A bridge over Dockens Water

Crows nests 

Holly Hatch Cottage

Ponies in the enclosure  

Plenty of puddles about now. 

Missy says hurry up there I am waiting! 

John with the dogs 

Raffles and Missy in the Heather 

What is Missy staring at? 

A White duck perching on a tree at cadmans pond 

In Flanders Fields
(John McCrae 1872-1918)


In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Amanita muscaria

There are many types of fungi in the New Forest and I often takes pictures of them. I am going to try and identify some. In the autumn many people come to the forest to collect the fungi. many of the species are edible and can be sold for high sums of money. At times crowds descend on the forest pick everything in sight and then the carparks are littered with discarded specimens that are not edible. The policy seems to be pick everything and let the experts discard those that are not edible.
These pictures are of The Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria). It is probably one of the easiest to identify and is the fungi of storybooks where pixies are seen sitting on the scarlet and white polka dot caps.
These mushrooms are poisonous and apparently have a mild taste and no scent.
Although small amounts are unlikely to prove fatal they contain Muscimol which cause hallucinations and other disturbances of consciousness. They also contain other poions that may be harmful to health.
Apparently if you put pieces of the mushroom in milk it is very effective at killing flies.
It is very common in the forest and I like to think that maybe the pixies come out to play when we are not looking.

Fly agaric nestling in the heather....I am sure the pixies are close by! 

Fly agaric begining to flatten out

Fly agaric showing stalks 

Young Fly Agaric, spherical in shape with warty white spots. 

Amanita muscaria An older specimen as it is convex. 

Water Water everywhere!

The Sun shone today, but it is very wet underfoot. Places that have been dry all summer are turning into bogs and we have to be careful where we are walking. The little streams are often too deep to wade across and sometimes we have to retrace our footsteps until we find a shallower place.
However the dogs love all the water and they are having a wonderful time. 

Water tumbles into the bog. 

Raffles in the stream 

Missyby the bog 

Missy and Dora are getting ready to play rough and tumble 

Another sunset over a wet forest 

A look at some of Gill's Pottery.

It has been raining all day! The Forest is already under water but still it rains. On the News they say that it must keep raining if we are to make up for the dry weather last winter! There is a limit to the amount of rain I can take and when I have no dry wet gear left it has rained too much!!
Anyway I can't take the camera out so here are some pictures of some of the things that Gill has made. 

Gills Lady has been made into a watr feature here. 

Some of Gills Mugs