Beautiful morning for a walk at Brockenhurst. The animals were all out grazing, but ponies were very much "on their toes" I think they know its drift season!
A cool breeze accompanied the bright sun making it perfect for walking. Ponies squealed and wickered as they herd together looking slightly wild eyed and the highland cattle chilled and grazed the grassland in their usual laidback manner surrounded by young starlings chatting in their range of whistles, clicks and calls and pulled worms and bugs from the bovine hoof-prints while others simply hitched a ride on backs, heads and horns!
Heading onto the woodland ride the sun glistened through the tall, ancient trees and bounced off the vibrant rowan berries. Fallen beech nuts crackled on the ground as they dried and opened.
The birds were quiet in the heat of the day allowing the dominant sound of the swaying trees in the summer breeze and the gentle flow of the Ober water where I watched a backswimmer bounce across the bridge.
Heading out onto the heath it was a sway of purple, a perfect spot to stop for coffee. Just for a moment I laid back and watched the clouds form and distort while the breeze carried the soft, aroma of the heath over my body and through my senses. I lost myself in the moment and watched a heron pass over in the sky until I was suddenly aware I wasn't alone! Sitting up I noticed the cows had quietly closed in grazing the heather around me. I sat and listened to the calming sound of them chewing the cud before spotting a red deer trot across the heath in no particular rush. I seemed to go unnoticed by her as I said goodbye to the grazing ladies and headed off to finish my walk.
Fancy coming to join me for this walk next week? 👇
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