THE RAMBLINGS OF A STRUGGLING ARTIST ON LIFE WITH TWO TERRIERS, A PONY WITH ISSUES AND OTHER WILDLIFE AND BIRDS THAT CROSS OUR PATH

12 June 2012

ANOTHER NEW FOAL AT LAST


What a little beauty. After ten days of absence, I found the two herds together in the marsh. Some of them seemed very confident and came up very close to me. This mare and the new foal (the eighth excluding Lizzy) came within a couple of yards. Snippet had to go on his lead as he was getting very excited. I could even smell them in the muggy heat. It was a humbling experience being accepted by them. They didn't seem to mind the clicking and whirring of my partner's old camera that I was using, which has a better zoom.....the one time I didn't actually need it!


Foal eight having a shake


One of the geldings that protect the mares


Foal number two getting VERY close



Foal number three, looking younger than many born after him


Lizzy deep into the  marsh

When I took the last one, I was teetering on a tussock of grass, surrounded by bog. The up side of this relative peril was that I noticed a lone heath spotted orchid. Sadly, due to my lack of knowledge of the camera, I managed to take a beautifully in focus shot of the background with a total orchid blur in the centre. Didn't realise until I got home so I'm going to have to try and retrace my steps tomorrow. Wellies this time though in case of a misplaced step. 

Here are some pictures from the last few days in the gaps between the dire weather.


Tiny versions of stitchwort and creeping speedwell in the moorland grass



One of our main routes out onto the moor


Snippet's favourite path near a friend's house


A slug eating a mushroom this morning

The weather is looking pretty awful but try and have a lovely rest of the week. 





10 comments:

  1. A nice little foal, and Number 2 looks very sturdy and confident.

    I like your photo of the Slug and Mushroom ( sounds like a pub....!) .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If I ever open a pub......

      Number 2 is HUGE; almost 10hh I would say, like her enormous father! I had to delete previous comment as I said 'his' father and, having looked closely at the photos, I'm pretty sure she's a filly. Ooops.

      Delete
  2. lovely pics. I love that little red and white one, what a sweetie!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Isn't it adorable. The zoomier lens was responsible for the closeness there.

      Delete
  3. Dear Em,
    Thank you for leaving a comment on my blog. I've added yours to my blogroll because it's like visiting someone from so far away, and your walk to the moors was just beautiful. We used to live on horse farms all our adult lives when my husband was working in the business, so mares and foals abounded and I remember waking in the morning to their gentle sounds out the windows, and falling asleep to the same. It was a wonderful life, but very hard work for him. Good luck when you go back to find that orchid. Take your patience with you ~

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi there,

    Lovely to hear from you and I feel the same about people far away living a similar rural life. I have hopes that one day soon my pony might be able to come and live up here with our neighbours so I can be with him early morning and evenings. Not easy with an eight year old boy and him (the pony) living a few miles away.

    I love your photos - they're stunning. I bought my partner a Nikon D5100 as a thank you for looking after me when I was at home after the accident and he absolutely loves it. I look at it enviously as I set out with my Fuji but perhaps if I manage to sell a few drawings, I can save up.

    I think you might be onto something with the image sharing. When I run out of material I might be contacting you with a request too. I must visit her site - the painting is gorgeous.

    Looking forward to your next post,

    Em

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lovely photos. Nearly as god as being there as I have strong imagination and memory. The foals are corkers - especially the coloured ones - I hope that their colouring assures them of a good future, but fashion is a fickle thing . . . I can remember when even an almost solid-coloured pony with a white triangle on its neck was scorned in the show-ring - and yet it was streets ahead in conformation and performance. Now anything goes - though personal I hate the Jack Russell sort of markings on ponies! The ones in your photos are well-marked.

    Hope you get the orchid photo - I do things like that too!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I was talking to someone today about it. She told me who Betty belongs to which might be helpful if I ever have the space to get Trigger a little chestnut companion like Lizzy! She told me that a lot of the foals were shot last year and that they're just not selling at the pony sales. VERY depressing and another reason to approach them about Lizzy. Now I've got to know them all, the concept of their demise is no longer abstract and becomes very personal. I wish I'd never had the conversation now. Ignorance, if not bliss, saves some heartache.

    I did get the orchid, as you may have seen by now. I'm glad I'm not the only one!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for leaving a comment. It's great to read them and I will always try to reply.