A Hare and a Fox and the Sweet Blossoms in May

Back again, is it really a whole month later!?  I'm sure each time I say I'm going to blog more I actually end up blogging less which is a little weird?

We've had beautiful dry weather here in Wiltshire since April and many of the flowers are ahead blooming this year. In between working, the days have been spent soaking up May's heady perfume, and imprinting the song of blackbird robin, thrush and lark like a precious seal on my heart and soul. I'm sure the sounds are healing. I'm just waiting for a scientist to prove it sooner or later? 

Beautiful May.  Hawthorn decorates the hedgerows with sweet  frothy creamy (and sometimes pink) boughs. Oh but they go too soon when that impish west wind plays games for fairy weddings and summer snow showers, scattering the petals beneath to create scented carpets for wood mice.

"Tis like the birthday of the world,
When earth was born in bloom;
The light is made of many dyes,

The air is all perfume:

There's crimson buds, and white and blue, 
The very rainbow showers
have turned to blossoms where they fell,
And sown the earth with flowers"
~ Thomas Hood

The greening is all dressed up with lacy gowns along hedgerow and field. Here in the garden, the cow parsley is spreading nicely too. 

When the days have had a chill in the wind, I take my tea break in the greenhouse. Enjoying the warmth with the plants whilst they're busy growing. There is lots to plant out still and plenty of digging to be done. The ground has been very hard because of the lack of rain but the last two days have provided a few showers and refilled the water butts. 

I have a good view of goings on from my studio window. I can clearly see why all the peanuts have been disappearing so fast! ;)  Mrs squirrel doesn't mind me, but makes a swift run for it back up the plum tree when the cats spot her. 

The birds in the garden have been busy raising their young. I see them daily stocking up on food at the bird table and then they are off again. This precious soul found time to stop and serenade me with a spring song.

Here's some other wildlife captured on camera recently. The friendly chaffinch below I encountered on a walk yesterday near Avebury. The moth and may bug I found in the greenhouse and the heron and swans are a regular sight on the river. 

A couple of weeks back on the 1st of May there was definitely some 'Spring magic' in the air.  During a walk I encountered  5 hares, 2 foxes, and 2 deer.  But the best bit of all was seeing a fox and hare together. The fox walked through the hedge to the side of us then proceeded to walk down across a field past the hare. They looked at each other and the hare just stayed put and the fox just walked by glancing at the hare as he did so. Just seeing each animal on their own is a wonderful encounter at any time, but seeing 'both' well it felt as if it was my birthday or that Spring had gifted me a special moment. Here is the moment below, which I managed to capture very quickly. My camera is not the best at pictures from a distance but you can make out the hare and fox. :-)

And here are more hares.

Work wise this past month, I've been busy designing and turning work I've already done, into cards. these sets are both available in the shop. 

'Love the land and treasure the wild' and 'Love the Earth and all her creatures'

'May your dreams be filled with magic' and 'Believe in your dreams' 

I've also just finished these little 'Spring inspired' hangers.  

These will be going into the shop this Wednesday evening (17th May) at 7pm  (UK time)

Until next time, I shall leave you with a song from Lisa Knapp's brand new album, which has been my playlist daily for the merrie month of May and is just perfect I think. (link in my side bar to the whole album)

 Have a great week. x

Days of Roses and Honeysuckle and Small Offerings of Light

It was a little budding rose,
Round like a fairy globe,
And shyly did its leaves unclose
Hid in their mossy robe,
But sweet was the slight and spicy smell
It breathed from its heart invisible.

~ Emily Bronte

June is the month for roses. I've been enjoying the ones I'm lucky to have in this garden and stop to smell their heavenly scent each time I walk past. How can you not, when their time is so short? I treated the garden to a new addition when visiting the local garden centre recently. It's a rose that for years I have had my eye on but never got around to ever buying. So the other day when I saw it, I gave in and it came home with me.

 It's a repeat flowering one so I'm looking forward to smelling the roses for a little longer. It also has the most vivid colour petals which I've saved each time that they have dropped, for drying.

This month I've been finding it really hard to concentrate and my mind has been all over the place so  recharging for longer each day outside has been important. Watching the flowers emerge from seeds that have been tended and nurtured, soaking up the scents really help to clear a busy mind.

There are always so many wonders to see! The hornet in the picture below, lost it's way the other day and came in through the window.  We caught it in a beer glass and admired it for a few moments before releasing back outside and on its way. The caterpillars were having a feast on the mullein and one of the roses. The top right hand one is a mullein moth and the bottom impressive green one I'm hoping (fingers crossed) is a humming bird hawk moth? 

In the green house was a stunning tiger moth. Such beauty! 

  Moon daisies (ox eye) are in abundance and the grass snake is back in the compost heap.

With so many distractions it's a wonder I get any work done at all this time of year! Some how I do though. Here are a set of small paintings 'Midnight in the wood' series that I've made into new designs for cards.    

The cards are available here to buy as a pack of four.  The photo of the originals above look much bluer in colour than they are. In reality they are more like the cards below.  It's hard to pick up the colours correctly with a camera sometimes though.

I've also had a little play about with some pendants. The ones that I added to the shop have already sold, but I will be adding more shortly.

Another painting recently done. 'Small Offerings of Light'

Inspired by the photograph that I took not so long ago, of my owl hangers all hanging together.  Here are just a couple of pictures at the moment, as I'm having some camera problems. It will be made available as a print once scanned and ready. 

 ~*~

I hope you all made the most of the longest day if you are this side of the world like myself.  Or the shortest one if you are not. :) It's hard to believe that the Summer Solstice has been and gone now, this year seems to speed up with each day that passes. 

My evening was spent quietly in the garden with a small fire waiting for the beautiful full moon to rise.  It was peaceful and filled with bird evensong and the smell of woodsmoke woven between honeysuckle. 

Two birds, three hares.and a garden

"That's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over,

Lest you should think he never could recapture

The first fine careless rapture!"   

(From Robert Brownings  poem 'Home thoughts from abroad')

'There on the grey stone in the grass was an enormous thrush, nearly coal black, its pale yellow breast freckled (with) dark spots. Crack! It had caught a snail and was knocking it on the stone. Crack! Crack!
“Leave him alone!” said Thorin. “The thrushes are good and friendly-this is a very old bird indeed, and is maybe the last left of the ancient breed that used to live about here, tame to the hands of my father and grandfather. They were a long-lived and magical race, and this might even be one of those that were alive then, a couple of hundreds years or more ago."
(From the Hobbit by JRR Tolkien)

This song thrush is on my garden path,  going about it's business, keeping the garden snails in check, tap tapping and cracking them on the stone.  Busy, with a mouth filled with food for a fledgling, that chirped in the overgrown flower bed near the hedge. I followed the precious sound, discovered the baby, then quickly snapped a photograph. It turned out a little out of focus because I tried to hurry, I didn't want to delay it's snack that was eagerly waiting to be delivered. Hopefully this one will survive to adult hood and bless us with it's sweet song. 

  

The foxgloves are in full bloom now standing tall. They remind me of glowing lanterns with the evening light behind them.   

The bees are enjoying them, buzzing in and out of the bells so fast I managed to capture a bottom.

And a leg. :-) 

Latest work to show, are three pieces on wood, which will be heading over to the 'The Names of the Hare' exhibition at New Brewery Arts, Cirencester, Gloucestershire this July.

'Following the song for evermore'

'Magic in the spaces between'

 'The Geminids call'

If you are in the area, please do visit, I'm sure it will be a fantastic exhibition. :-)

Going back to The Hobbit, that was mentioned at the beginning, I will end with this wonderful song from the last film. I only just caught up with the final instalment in the film trilogy, just last week, so do forgive me for being 'late to the party' so to speak. I just love this song and had to share. I feel quite sad now that it's all done and that I won't be seeing the familiar characters anymore.

Enjoy your weekend. x

Still here.

Hello! I'm still here if you were wondering where I had got to?... Time really ran away with me this last month and I can't believe I haven't got around to posting on here since February. I haven't really felt talkative to be honest, no reason, just that sometimes there seems so much talk, gossip and babble going on in the world that sometimes you feel silenced, need to step back, be quiet and get away from it all online. I'm sure others feel the same?
Spring has arrived here in Wiltshire. The snowdrops have said their goodbyes and now the banks are dotted with the sunshine coloured faces of shining celandines. Primroses are popping up everywhere in the garden.

Thy smiles I note, sweet early flower,
That peeping from thy rustic bower
The festive news to earth dost bring
A fragrant messenger of Spring. ~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Birds in the garden are busy with nesting although some do have time for afternoon snacks of sultanas. 

I haven't seen my Robin friend in a while. I last saw him a few weeks back with another robin, he came very close but wouldn't come onto my hand. He was very noisy chirping a lot at me. I like to think he was telling me he was very busy and explaining that if he got on my hand I don't think his partner would be very happy. I'm hoping he may return after nesting season is over but if he doesn't then I feel grateful that I had some wonderful special moments with him. 

                                                                         ~*~

I've been working on a commission which will be used as a dvd cover for a very talented irish lady that dances. I'm sure she has magical feet.  Here's some snippets of the painting to show you.   

I'll share more about the dvd when it's out and for sale at a later date. 

Another painting that has recently been finished is 'I am Earth'

 I was playing around with designs for my wooden hare hangers and these words popped up. I didn't want to wait to put them on a wooden hanger so painted them into a picture instead. I shall be making this available as a print to buy in my shop very shortly. 

Enjoy the sunshine! :)