MUSINGS FROM THE BOWER 48
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| Casper |
Yet
another excursion has been made from the bower – last week, I spent a few days
alongside my daughter in Hampshire.
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| Diamond |
We had expected bad weather as our
journey down on Sunday took place in continual heavy rain, but next morning we
awoke in our motel at Stoney Cross to skies holding a hint of sunshine. By 9.15
am we were waiting at the ferry at Lymington, ready to cross to the Isle of
Wight, because we wanted to visit – for the umpteenth time – the zoo at
Sandown, which is run by Charlotte Corney, the girlfriend of naturalist Chris
Packham, and which has been owned by her family for several decades.
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| Rajiv |
I have a soft spot for Rajiv. A few
years ago I did a milk feed of the tigers at the zoo, and Rajiv loved it so
much he was practically grinning! When I reached his enclosure on Monday,
though, I couldn’t see him anywhere. So I called, ‘Rajiv, Rajiv’ – and suddenly
this enormous, gorgeous tiger came lolloping towards the fence from behind a
clump of bushes. And to my absolute joy, he began ‘chuffing’ at me. Chuffing is
a bit like purring, tigers do it when they are happy and trying to communicate.
So I chuffed back and, I think, we had a conversation, though I’m not sure what
it was about! Amongst the other animals at the zoo is
the magnificent white lion, Casper, often to be seen lying on an enormous rock
in his enclosure, monarch of all he surveys. Recently, his sister, a white
lioness called Frosty, came to live at the zoo, too. Charlie Brown is a ‘normal’ sandy- coloured lion
who enjoys lazing on top of a safari vehicle that is parked in his enclosure.
On Monday he seemed to be getting bossed around by the beautiful lioness Nahla.
Naturally, there are many other creatures at the zoo, including several breeds
of lemurs, jaguars, wallabies, meerkats,
porcupines, monkeys and a beautiful raccoon. There is also a collection of
domestic animals and various reptiles. We
caught the 5pm ferry back to the mainland – there was a stunning sunset on the
way back, as well as a double rainbow.
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| Fly Agaric |
The
following day was so lovely that it was difficult to believe we were almost
half-way through October. The dew was so heavy on the grass that it looked like
frost, glittering in the sunlight that filtered down between the trees. It was
slightly misty, too, adding an ethereal feel. Everywhere we looked, we could
see fungi; there was one spectacular scarlet Fly Agaric the size of a tea
plate. Other fungi were yellow, purple, pink, cream and brown – I’ve never seen
so many.
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| Red Deer |
We
walked along the Forestry Commission land by the Canadian Memorial cross in the
New Forest, admiring the autumn colours in the sunshine. The sky was blue, with
no clouds at all. As we walked we kept stopping to photograph yellow trees,
golden bracken, pretty fungi; there was so much to see. There were lots of
chaffinches and long-tailed tits, too.
After walking for half an hour or so up the hill, we veered off to one
of the smaller paths to look through the trees across some rough,
bracken-strewn ground towards a wood in the distance. Suddenly, we realised
that we were being watched!A
magnificent red deer stag, together with several hinds, were in the bracken. We
stood and watched them for around ten minutes, before the stag bellowed and the
herd moved off – then, far away, we saw another stag and some hinds, and then
all the deer melted away into the woods. Just magical!
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| Beautiful autumn colours |
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| Fungi on fallen tree |
When
we finally reached the car, we drove to Bolderwood which is where Fallow deer
are often seen. There is a viewing platform there. Sure enough a stag and a few
hinds were there, though quite a long way away. We also went to Millyford
bridge where there is a fallen tree that we first discovered last year, all
covered in fungi and moss. Very atmospheric! Later we went to Burley, a pretty
village in the New Forest and we were surprised to see a herd of spotted pigs
crossing the road led by a farmer! We ended up at Mudeford Quay, just as the
sun was setting. The sky was bright red and looked stunning seen through the
masts of the sailing boats.
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| Sunset at Mudeford |
Now,
back home – though not in the bower today as it is definitely chilly out there –
I have been busy writing, I’m pleased to say that two of my books have been
listed on Amazon Kindle this week. The first book is volume three of my collection
of short stories; ‘Twisty Ends and Tangly Tales 3’. The second is a full length
romantic novel, ‘Tintagel Fantasy’ – and for three days only it is FREE to download onto your Kindle, computer or ipad.
Tintagel Fantasy
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