Tag Archives: donkey

Donkeys

I was driving through the Skagit Valley quite a while back when I passed a farm that seemed to have a lot of donkeys on their property.  I only realized this as I passed at speed and I had somewhere else I was heading so I parked the thought for a while.  Later in the day, when I had finished whatever it was I was planning on doing, I remembered that I had seen them so retraced my steps to see if I could remember exactly where the farm had been.  That part of the valley has loads of farms so I wasn’t certain where it was exactly.

Fortunately, the road was quiet so I was able to slow down while passing each farm until I spotted the donkeys out in the field.  A quick turn and I was able to pull off the road.  Not only were they in the fields but they were also walking about in a yard right near the road.  My arrival probably got them to move a little further away but I still got a bunch of shots of them.  As a kid, a farm near where we lived for a short while had donkeys so I have always had a soft spot for them.  They just look like a friendly creature.

Beaulieu

wpid7728-C59F7165.jpgContinuing our UK trip, we were still in the New Forest and I wanted to visit Beaulieu.  It is many years since I have been to Beaulieu.  My grandparents took me there once and we went with the school on one occasion too.  However, I wasn’t interested in visiting the motor museum on this occasion.  Certainly, if I had a lot more time, I would have loved to take a look around but we didn’t have that much time.  Instead, I wanted to see the village which, judging by some pictures I had seen online, looked like it was very picturesque.

wpid7734-C59F7214.jpgFirst, though, I had to stay awake.  As we drove there, I was feeling rather drowsy.  Not a good state to be but hardly surprising given how long I had been awake.  When we got the village, I put the seat back and had a nap for a few minutes.  This was a big help.  Nancy was tired but not able to nap so she checked out a tea shop while I closed my eyes.

wpid7724-C59F7162.jpgWe then took a walk around the village.  It is by a river and is very pretty.  Lots of small houses and shops combined with a big green area all alongside the estate of the Earl which now houses the motor museum.  What I hadn’t realized is how much wildlife wanders around.  Yes there were ducks and swans.  I didn’t know that cows, horses and donkeys were loose in the area.  The donkeys seem to like the shops and apparently walk in if they feel like it.  The horses and cows were grazing on the more grassy areas but if they needed to get somewhere, they would walk up the street and trucks coming the other way would just have to wait.  Could I come up with something more English for our first day back?