new forest – T E Shepherd

On the eighth day of Christmas: fear the Jacks of all trades

Thomas — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:30:00 +0000

This weekend we finally managed to “Christmas” Emma after the washout that was last Sunday, when we got down to the New Forest for New Year. We had roast beef dinner to see out the old year and then settled down to an evening of cribbage, scrabble and Call My Bluff – such fun when you find the words yourselves in the dictionaries and then make up the false definitions to try and confuse the oppose team.

Our words:

liatris

a grey clay of Jurassic origin
a plant of the daisy family
the orignial name of one of the lovers in A Midsummer Night’s Dream

deckle

a ten-sided biscuit (18th century)
to garland with tinsel or ribbons
a belt in a paper-making machine

wheech

sound made by an Asian owl
to snatch or move something quickly (Scottish)
a small brass shim used in clock-making

leporicide

a killer of hares
an old, seldom used word to describe people with leprosy who committed suicide
rabbit poison

cervisial

belonging to the deer family
obsequious behaviour
of or pertaining to beer

cheeselip

a kind of footstool, padded with carved feet
old word for a harelip
common woodlouse

And our dinner…

After the endless rain that was yesterday afternoon and evening, this morning was bright, sunny, a little bit cold and crisp and utterly, utterly beautiful. So we had a good walk out on the forest before heading back home at lunchtime to where 7 cats were to found standing shamefaced around a spilt tub of (Arthur’s diet) food, and very full tummies.

This afternoon I have mostly been reading, and finishing, Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book. It’s brilliant. I love the simple concept of a baby, orphaned by an unknown killer, escaping into the graveyard to be brought up by the ghosts who ‘live’ inside. I’m really glad that we visited Highgate Cemetery last year, and slightly amazed that we had the same idea about the place as Neil Gaiman – that of these tombs on these streets, and how you can easily imagine the dead, once left alone by the living, coming out of their front doors and meeting and talking, discussing the people who had walked through that day. And here, in this book, Neil Gaiman has written about them.

On the Seventh Day of Christmas: New Years, New mornings

Thomas — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 15:37:00 +0000

The morning after the night before, and it was clear and sunny, and not all that cold…

The Latchmoor Lake
Originally uploaded by shepline on 1 Jan ’07, 3.25pm GMT PST.

Fungi
Originally uploaded by shepline on 1 Jan ’07, 3.24pm GMT PST.

Sunlit ponies
Originally uploaded by shepline on 1 Jan ’07, 3.22pm GMT PST.

…of course all that has changed. It’s clouded over, and got dark, and rainy, and real hibernation, and dark is rising weather.

The Twenty-second Day of Advent: Fog, frost, and yet more fog

Thomas — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 23:30:00 +0000

1. This morning was hauntingly beautiful this morning. Still as foggy as ever, as the sun rose, so the mist that shrouded the land lifted, and illuminated the New Forest. Every cobweb was coated in silver, and tall grasses stood like strange sculptures amoungst the heather. Driving across the top of the forest, silver birches hung with silvered branches in a golden light was enough to lift a heart that has been cloaked in fog for days after days. Further towards Reading it was thick again with fog, in Maidenhead a little clearer, but as we lunched with Granpa in the Blue River Cafe, the fog came down again on the river valley, and it was thick again for the drive home.

2. Strained and decanted my sloe gin, the berries drained of their juices, and shrivelled remains of what they once were. The inaugoral vintage of the Pure Bure Sloe Gin, has a good, rich colour, a fine nose, and a nice taste.

3. It was not so much a case as Goldilocks and the Three Bears today in Postbox Cottage, but Bramble and the Two Cats. After Bella had found both biscuits and a bed on top of the fridge, it was a case of Bramble coming back into the utillity room and standing over the bowl, looking at it and then us sternly, and declaring, ‘Who’s been eating my food?’ before taking to the top of the fridge, and upon smelling foreign cat, indignantly declaring, ‘Who’s been sleeping in my bed?’

4. Bella found a novel way of eating today, one hind leg, each on a separate oak beam, and a third supporting her on a higher beam as she ate her food from below.

5. Bella also found herself a dab hand (or should that be paw) at hooking balls off the tree, for Arthur to poke and prod around the floor… Tonight they sleep in the kitchen with Barney dog for the first time…

6. Anyone know what was up with the internet earlier this evening. Around 7ish and 8ish, the internet appeared to be dead. It might have just been the OneTel ISP but strangely mail was still getting through, but all websites (or at least a cross-section selected) were unaccessible? Back now (obviously), but still weird.

Little Donkeys

Thomas — Sun, 21 May 2006 16:39:00 +0000

Originally uploaded by shepline on 21 May ’06, 1.15pm BST PST.

Originally uploaded by shepline on 21 May ’06, 1.16pm BST PST.

Originally uploaded by shepline on 21 May ’06, 1.14pm BST PST.

Quenching a thirst

Thomas — Sat, 11 Feb 2006 18:14:00 +0000

Quenching a thirst
Originally uploaded by shepline on 11 Feb ’06, 6.09pm PST.

Ambling
Originally uploaded by shepline on 11 Feb ’06, 6.08pm PST.

Granpa Visits the New Forest

Thomas — Wed, 28 Dec 2005 16:45:00 +0000

Roast beef for lunch!
Originally uploaded by shepline on 28 Dec ’05, 4.08pm PST.

Bit of a mammoth road trip, but Dad went and fetched Granpa over from Maidenhead for a day in the New Forest and to see Postbox Cottage.

Holiday Tuesday Morning

Thomas — Tue, 27 Dec 2005 12:25:00 +0000

Holiday Tuesday Morning
Originally uploaded by shepline on 27 Dec ’05, 12.17pm PST.

The light through the trees

Thomas — Sun, 25 Dec 2005 11:23:00 +0000

Christmas Day
Originally uploaded by shepline on 26 Dec ’05, 10.36am PST.

It’s Christmas morning, and a walk on the forest before returning to open the presents from ’round the tree…

Christmas Dog
Originally uploaded by shepline on 26 Dec ’05, 10.35am PST.

A walk in the country

Thomas — Sun, 13 Nov 2005 13:10:00 +0000

Country Life
Originally uploaded by shepline on 13 Nov ’05, 12.56pm PST.

Just as I was composing this shot, with the river, and the lush grass and the ponies further way, the deer decided to run…

Magic!