Thirty Four Degrees In The Shade

Monday...
Today the garden thermometer read thirty four degrees in the shady area next to the shed. The scent of mock orange perfumes a still hot afternoon air. No hint of breeze tickles the feathery fennel. The stone path burns my bare feet to walk upon. Brown butterflies flit from majoram to the bindweed then pause to rest on the privet hedge.

Cats sleep all day in hidden places among long grass like lions. 

Water and honeydew melon seem the only food appropriate. And strawberries of course.

I've been finding it hard to concentrate in the heat. I've had a few days off and done some jobs that needed doing in summer time. Painting window frames mostly. In between I've been flitting here and there doing what I call the 'easy jobs' the tasks where not much thought is needed. Priming hangers, drilling the holes and sanding and cutting them out. I can't sit still for long and find myself wandering looking for slow worms and grass snakes and other creepy crawlies. There are lots of spiders nests everywhere. 

 

I'm absorbing summers essence as well as the vitamin D.

I hope you are too.

X

A Lawn Gone Wild And Other Things.

Living here in the countryside we are lucky to have a large garden. There are quite a few trees, including apple, hazel, holly, hawthorn and elder. The birds all love these, even the two conifers where the pigeons nest  every year. I have plenty of space for flower borders and there is quite a big patch of lawn. When my children were teeny hobbits they needed this to play games, ride bikes, have paddling pools, playhouses and camp outs. Now they are teenagers and although they still love to be out in the garden, they don't need all the space anymore. So this year I decided it would be a good idea to let part of the lawn turn wild.

Four areas have been left with paths cut between.  It's beginning to look rather good, so I thought I'd show you. Everything that has come up, has done so on it's own. I haven't planted anything. It's exciting walking through the mowed paths wondering what might emerge next?

It's so much more pretty than a cropped short lawn and so much better for insects and wildlife. Wouldn't it be great if everyone let a small patch go wild.

I will keep you posted on any new guests that appear. :)
Also if you feel strongly about wild plants and want to see more being left and not brutally cut down for tidiness especially on our road verges. Plantlife have a campaign and petition here  Please do take a look and sign.
                                                                      ***
Last weekend I went to visit my sister in Cornwall. On Saturday it was  Mazey Day in Penzance. A wonderful lively day. Stalls, music and processions filled the streets.

Bright colours were everywhere that you turned. So inspiring. 

A lovely day indeed. Then on Sunday I had the the icing on the cake, so to speak.  A trip to Eden to see Sigur Ros.
Eden was the perfect setting. The concert was just magical, amazing, stunning, fantastic and I am still in awe. I have added the memories to my very treasured ones. :)

                                                                                ~*~
So now it's time for that giveaway that I mentioned the last time I was here.....
Recently I passed 2000 sales in my Etsy shop, so to celebrate I will be giving away the items in the picture below, to one lucky winner.  (One print and seven postcards)

This will run on my Facebook page as well. If you would like to enter, either comment on this post or on the same picture on my Facebook page here. I will randomly pick a winner this Friday 5th July at 6.30pm. So this is a short time span.  Good luck my dearlings x

Update
After adding all comments together.The giveaway winner that was drawn on Friday evening was Lesley Webb. Congratulations to Lesley and thanks everyone for taking part. :) x

One New Hard Drive Later...

About a year and rather many extra days ago, I did a sketch in my notebook. It was an idea that I knew I would go back to but other things kept getting in the way, like they do. The seconds and minutes, hours and days, moment by moment never wait. So a couple of weeks ago it was time to bring this picture to life.
I don't often show my work in stages of progress, so thought this would make a change.

                                                     'Out Of The Depths We Called You'

The title of the picture was inspired by a  favourite piece of music by Terry Oldfield (brother of Mike) from an album called Out Of the Depths (De Profundis) If you have been a follower of this blog right from it's beginnings, it may be familiar to you? I'm often putting it on the music play list every now and then.
This painting has been finished for a while but I haven't shared it sooner, as my laptop which is only just over a year old, decided to play silly games with me.  So if you were wondering where I was and why I hadn't blogged for a while that was the reason. I did have an old computer to use to check Etsy, Twitter and Facebook etc but because it was a wee bit slow I didn't bother uploading pictures and kept tasks to a minimum. Anyway one new hard drive later, here I am back and can share some images of these laptop-less days.

                   

I've spent a lot of time in the garden and have been making the most of the sunshine filled days. There have been visits from a squirrel, a grass snake, many slow worm, quite a few bumble bee (sadly hardly any honey bees) I  found a dead orange tip butterfly in the greenhouse and made a special place for it with dandelion seeds and forgetmenot. 

The fields have been spread generously with butter. The floral kind.  Last week we saw a badger snuffling among the golden flowers. It didn't see us as was too busy, so we had the pleasure of watching it just a few feet away, for about a minute. I didn't have my camera with me that night. Yes, you guessed it!.

But there have been other characters to capture other days.  :)

On the river where the water witch lives with her tangled green locks of emerald hair the swans have three silver cygnets.

Everything seems touched by gold in June's evening light, even the tiniest of  flies.

The moonlight and clouds always mesmerize me and inspires  new imaginings in my sketchbook. Here a moon moth.

The Offering Of Light'

'Out Of The Depths' is available to buy as a print in my shop here. And I will be back shortly with details of a giveaway.In the meantime, I will leave you with these flowers picked from the garden. :) x

I Think Mice Are Rather Nice

I think mice are rather nice.

Their tails are long, their faces small;

They haven't any chins at all.

Their ears are pink, their teeth are white;

They run about the house at night.

They nibble things they shouldn't touch;

And no one seems to like them much,

but I think mice are rather nice.

Rose Fyleman

This poem reminds me of when I was a child and came into my head after I bought this picture at a car boot sale at the weekend.

I could hear it whispering "buy me, buy me"  and I knew that if I didn't, then later on at home I would regret it. So I followed my instinct and paid the £3.50 (a bargain!) and brought it home with me, ignoring the odd looks from the daughter and husband. I'm so glad that I did. It looks as if it's a picture of  maybe the Royal Ballet, Beatrix Potter characters that someone has kept and put in an old heavy glass frame?
                                                                        ~*~
After a cup of tea and a loving cuddle with my new bargain mousy picture....Squeak squeak! ;)  I wandered down to a local garden, which was open  for the National gardens scheme.
Cantax house is the home of Sculptor Deborah Van Der Beek and the garden is an interesting treat.
As soon as I walked in my spirits soared  to see the beautiful wild flower cow parsley so often cut down on roadside verges left to show off it's delicate beauty.

It really set off these wonderful wood carved men folk in their wildness. 

There were enticing windows and doorways. 

And white forgetmenots. Something I don't have in my own garden, but something I must try and get growing.

The Iron man,  I think? 

I love this bird. 

I wish I'd took a few more photos of this one, as he was very thought provoking. A baby bird in his hand and his stomach had burger, fries and beer bottle tops embedded. His back had toy cars and parts of mobile phones. Do you see the hands and feet coming out of the top of his head? 

All in all an enjoyable day and the sun shone too.

Now it's back to work....

x