M.O.T 2021 Day 2

I bought some wild bird seed mix & peanuts at the nursery on our way up yesterday thinking we might be able to encourage the wildlife to visit. Well, our lodge was in a super location, tucked in between some huge trees, no neighbours close by, so first task of the day put out some food to see what's around ... Sat enjoying a coffee while everyone rallied around, feathered & furry visitors, Robin, wren, nuthatch, blackbird, a very cheeky squirrel, then walking down the path not 10feet away from our lodge came a Roe deer. Oh my goodness! We have struck lucky with our location. :-)
Andria had listed walks and places of interest in the area as she has visited the New Forest before, so once we'd had breakfast we headed off for an explore.
We spent a few hours wandering through fabulous forestry, Bolderwood deer sanctuary, (Did'nt spot any deer), the arboretum & Ornamental Drive,  next on to The Tall Trees Trail Walk at Blackwater, giant Redwoods, Douglas Fir, & stunning Beech trees. The forest floor dotted with loads of fab fungi. The colours stunning. A late pit stop in Brockenhurst, where donkeys roam through village streets (weird). The Buttery ticked all the boxes. Andria vegan, the rest of us waivered slightly. Totally forgot actually .. My warm chocolate fudge cake, served with fresh fruits and clotted cream was perfect. Sandy & Josie had the cheese scone tea ... which they said was also spot on.
We drove back to Puttle's Bridge for our last bimble as the sun was setting away in the distance.
Josie cooked - Parsnip & chickpea curry, rice n' peas, followed by purchased vegan Ginger cake with dairy free cream. Yummy!
Then we did a bit of crafting. We'd all collected some leaves during our walkabout, now we laminate them to create a mobile. Great fun! Andria's new laminator performed perfectly on the trial run, the second run puckered, but fortunately soon rectified. A very jolly evening was had by all.
A back blip :-)