May and the Secret Scent Of Angel Flight

I went a 'Maying' to bring inside

 A favourite flower, yet could not decide,

on meadow jewels or hedgerow lace,

Buttercup, sweet golden face,

Bluebell charmed me beneath soft dappled light,

Apple blossom shared the secret scent of angel flight,

All are heavenly treasures, gifts from the Fae

 In the merry merry month of May

    ~ Karen  Davis  May 2018

Feeling very much filled with the joys of Spring on the 1st of  May I  painted this teeny tiny painting. 

The month has been glorious so far and the apple blossom, like something from a fairy tale this year. To just sit and 'be' beneath these boughs is truly a divine gift from above. I know I probably sound a little like Anne Shirley from Green Gables but honestly seriously think that people that are unwell or feeling sad should be prescribed by their doctors to sit beneath blossom. Especially apple blossom. The scent is heavenly and if angels do have secret scents of flight, (I like to imagine that they would) then I'm sure at least one of them would be the scent of the humble apple. Apples themselves are known to have healing properties so there is definite truth to the old saying 'An apple a day keeps the Doctor away' So why not the scent too?

There is a little blossom left, but most is going over now. Hopefully the bees have done their job and we will have a good harvest of fruit later on in the year. That's not the end of the decorated trees in the garden though as the hawthorn is about to burst into bloom. Today it is in tight bud so by tomorrow or the next day, with a good sprinkling of sunshine it will be the star of the garden.

The flowers of the season are definitely being reflected in my work. This little painting was done for fun back on St Georges day (April 23rd)

Whilst sitting on the back door step listening to the blackbird song I noticed this beautiful hawk moth. With the help of Mr Google found out it's an Angles Shades ( Phlogophora meticulousa)

It rested here all day, luckily too close to the house to be under any threat from the birds.

Today there was another one on the watering can. It could of course be the same one still flying about, but looked smaller and darker so think it's a different one? I encouraged him on to my hand where he sat for a while, his wings quivering ready for take off.  Then he flew off towards the shade of the hedge.  So pleased to see moths about.

It was not so pleasing to see that Mr and Mrs Blackbird had abandoned their nest after the last cold spell in April. After noticing it very close to the house, each time walking past could see that no bird was sitting on the eggs. Sadly they were left and then were eaten by something?

But 'hurrah' am now happy to report that they have since got a new nest close by to where the initial one was and are currently feeding chicks! (dear little tweeting sounds are coming from further back  in the hedge)  

And here is proud Daddy stopping by on the bird feeder for snacks.   

Lawn update...
In my last post I shared the primroses taking over the lawn and mentioned that we had decided to let a large area of lawn go wild throughout the summer for the pollinating insects.  So here are a few pictures of what it's looking like and plants that have appeared.
 Forgetmenot, dandelion, cow parsley, dead nettle.

Cowslips in the background, planted two of those, years back and they have seeded beneath the apple trees. Forgot to mention that last time. 

These little mounds of earth on the lawn could be some type of mining bee?  If you know what causes them please comment and let me know. They are different than worm casts.

Sweet simple daisies. 

Bugle and ground ivy

There is also plantain, hawkweed and clover coming up in other areas. The cow parsley in the picture below has been allowed to establish over the last few years. It's one of my favourite spring flowers and I married in May (many years ago) for the specific reason that they could appear at my wedding. :-)

We've mown paths through as you can see which makes it easier to get around the garden when the grass is wet and ties in nicely with the top area which is still mown short around the flower beds. 

That's all for now...

Wishing you the sweet magic of May.

Karen

 x 

Forgetmenots And Daisies. Primroses And Dreams of Imaginary Sea Creatures

What a difference since my last post. Spring is well and truly here now in all her sweet perfumed glory. My old friends the forgetmenots have returned and the gentle daisies  are saying hello upon the lawn with the heavenly primroses.

Such a perfect colour the blue of a forgetmenot don't you think? 

The lawn is coming on nicely not being a lawn. Now our children have grown up we don't need the space for ball games and driving little pedal cars or bikes around, so there is really no need for such a large area.  Each year we have been letting nature paint her masterpiece a little more instead. This year will be the same and we will cut it back accordingly to whats coming up. We have some shorter areas up near the house where we put chairs and such, but the rest of the space the bees and butterflies and all other insects need it more than we do, so I just can't justify a blank green cut space for no purpose. Wasted in my opinion when you can have a much prettier beneficial space such as this. I will share the lawn progress at later stages so you can see what comes up and keep a list this year of everything that grows. I haven't planted anything except, fritillaries years ago and some crocus. Whatever else comes up just seeds itself or has been there hiding all along. Our lawn has always had a lot of moss and not much grass which I've always loved and is good as it seems to give the plants more of a chance and less competition having to compete with tough grass?

Easter came and went in a flash. There was feasting and family and then they were gone again. My chestnut and chocolate meringue sort of collapsed, but was quickly eaten by all. :) 

With the newness of Spring I bought myself a few fresh supplies.  

And after all the cold weather and the long winter I have found myself dreaming of the sea and sand and shells and the magical imaginary creatures that inhabit those salty turquoise waters...

Sea hare: An extremely rare and shy creature that if you are lucky enough to spot will  almost certainly be hiding in empty shells.

Sea Unicorn: You didn't really suppose that all the unicorns had disappeared did you? 

It was lots of fun doing these, so there maybe more creatures in the pipeline? I've made these into greeting cards. Pink! now you don't often see pink in my designs. Maybe it's my age? Maybe as I get older I will become one of those sweet old ladies that wear pink hand knitted cardigans? ;-) Although I don't use it much, I do actually like it and think it is gentle and pretty. 

At the same time I made a couple of my older sea themed designs into cards too. The Selkie and Narwhals designs.

And I also turned the recent notebook designs into cards too, and added another one to the designs. 

All of the cards are available in my shop now in various sets.

Until next time...
Enjoy the sunshine!
x

The Magic Of Morning Light And Notebooks For Those Who Love The Moon

Morning light as it quietly rises beyond the hill. Taken from my kitchen window.

Being more of a night owl, I'm not normally an early riser so don't often see the dawn rise. This morning though something woke me. Pink glow through lacy curtain stirred my heavy eyes to open. I went downstairs to put the kettle on for the first cup of tea of the day and took my camera to the window.  A soft misted morning of late August.  'Red sky in the morning shepherds warning' the old words pop into my head, memories of childhood. My neighbours cockerel crows and in the field just over the hedge the sheep begin a dew drop spangled breakfast. I stand with my mug in hand watching nature paint her masterpiece on the horizon, feeling blessed to witness it.

On the ceiling is a blood vein moth. Through it's wings streak the darkest pinks of the morning sunrise. This beauty rested all day, until the moon rose, then I delicately cupped it in my hands and let it fly free outside.

I'm still working on some moths. This time painted on hares again. They really should have been ready ages ago... but other things have a habit of getting in the way, like they so often do.
As soon as they are ready I will add the dates of listing times etc in my Etsy shop announcement.

One of the things that got in the way of finishing the hares was designing some new notebooks.
A pack of three,  especially 'for those who love the moon.'

'Moon Gazers notebook'

'Moon Dreamers notebook'

 And a 'Little notebook for moon lovers'

Notebooks are available here
It's quiet in my studio, enjoying the last days of summer. Just the radio on, a cd or an audio book.

And when I'm tired of the chatter of radio and sound of human voice it's just me and the sounds outside with my door ajar. And occasionally if I'm lucky I will get a visitor. This sweet one was waiting for me to add extra treats to the bird table. A relative of Robin Goodfellow? I hope so?

Some other work I've completed since my last post here.
'Dreaming Of Bees' Small hand painted talisman

 Bee pendant/talisman

(Both of the above, have already been sold in the shop)

Now summer has almost come to an end. I have a calendar in the pipeline ready for 2018 (which hopefully shouldn't be too long in the making) and some winter cards to finish designing.

Some favourite things of my summer 2017:

• Flowers, flowers and more flowers! :) 
• Pottering in the garden
• Visiting my sister on St Michaels Mount and midnight swimming beneath the moon in the causeway
• Lots of elderflower cordial
• Drinking mead sitting around an outdoor fire
• Roses. (yes more flowers)
• Swimming in the Aegean and walking among ancient olive trees
• The gentle meditative sound of grasshopper and cricket in the garden
• Seeing hedgehogs back in the garden
• The friendly birds on Holy island
• Feeling warmth on my skin and walking beneath blue skies
• Spending time with Son and Daughter both home from Uni 
• Finding beautiful moths

Flowers are those little colorful beacons of the sun from which we get sunshine when dark somber skies blanket our thoughts. ~Dodinsky