On such a sunny Saturday afternoon a number of cycling families like this one outside Burley required careful negotiation to pass giving them adequate space.

A deer speeding across Forest Road was rather too quick for me.

This evening we dined on a meaty pork rack of ribs in barbecue sauce; Jackie’s colourful vegetable rice; and tender green beans, with which I drank more of the Côtes du Rhône Villages.

On The Road

This afternoon we drove to the north of the forest.

Donkeys caused traffic diversions outside Bramshaw,

where we saw our first pannage pigs of the season;

another was crossing Penn Common,

populated today by ponies, cattle, sheep, a lamb, and goats.

Some of the many groups of motorcyclists we encountered formed a long arc just outside Nomansland.

For a number of weeks now, farmers have been bringing in bales of hay and bagging them up. See Sue W’s comment below, naming these as Silage bags. These were outside Fritham;

where, within the woodland,

lies Eyeworth Pond, beside which were resting one of the many groups of camping teenagers we have seen this week. We speculated that they may be between school and university.

When leaving Fritham we witnessed a string of ponies trooping along the verge.

Once back at home I watched a recording of the women’s rugby match between England and New Zealand at Twickenham, now named Allianz, the home of the English game.

This evening I dined on Braemoor Peri Peri Chicken King Kebab, with spinach and Jackie’s colourful savoury rice. Jackie meant to have the same, but a very small bite revealed that it was far too hot for her. She therefore enjoyed the accompanying cauliflower and more of the spinach. I will be having the same tomorrow when Jackie will choose to cook chicken in her own way.

Landscape And Woodland

This morning, among his other tasks, Martin installed our new waterbutt; and assembled and set up

the new arch for the wayward Compassion Rose which was determined to plough its own furrow. Having accepted that the plant would insist on its own direction we have given it a new support, since the last one had blown down. It has now been well trained.

At lunchtime Craig from Tom Sutton Heating came to check on the recently blown through pipes to the radiator beside my chair. He is of the opinion that the problem concerns the diameter of the pipes. It will need to be discussed with Ronan, who is on a week’s holiday.

After lunch we drove to the pharmacy at Milford to collect medication, and afterwards to Everton Post Office for cash, spring onions, and orange juice. We continued on a forest drive.

An interesting cloud formation appeared over the heather landscape

in which various ponies foraged.

More, including an almost full grown foal from earlier in the year, enjoyed the moisture of the seasonal pool along Bisterne Close.

Tiny yellow mushrooms pierced the ancient bank of Mill Lane among the exposed roots and ferns in the dappled woodland.

Further along the lane one of the several groups of young campers out today checked on Mill Lawn.

Later, I didn’t quite finish “4.50 From Paddington”.

This evening we dined on maple barbecue belly of pork; fried potatoes and onions; crisp carrots; firm broccoli and cauliflower; and tender cabbage with cauliflower leaves.

Decidedly Damp

I have realised that the persistent discomfort I have been feeling since my catheter removal has been the consequence of an infection, which I discussed over the telephone with my GP who ordered antibiotics for us to collect after lunch.

As we left for the Pharmacy, raindrops thundered on our car roof and swept across the windscreen.

The rain continued from early morning throughout the day until a brief respite later as we returned home.

We had returned to splashing along the wet roads.

The few ponies we did see on our trip were decidedly wet.

The freshly washed woodland colours brightly glistened.

and reflecting pools were filling up again.

We have learned that when the weather is stormy gulls tend to venture further inland.

This one, complete with bag of filched chips, is perched on the Tiptoe postbox.

Tonight we dined on Parmigiana crispy chicken breasts; piquant cauliflower cheese; boiled new potatoes, carrots, green beans, and spinach, with which I drank Georges Duboeuf Fleurie 2022.

The Bearded Pony

With very few raindrops adding to yesterday’s deluge contribution on the roads, on the moors, and on the woodlands, despite the welcome sunshine, the gale force winds picking up made the temperature feel far more than the alleged seven degrees centigrade as we splashed out on an early forest drive.

It was round the corner into Hordle Lane that we first encountered tarmac awash with pools.

Having negotiated the Woodcock Lane junction, turning right into Silver Street,

Jackie deviated across the road into Agars Lane with its ancient high banked verges, where she was able to park giving me a good vantage

point for photographing vehicles spraying precipitation into the air.

After Barrows Lane reflecting the Parcel Force delivery van’s splash of colour I decided to focus on other scenes.

This meant a visit to Boundway Hill where we parked beside broken

limbs from an ancient oak tree that must have suffered the damage not too long ago.

Knowing that a fine woodland landscape would reward the effort, with some trepidation I ventured

down the soggy footpath towards

the welcome sight.

The surrounding woodland and its verges bore their share of reflecting pools.

On the way down to Brockenhurst, beside a gravelled road linking with the adjacent tarmac forming deep potholes,

foraged three ponies,

one sporting an erstwhile fashionable beard.

We hadn’t brunched at The Potting Shed in Redcliffe Garden Centre since before Covid and knee replacements, and thought it time to try it again. It is as good as ever, having had a tasteful makeover without changing its essential country garden character.

This popular venue was as packed as we always remembered it, which means that, in order to respect privacy I had to focus on one corner only when its occupants had left and before replacements had arrived.

In the top left hand corner of these two images appears an invitation to book a vintage tea party, no doubt served on the crockery displayed in the dresser.

The wood burning stove is protected by a fire guard with clear warnings.

Beautifully drawn decorations and artefacts decorate all the walls, and

very apt quotations are painted on the ceilings.

Many of my readers will agree with this one by Cicero.

Service was amazingly fast, efficient, and friendly. I was particularly impressed with how quickly, cleanly, and tidily vacated tables were cleared ready for the next customers, although no-one was rushed.

Jackie’s egg mayonnaise sandwich, served with fresh salad and crisps was well filled and moist;

My ham, double egg, and chips, was equally perfect, with eggs served sunny side up and soft enough to dip well browned chips.

This evening we all dined on haddock cheese-centred fish cakes; Jackie’s piquant cauliflower cheese; crunchy carrots; green peas, and white and sweet potato mash, with which The Culinary Queen drank Hoegaarden and I finished the fitou.

Pool At Sunset

Enough steady rain fell throughout the morning for Jackie to join a line of drivers playing water sports spraying each other as they drove through pools speeding out from the verges along Christchurch Road as she drove me to Birchfield dental practice for a hygienist session with Bronya.

By mid afternoon bright sunshine shone on our forest drive.

The Wootton Road post box now carries a crocheted Remembrance Day tribute. This actually stands in Tiptoe. Further along the thoroughfare enters woodland and becomes

Tiptoe Road, which, today was awash. Naturally I stepped out and photographed cars splashing through the pool streaming across the moorland and down into the opposite field. Naturally Jackie photographed me in action and a van from her driving seat.

She also pictured mushrooms and autumn leaves on the ground and leaves on their branches against the clear blue sky.

A young pedestrian was forced to cross the bridge by the Forest Road ford where the water doesn’t usually rise so high.

At first along Bisterne Close, our paths kept crossing with a dog walker at impressively far apart locations.

Despite the continuing comparatively mild weather the woodland alongside the Close looks definitely autumnal.

Jackie produced images of fall’s red-gold ferns and squirrels perhaps stocking up their larders.

Finally the Assistant Photographer caught the sun slip sliding away sunset and me failing to do so.

This evening we all dined on Jackie’s stupendous chicken and vegetable stewp and cheesy pizza with which she drank Hoegaarden and I drank Hacienda Uvanis Garnacha Old Vines 2022.

Reflections On Floodwater

Our forest drive this morning was taken through very heavy fusillades of rain alternating with bright bouts of sunshine.

Surfaces of roads, lanes, fields, waterways, all glistened with the excess liquid dropped continuously by heavy clouds throughout the night.

The No BBQs sign on waterlogged Balmer Lawn beside the swollen Highland Water seemed a little unnecessary at the moment.

It was difficult for the naked eye to discern the difference between lawn and water,

or to distinguish between the yellow lines of the road markings at the verges beneath the surface reflections from above and the grassy islets bearing autumn leaves.

Beneath a bridge crossing Balmer Lawn Road, we sat weighing up whether to follow the warning posted beside the dicey looking road. So did another vehicle behind us, until this oncoming larger vehicle snowploughed its way over. We and our followers did the sensible thing, as did a number of others while we were amusing ourselves

with the Water Recycling Centre sign,

beside which I photographed wet leaves and Jackie photographed a tree trunk regularly bitten by a wire fence.

Tilery Road is a stretch of deeply potholed gravel along which the only smooth journey could be made by joggers and dog walkers who could simply slalom round the water-filled cavities the depth of which could not be gauged by car drivers. The waterlogged woodland flanking this should give readers an idea of how joint-ricking was this trip.

Many roads, like this one at North Weirs on the outskirts of Brockenhurst, had become shallow lakes, along which we all followed each other somewhat gingerly.

It was not surprising that Jackie was able to photograph a briefly lasting rainbow along Meerut Road.

This evening we all dined on more of Jackie’s penne Bolognese with which which she drank Zesty and I drank more of the Italian red wine.

Autumn Has Arrived

On another day where showers outnumbered sunny intervals, we waited until a limited period of respite before taking an afternoon forest drive.

Here I engaged in conversation with another farmer, also a commoner giving him pasturage rights for his animals. I had seen him shooing away a solitary pony from his two highland cattle. He explained that he had done this because the interloper had been taking the food he

had put down for the cattle. This man had bred his bovines for 60 years in order to keep the breed alive. He has 48, just three of which are free in the forest – these two and a white one.

By the time I returned to the car the blue sky above had turned as cloudy as that above the tree alongside Holmsley Passage and a brief heavy shower ensued.

On the approach to Bisterne Close an occasional pool had filled and was reflecting the surrounding woodland. So squelchy was the area underfoot that it was unsafe for me to venture to far in, either there or alongside the close where

until they had made their way through to a verge further along the road, I needed to photograph ponies from a distance,

and a couple of woodland scenes.

Jackie photographed me making my way towards the ponies.

These were my own pictures of the group;

and this one of Jackie’s, who also pictured

proof that autumn has arrived.

This evening we all dined on bangers and mash; fried onions, cabbage, carrots and gravy. The bangers were a mix of fat meaty herbal sausages and tasty chipolatas. The mash was very creamy. Jackie drank Hoegaarden and I drank more of the Garnacha from another bottle.

Woodland Ecology 2023

Knowing that our comparatively sunny morning would become less pleasant during the afternoon, we followed a Tesco shopping trip with a forest drive.

The recent damp weather has added layers of moss to the decaying fallen wood gradually playing its part in forestry ecology. From the Mill Lawn car park I wandered just a few surrounding yards to record some of the changes since the larger trees first fell a year or so ago.

Clopping on the tarmac and thudding on the terrain, a motley variety of ponies wandered along and across Forest Road.

This evening we dined on the core of Jackie’s chicken and vegetable stewp with the addition of fresh ingredients that developed the taste. I finished the Shiraz and no-one else wanted any.