After a wet Monday and a Tuesday morning, the rain stopped, and the sun came out, so did the Dragonflies and Damselflies.
Titchfield Haven Nature Reserve.
Broad-bodied Chaser (male)
Azure Damselflies.
Large Red Damselfly.
Norfolk Hawker.
Four-spotted Chaser.
Today’s post is back to my current photographs. A walk across some of the heathland in the New Forest, lots of Orchids in flower – I am not a plant expert, and a lot of the Pink Orchids look very similar, and they also hybridise. I think these are Common Spotted Orchids, but I am happy to be corrected.
A nice specimen of Oyster Mushroom growing on an old tree.
Now that we are into June, lots of foals have been born, both ponies and donkeys.
Numerous Cuckoos were both seen and heard on our walk, but all too far off to film. The highlight spot of the walk was several Redstarts. A summer visitor, the male is a handsome bird which is pinky-red below with a black face, silvery-white forehead, grey back and striking red tail. They were formerly classed as a member of the thrush family, but are now known to be a flycatcher.
Back in 1986, while on holiday in Pembrokeshire, we visited an open farm in the Preseli Hills. This was no tourist attraction with bells and whistles. It was a traditional family working Welsh Hill Farm. No shop, no cafe, no toilet block, just the family outside loo. The farm had no running water or electricity; it was like stepping back 100 years.
The land was worked entirely by Shire Horses. We watched the farmer kit out the horses ready for the plough and followed him up a steep hillside to plough the land. Getting our breath back, the small group of visitors sat down and watched the horses working.
The farmer looked elderly to me as a youngster, but in reality, he was probably only in his 40’s. The work on the land had given him a deceptive appearance.
Two years later, we wanted to return again, but could not find the farm. At the Fishguard tourist board offices, we were told that the farm was no longer open to the public, as there had been complaints from visitors about a lack of facilities and the farmyard being too muddy! Since I have visited many farm museums in their sanitised state over the years, they have never been a patch on this working hill farm practising an authentic way of life.
Sorting through old slides, I found these pictures I took back in 1982 at Western Shore in Southampton of the QE2.
The QE2 left Southampton for the Falklands War on May 12th 1982.
Departing from the Southampton docks, the requisitioned Cunard liner carried about 3,000 troops from the 5th Infantry Brigade (including the Scots Guards, Welsh Guards, and Gurkha Rifles) and 650 volunteer crew members. She sailed to the South Atlantic to serve as a troop transport during the conflict.
The QE2 was officially retired by the Cunard Line in November 2008.
The ship was not scrapped. After a lengthy restoration, she reopened as a permanently moored, 13-deck floating hotel and museum in Mina Rashid, Dubai. Managed by Accor, the vessel features 447 restored rooms, multiple dining venues, and preserved historical spaces
The weather changed to heavy showers and constant drizzle yesterday, the only acceptable nature photos were the Siskins feeding in the car park. I posted yesterday.
The dragon and damselflies were not flying, but we spotted some distant birds, including both a Cuckoo and Redstarts.
A view from a sit-down under some trees, “A New Forest View”.
Continued Reflections from my World. 