4 December 2021

Parklife

"Hello! My name is Lottie and I live  at The Animal Farm in Graves Park which is a 240 acre public park in Sheffield's southern suburbs. I live with some sheep, llamas, alpacas, chickens, guinea pigs, pot-bellied pigs, rabbits and goats but I am by far the biggest. I am a shire horse and I'm five years old. My ancestors used to plough the fields of England before tractors came along.

The Animal Farm is aimed at children and families but on Thursday I noticed a tall dark stranger walk into the yard in a Hull City manager's coat. He was brandishing a camera and asked me to stay still while he snapped an arty farty picture of my right eye which you can check out below."
Before arriving at The Animal Farm on my circuit of Graves Park, I had called in to The Rose Cafe for lunch - a sausage and chopped tomato  sandwich with a mug of tea. This was my table as I waited for the sandwich to arrive:-
Here's another picture from the park. A lone sycamore tree with its leaves now stripped ready for winter. Beyond it, in the distance, the hills of  The Peak District roll over into Derbyshire . The tree stands in a very exposed position. It must be very strong, refusing to be blown down through the years it has been growing there.
Finally back to The Animal Farm where one of Santa's elves was sitting in the kiosk with his COVID mask on looking a little sorry for himself. With it being a Thursday afternoon, business was slow.  Don't worry - I asked for his permission to take the photograph. He was happy to oblige

25 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:06 pm

    I was sure the horse name would be Ed.
    Pot-bellied pig? Interesting.
    Love the lone sycamore.

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  2. Hi Lottie. I've never seen a blog by a horse before. You must have a big input device.

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  3. That lone sycamore tree shot is stunning. Not tall, dark and handsome? Lottie has no eye for humans. :)

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  4. I was a little confused when the POV changed abruptly. I thought that the horse had called in to the cafe for a sausage and chopped tomato sandwich.
    (Not really. I was pretty sure that horses don't eat sausages.)

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    Replies
    1. Hay and carrots were not on the menu.

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  5. Lottie is quite gorgeous. I think her portrait artist captured her essence

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    Replies
    1. A gentle giantess. I wonder how often she gets out for a canter - to keep her muscles in tiptop condition.

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  6. That is a beautiful tree. I would love to lie under it and shoot photos of the sky at all times of the year but especially this time of the year when you can see the skeleton of the tree.

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    Replies
    1. I noticed that another Geograph member has taken many pictures of that tree in different seasons and light conditions. Go here:-
      https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/6949291
      Also click on the thumbnails on the right.

      Delete
  7. Your blog title is a Blur song.

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  8. It must be years since we went to farm park with the boys - and coincidentally we were just saying as much yesterday, memories triggered by photos on our phones.
    I like the picture of the tree and wonder what type it is - I'm hopeless with identifying trees in summer; I guess an expert would know by its shape.

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    Replies
    1. Wake up at the back! It's a sycamore as I said in the text.

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  9. Hello Lottie, pleased to meet you! Will you be moderating this year‘s Laughing Horse Award event?

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  10. I see you have been horsing around again YP.

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  11. Mmm sausage and chopped tomato sandwich - that sounds tasty, and the tea looks like a good strong Yorkshire brew.
    Lottie seems a very good looking, intelligent horse, and it's obvious that she is able to give a good account of herself. Were you casing the park with a view to taking Phoebe with you next time?

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    Replies
    1. Last time we took Phoebe there the animal farm was closed because of that thing. What do they call it? Oh yes, croneyvirus. That's it.

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  12. That picture of the tree is stunning!

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    Replies
    1. Two other commenters have remarked on the tree. To tell you the truth, I thought the picture was pretty ordinary.

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  13. That picture of the lone sycamore could be a screensaver for Microsoft! You had better get it licensed.

    ReplyDelete

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