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“Grandpa Can’t Get Off The Sofa”
This morning’s dull but dry day’s weather developed after lunch into steady rain and intermittent fierce gusts of wind. The smack of one of the wooden patio chairs smashing onto the paving sent me out in order to lay down the others and two large pedestals formed of ecclesiastical candlesticks standing in the rose Garden. […]
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Woolly Aphids
Whenever the phone lines and consequently the internet goes down in our neck of the woods the culprit is often an overgrown tree. This causes us to keep an eye on the proximity to the overhead cables of our two crab apples in the front garden. This is why Martin began work on his fortnightly […]
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Cattle In The Woods
Early this morning Jackie drove me into the forest. We aimed to take our normal route along Holmsley Passage which had been closed for four days from the 21st. The signs from the entrance beside the A35 had been lowered so we merrily sped down the winding, undulating, lane, only to find barriers at the […]
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On The Brink of October
This morning I trained my camera on the garden from various vantage points beginning with our en suite bathroom window. From the patio can be seen, against the kitchen wall, some of the glorious zinnias that Jackie grew from seed and spread abundantly around the beds; and this corner of the Pond Bed sporting Delta’s […]
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“I’m Going To Tell Him Off”
At lunchtime we drove to William Gilpin school at Pilley where, for the establishment’s Food Festival, we joined Elizabeth, Danni, Ella, Jack, Adam, Thea, and Jasper – my sister, niece, great niece, great nephew, nephew, niece-in-law, and great nephew respectively – although, as will be seen, respect didn’t really come into it for Ella. This […]
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Older Than We Had Thought
Our brother-in-law Ron Salinger sent me an e-mail yesterday alerting me to a mention of our house in the New Milton Advertiser. We therefore bought a copy from Ferndene Farm Shop, and continued into the forest on a much brighter, more sun-sparkly morning than the miserable looking afternoon featured more recently along Christchurch Road below. […]
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The Celebratory Birthday Song
Last night’s meal at Spice Cottage in Westbourne was a celebration of Ian’s birthday. As is her wont, Ellie decided she wanted feeding as soon as we were all seated around the table. Fortunately Flo had come prepared and Becky was only too keen to dispense the substitute nourishment. The restaurant manager had recognised us […]
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Late Summer Blooms
On a balmy late-summer morning I took my camera around the garden seeking auguries of the true autumn as opposed to the false one we experienced as a consequence of the heatwave of a month ago. We have two crab apple trees in the front garden, the fruit of which have, until last winter, nourished […]
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“You Wanted Pigs”
This morning Jackie drove me to the north of the forest where we knew we would be most likely to find pigs loosed for pannage. A skip hire truck forced Jackie to reverse our Modus when faced head on with the vehicle and its obscured convoy along the narrow, winding, Gorley Lane. It was along […]