A Donkey Foal on a Village Green

 

Yesterday, as we drove home through the lanes and villages in the north of the New Forest, we came upon a family of donkeys on the village green at North Gorley. This donkey foal was the youngest we had seen this summer. A few days old at the most. Its mother seemed tired and rather grumpy. Not uncommon in new mums of any species! When she lay down to rest, the foal constantly nibbled, nudged and bothered her. At last, just when we had put the camera away, she gave in and stood up, eventually giving her baby a good drink of milk although her expression didn`t seem very much happier......

Old Dogs in the Long Grass

In a rectangle of lawn where our boys used to play football in their younger days, we have let the grass grow again. Instead of close clipped grass, there are lovely waving seed heads of rye and purple fescue.

Ox Eye daisies, buttercups, pigweed and yarrow have arrived and grow into flower. Self heal and birds foot trefoil grow around the edges of the grass. Insects and birds love this patch of "hay meadow".

On a grey but warm afternoon last week, I sat on a garden seat, watching the light change on grass heads moving in the breeze. Old Dog and his dear friend Whisper Dog made themselves a bed in the cool grass.

Whisper behind a veil of purple fescue.

Old Dog

Whisper again.

Spring Lanes and Old Letter Boxes - Cranborne Chase

One afternoon, two weeks ago, we needed a break after days of rain. We cannot leave Old Dog for long, so we headed westwards for a few hours, across the Avon Valley into Dorset and the soft, green countryside of Cranborne Chase. In the photo above, the River Avon at Ibsley was in full spate and water rushed angrily over the weir.

 The water meadows were still partially flooded and the wet grass was studded with golden marsh marigolds or kingcups. In the north, these lovely flowers are called water blobs. In the foreground, there were small, pale mauve and white cuckoo flowers, or ladies` smocks,

New green leaves on the water meadow willows screened the tower of Harbridge church.

We drove uphill and away from the Avon Valley, through wet, narrow lanes between farm fields, towards a hamlet called Crendell.

We stopped to look at the old letter box, set in the wall of a Victorian cottage. My husband is interested in postal history and had found out that this Victorian letter box is a rare one. The first postage stamps date from 1840 and the first letter boxes were put into use in 1852 ( one of these remains in St Peter Port in Guernsey). The Crendell box dates from 1879 and there are only twenty eight of them still in existence. It was made in Walker`s Eagle Foundry in Birmingham.

I am less interested in the dates and details, but I find myself thinking of all those generations of country people from neighbouring farms and cottages, who would have posted their precious letters into this humble red postbox. Letters to friends and family. Business mail and bills being paid. Love letters, news of births and deaths. Letters of happy tidings and of the saddest news. Letters of hope and comfort being posted to the soldiers of the two World Wars.

As we turned across country towards Cranborne, this field of bright yellow oilseed rape shone out from the wet landscape.

In lanes made from ancient cart tracks, hedgerow flowers were blooming after the welcome rain. Swathes of white flowered Ramsons, wild garlic, bordered the lane and filled the air with the scent of garlic.

Bluebells beneath old coppiced hedgerows.

The deep lane led downhill, out of the woods  and between high hedges bordering fields. A hollow way, where hundreds of years of hooves, feet and wheels  have worn the track down below the level of  the surrounding land.

In the main street running through Cranborne, we stopped to find another old post box, which is set into the wall of the village Post Office.

This one is a Ludlow type letter box from the reign of King George V. It dates from 1910 -1920. There are only  thirty two remaining in Britain. Apparently there are over 125,000 letter boxes (wall boxes, lamp boxes and pillar boxes) in total in the UK.

Later on, we walked around rainy Cranborne before finding shelter in the lovely old church. Along the church path, a very vocal black cat sat waiting on the window sill of this thatched cottage. He wanted to be let in out of the rain, but no one was listening.

Hey Ho, the Wind and the Rain

The past few weeks have been wet, windy and often cold. Even so, spring is here and the fields, garden and Forest are flush with new foliage in so many shades of green. The scent of blossom and new grass is everywhere. Underfoot there are puddles and wet mud.

A corner of our little wildlife pond, which sometimes overflows with runoff from the field.  The floating leaves of water forget-me-nots are a good place for newts to lay their eggs. There are several adult Common Newts in residence again.

One of the few cuckoo flowers around the pond.

Wet, itchy ponies during a gap between showers.

A Skunk Cabbage in flower. They do smell of skunk and the flies love them!

One stormy night, the old wooden pergola sighed its last and crashed down. bringing most of two Pauls Himalayan Musk climbing roses with it. It will need replacing, so we will let the roses flower and then have a serious prune before another pergola can be built.

The roses have tipped right over to one side.

On a rainy afternoon, the Ginger Man retired to the back of the airing cupboard.....

Forest Cat sat around looking beautiful.......

....while Lucy curled up in a tight ball, to sleep until it was time to eat or play once again.

Jane Austen`s Corner of Winchester

In this house, not far from Winchester  Cathedral, the novelist Jane Austen died.

She had been ill for some time and had been growing weaker. It is thought that she may have had Addison`s Disease or maybe a cancer of the lymphatic system. She had come to stay in rented rooms, under the care of her sister Cassandra, to be treated by the city`s best doctors. Sadly, her illness was incurable.

A view down College Street, showing the house where Jane died on the right and the buildings of the fee paying public school, Winchester College, beyond it.

Opposite the house are the walled gardens of grand buildings. This magnolia tree was in full, glorious blossom on the March afternoon of our visit.

Around the corner from College Street. In the wall of the former post office on the left, there is an interesting red Victorian letter box.

Gateways in the city wall that lead to the Cathedral. This may have been the route taken on Jane Austen`s final journey to her burial place in Winchester Cathedral.

An Hour in Winchester Cathedral

Winchester Cathedral stands in a green and tree lined close just a few minutes walk away from the High Street. I have loved visiting the cathedral since childhood days. Although Winchester does not have the magnificent towers of Lincoln or the tall spire of Salisbury, it is a fine and inspiring building with its beautiful nave and so many other features of architectural and historical importance.

Flash photography is not permitted inside the building , so the few inside images are from a mobile phone camera.

The main door beneath the West window.

The first cathedral church, now called the Old Minster, was built on this site by the Anglo Saxons, who completed their building in the 7th Century. After the Norman Conquest (1066) the cathedral was rebuilt ( completed in 1093) on its present large footprint, using many of the materials from the Saxon Minster. Below, the paved areas in front of the Norman North end show the site of the foundations of the Saxon Minster.

There have been changes and additions in subsequent centuries, but the interior of the cathedral is an awe inspiring and timeless space.

A drawing of the Old Minster.

The Nave of Winchester Cathedral, showing fan vaulting above the Choir.

Reflections of a stained glass window on a pillar in the Nave.

A statue of the early 20th century Naval diver William Walker, who saved the cathedral from subsidence by replacing rotting timbers in the foundations with concrete.

These medieval floor tiles are said to be the oldest still being walked upon in England.

Winchester was the Saxon capital of Wessex and of England. Raised above the Choir, are a series of Mortuary Chests which contain the bones of many of the Saxon Kings and early Bishops. I remember, as a young girl, being amazed and thrilled by being in the presence of the Kings and Queens we had learned about in school history lessons. That sense of wonder has never left me. So many centuries have passed since their time, yet still they here are!

This is one of a series of beautiful stained glass windows designed by the Pre Raphaelite painter William Morris.

The Font which has been used to baptise Winchester babies since the 1100s.

The early 19th century novelist Jane Austen is buried in Winchester Cathedral. She was brought to Winchester to seek medical care, but died in a house not far from the Cathedral, in the care of her beloved sister Cassandra. She did not achieve literary fame in her lifetime, so the words on her tomb tell of the loss of a much loved daughter, sister and aunt. The brass memorial plaque in the nearby wall was placed there at a much later date, to acknowledge her greatness as a writer. It was touching to see that someone had left a simple bunch of daffodils below her memorial.

The Cathedral is a treasure house of history. The Cathedral website explores its history in great detail and describes the part still played by the cathedral in the life of Winchester.

www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk

Outside in the Cathedral Close.......

The War Memorial and new nests in a nearby tree. Life goes on......

A Norman arched, leaded window.

The tower , shorter than that of many English cathedrals, seen from the south side of the close.