Today I completed the last of the exhibition prints, whilst Jackie continued a commendable amount of garden maintenance, including cleaning up the decking and placing the newly refurbished table between the cane chair and one of the camellias. The prolific euphorbia in the background has been heavily pruned, and one of the recently planted clematises trained along the trellis installed in the autumn is just visible when the image is enlarged.
We now have a considerable range of blooming pansies that Jackie planted earlier.
This afternoon, we collected the A2 image from Lymington Print and went driveabout.
Leaving the town via Undershore Road we explored the forest and its villages in a fairly small circular route.
Running alongside Lymington River, Undershore is narrow enough to require double yellow lines on both sides. Normally parking close enough to the water is impossible, but we benefited from the gradual decline of the British Pub industry.
The Waggon & Horses, like so many, is up for sale. This meant we could happily block the entrance to their closed up car park,
and I could photograph the river at low tide
with its grounded rowing boats.
This, probably the warmest day of the year, clearly encouraged ponies to paddle in potable pools in which they left both reflections and shadows.
A grey did so at Boldre
and a russet-coloured one at East Boldre,
where ponies lined the street,
and a cock pheasant, oblivious of the surrounding big beasts, strutted about the turf.
This evening we dined on Jackie’s delicious lamb jalfrezi and savoury rice. We both drank Kingfisher.
72 responses to “Drinking Water”
What a cosy corner to have that chair and table. I’m sure that the view from that chair is gratifying after all the hard work. The drinking ponies photos are great.
Many thanks, Mary
Hear, hear to what Mary wrote!
Thanks, Laurie
Beautiful New Forest ponies.
x
Thanks, MeRaw
Wow love these photos!
Many thanks, Lynn
A feast for the eyes to behold! Wonderful pictures!
Many thanks, Sofia
There still looks to be a lot of water around your way, or are those permanent pools?
The first looked permanent. Not sure about the second. There are still many waterlogged areas of the forest, some from underground streams. Thanks for reading and commenting
What a beautiful day and the pictures are gorgeous as usual. I particularly love the photographs of the ponies.
Thank you very much, Geetha
Welcome Derrick. Your blog is food for the soul, especially for those who cannot walk into their own garden. I am glad I have my own though it is not as well taken care of owing to the fact it is the desert here 🙂
Thanks, Geetha. Could you make a Japanese garden with all that sand? 🙂 One would fit the spiritual nature of your blog
Welcome and thank you for the suggestion. I thought about that initially but ended up putting a number of green plants and flowers
I would prefer those
I have posted some photographs of the garden on my instagram geethap2007 in case you want to have a look
Thanks, I think I found a few
Oddly enough, I am in the middle of writing about water also. Your ponies look as prolific as the feral goats of our far west holiday. Your photos are stunning as usual!
Many thanks, Gwen
The corner spot with the chair and table is perfect! I don’t think I’d ever move from there…unless of course it stared to rain. I so enjoyed seeing the ponies, Derrick.
Thank you very much, Jill
I have been led to believe yesterday – or your today – was / is Water Day in many parts of the world. The ponies are obviously in the know! Lovely photos Derrick, I particularly like the first one.
Fancy that, Pauline. Many thanks
I can’t imagine drinking my own bath water, so I wondered if horses have taste buds. From Yahoo! Answers:
Do horses have taste buds?
Best Answer: yes they do, but not as many as us. they can taste only certain distinct flavors, thats why they like sweet snacks like apples and sugar cubes, but they dont taste a lot. they have two main types of taste buds-sweet and other. Sweet taste buds taste and remember the taste of good snacks that they only get once in a while and other taste buds remember and taste the taste of grass, wheat, hey, oats, etc.
I know that people have 9,000, dogs have 1,700, and cats have 500-but how many taste buds do horses have?
Best Answer: I could swear that some of mine don’t have any with some of the things I find them munching on.
For curious people like me, the internet is like magic. 🙂
With such a limited diet, it would be sad if they had a lot. Thanks for the research, Johnna
If horses had more taste buds, do you think their diet would be as limited?
Definitely
Your rowboat picture is fabulous. As for those ponies in the water, I wonder if they could be said to be having smoothies? Probably not.
Thanks, Lisa. You’ll have to tell me what a smoothie is
We can tell who does the shopping in YOUR house!!!! Smoothies are a new-ish (10 years? less? Any more idea, Lisa?) brand of puréed fruit-based drink, marketed as a health-cum-convenience intake. They come in 1 litre cartons, like standard fruit juices (familiar with those, while still in their storage containers, are we? 🙂 ) or more branded plastic bottles usually smaller. They may contain some milk; if not, a sub-brand has found a market-niche in Milk Smoothies.
I knew about those, Paul, thanks – I own up to not doing the shopping – I thought there may have been another meaning across the pond. 🙂
It could be a blended vegetable or fruit drink (or combination). Of course, the ponies don’t have a blender that I’ve seen…
Thanks, Lisa
Oh, those pony pix are wonderful!
Thanks, Luanne
Okay, is that pansy a giant pansy….or did you simply zoom way in? I could almost put my nose in it! 🙂
Thanks, Cynthia. I did zoom in, but it is about twice the size of others
Great shots Derrick. The ponies were so unexpected as I scrolled down – loved them.
Thank you, Mary
I can’t help but think of the song lyrics”home on the range” when you post pony pictures. They do seem to go where ever the heck they want want go. Why is that?
Throughout the forest they have priority on the roads. The same goes for donkeys, cattle, and pigs. There are, of course, accidents and deaths, which we are bound to report. Sometimes deer get onto the roads, but they don’t have the right of way. Thanks for reading and commenting
Do you have a post that explains the origins of the ponies and how they came to be such a big part of the community?
Paul has given the info. But here is an earlier post: http://derrickjknight.com/2012/10/07/serendipity/
So fascinating!
Thanks, Susanne
The New Forest (which is about 1000 years old) was traditionally maintained by usually indigenous, sometimes roaming, human populations, who acquired legal rights over the centuries. There are special courts and laws for The Verderers, as those with these privileges are called. Letting your ponies (strictly, they’re not “wild”) roam to maximize their feeding opportunities is one of the rights.
A good subject for one of Derrick’s “rainy day” researches.
I agree. The pony posts are among my favourites.
Thanks, Paul. See my response to Susanne
I mourn lost pubs. Great pics again
Thanks, Sol. Yes, much history goes with them
Why are the pubs dying? Do people just drink at home now?
That contributes. The rot started when supermarkets were “licensed”, so you could buy quantities at often greatly reduced prices. The ban on smoking in public places hasn’t helped some establishments, whatever its other public health benefits. Among a younger generation, pubs are seen as less ‘cool’. Plenty of other unknowns feed the decline, too, probably.
How sad.
Drinking and driving?
Have a look at Paul’s comment, and my addition. Thanks for reading
Derrick,
The oddest thing happened…I quit receiving your daily posting. I thought of it last night and checked my spam folder. Nothing there. I think I will sign up again.
Ginene
Please do, Ginene. I’m glad you thought about it. Thank you
Beautiful Derrick! 🙂
Thanks, Julie
Lovely words, Beautiful photos.
Thanks, Lonely
I do like the way this anecdote veers from the Waggon and Horses to the ponies drinking water to you too drinking Kingfisher lager!
Well spotted, John. Thanks
Sounds like you both had a very productive day. Love the horse photos. I thought you were going to say that you and Jackie also drank water. 🙂
Thanks, Sylvia. It would have been a happy coincidence if we had
Wow love these pictures….
Thanks, Chitra
Beautiful, resting place. Love these pony photos. Thank you for sharing, Derrick!
Thanks, Amy