Some Evening Sunshine

Today was a beautiful sunny day with clear blue skies. I walked at Busketts this morning and watched the dragonflies again. This Evening when John came home from work it was still warm and sunny so we took the dogs off to Andrews mare for an evening walk. The dogs enjoyed the pond and we enjoyed the sun.

Missy

Ponies enjoy the evening sun art Andrews Mare

Raffles

Ponies at Andrews Mare

Gatekeeper Butterfly

All things that fly!

This morning I spent a while watching the damselflies down by the stream whilst th dogs had a paddle. This afternoon Karen and I went down to The Lower Test Nature Reserve.
Firstly we saw a Cormorant and then some little egrets. There were also lots of lapwings around and a few green sandpipers. At one point a Kingfisher darted across. Oh and I mustn't forget the heron in a distant field.
There were also lots of dragonflies flitting about. After spending about an hour in the hide and screen areas we decided to go for a walk. We saw several butterflies and the sun was shining. We thought we could do a circular walk and we did , it was just rather longer than we thought and we ended up walking along the main road from Redbridge back to Totton.

Swans on the River Test

Quackers on a branch

Gaggle of geese


Southampton Docks

Gatekeeper

Silver washed frittilary

Cormorant, little egret and lapwings at lower test nature reserve

damselflies at Busketts


dragonflies at the Lower Test Nature Reserve

Mogshade Hill in the Sun

Well finally we have some sun! We walked at Mogshade Hill, a lot of the time we were squelching through mud and the pond is full to overflowing which is very unusual for this time of year. As we walked up the hill we saw what we thought were ponies on the path, but a closer look and we realised they were deer. One of them was a white doe, not an albino, just a deer with a very pale coat. It is a recessive gene and you don't see many white ones, her fawn had the normal colouring. She really stood out from the background and even though they quickly skipped away we could still see her in the distance. Maybe the white deer were the original unicorns..who knows!

Raffles looks for the deer
A white deer and her fawn . White deer are not albinos , they just have a very pale coat. A little like a unicorn! her fawn has the normal colouring.

The gate into the inclosure by the Canadian cross

At the top of Mogshade Hill

The Weather Remains Unsettled

We started our walk this morning in beautiful sunshine and it was pleasant splashing through the puddles, but soon the clouds rolled in and it became humid and muggy. We did see a small herd of fallow deer watching us but the ground was far too marshy to try and get nearer. My the time we were back up the hill and on our way to the car park it was raining again. There is certainly no shortage of water this year.
Missy and raffles had a treat this afternoon, we bought them ice cream to celebrate Raffles Birthday. Look how attentive they are as they wait to gobble it up!

Raffles has a splash

Fallow deer in the distance at Fritham and below Missy plays hide and seek in the heather.

Happy 9th Birthday Raffles!

Happy 9th Birthday Raffles!
Originally uploaded by Missy2004.

Today Raffles is 9

Is this Summer?

Well today at 7.30 it wasn't raining, it was very dull and very windy but dry. We decided to walk early as the weather forecast was for more rain. can there be any rain left to fall? We went to Deerleap and walked down to the river, where the dogs had fun playing in the water. The wind continued to blow and even with my big raincoat on it wasn't particularly warm.
When I got home th heavens opened and the house was so dark. Now the sun is shining for a little while but with temperatures in the low 60s it must be one of the coldest summers for many many years!

At Last a Sunny Morning

Today we awoke to beautiful sunshine and we decided to get out and enjoy it. So at 8 O'clock we were driving to the Forest. Our first stop was Kings Hat and we went down to see if we could cross the foot bridge. As Missy swam across the foot path we realised that the answer was no, so we got back in the car and went on to Pigbush.
The Forest is very wet and muddy but we had our wellies on and the dogs were having a wonderful time splashing in the puddles and racing through the heather and bracken. It was so good to feel the warm (almost too warm) sunshine on us.
The Ponies were all out in the sun, I bet they welcomed a respite from the rain.
Towards the end of the walk we have to cross the Beaulieu river by the ford, fortunately there is a bridge here as well because the Ford was deep enough for the dogs to have a swim and we could see the water would soon be up to the bottom of the bridge.
We really enjoyed the walk, but alas they are predicting yet more rain!

Flooded Beaulieu River at Kingshat

Tantany wood

The foot path at Pigbush


Fritillary Butterfly (Silver washed I think)

Beaulieu River at Pigbush

The Bridge , the River is nearly up to the bottom of it


The Beaulieu River at Pigbush

So much Mud in the Forest!

Missy Investigates a puddle at Milly Ford

Rushing water at Millyford

Missy and Raffles at Busketts

Muddy footpath and pony at busketts

Coming home from this morning walk.

Well the unpredicatable summer weather continues. Yesterday we left home in sunshine , but within minutes we were drenched! Today we have threatening skies again. meanwhile just up the road , tractors are pulling cars out of the fields where the steam rally is taking place. The road is covered in mud. But I expect some rain will sooncome and wash it away.

Sunflowers for a rainy day