Busy in the garden

Posted on May 12, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Bee, Cotoneaster, Environment, Flowers, Fun, Garden, Gardening, Life, Organic, Photos, Planting, TiredLeave a comment

Most weekends I’ve been busy recently with other things, but I decided to get out and plant up tomatoes in the grow bags and added some pepper plants ( which had sadly been partly munched by slugs). We don’t use any pesticides or herbicides so everything just keeps growing and we seem to have lots of bees round the cotoneaster flowers. We saw a couple of butterflies too. There is a bare patch where we are having a summer house put in soon. Then I can get some clematis growing over the fence.

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Blurry shot of a bee on the cotoneaster plant. Its covered in tiny flowers so very attractive to them.

Dawn colours

Posted on May 11, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Blogging, Colours, Dawn, Environment, Life, Morning, Possible painting, SunriseLeave a comment

DSC_1912_optimized I’m thinking of painting a bright sky, filled with violets and pinks, ochre and brownish reds. Showing the sun rising behind clouds, leaves and telephone wires framing the dawn.

I’m wondering how to mix the colours so they glow? Should I use golds and silvers to enhance it.

I’m thinking of painting the world anew. Rich colours exploding in the morning light.

Bat’s round the back…

Posted on May 11, 2019May 11, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Bat, Drawing, Dusk, Environment, Life, Night, Poem, Poetry, Sketch app, SunsetLeave a comment

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A lovely clear night,

Moonlight and dusk

My husband shouts bat!

I look out and see..

Nothing….

Clear sky..

White moon,

Silhouetted trees.

He shouts

It’s darting and flitting.

I look again

Nothing.. No bat!

So I drew one!

Australian kestrel. Wip.

Posted on May 11, 2019May 11, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Acrylic on canvas, Australia, Bird, Environment, Kestrel, Life, Painting, Working towards an exhibitionLeave a comment

I’m having fun painting this Australian kestrel.

About half way through. I went out to paint with some artists called the Orme art group. Today was a self development day which means you could paint and draw what you want. I had seen the photo of the kestrel my friend in Australia had taken. I asked her if I could paint it and she said yes. It’s quite difficult but I’m getting there.

X apparently it’s a Nankeen kestrel at Woolangong Harbour.

Bluebells at Rode Hall

Posted on May 7, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Blogging, Bluebells, Environment, Flowers, Garden, Photography, Plants, Rode hall, Rode heath, Walk3 Comments

Rode Hall is a beautiful place and the gardens are blooming with bluebells. The last day of the bluebell walks is today. 8th May 2019.

There are other plants on display including rhododendron, campion, tulips, and even some narcissi that are still flowering.

The hall is open on Wednesdays and Weekends. They have a farmers market which I think is on the first Saturday of the month? They have a good tea room that offers hot food, cake and drinks. They are having a plant collectors fair on 27th May. (Bank Holiday).

Rode hall is off the A34 North of Stoke-on-Trent at Rode Heath. It is along a road on the left hand side and is signposted.

One last thought.

Posted on May 2, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Climate change, Dream, Environment, Equality, Hope, Life, Sleep, Thought4 Comments

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Before sleep spins me into unconsciousness, before dreams tangle my hair and twist my body. Before dark night closes in on me. One last thought. We need more kindness and care. We need to look after the poorest and those with the least resources. We need to see this world as a whole, not in parts. Why should luck determine where we are in the world. Why are people so selfish and unkind?

Dreams could be made real if we cared. Damage to life and the environment is our choice. With climate change we need to change our perspectives. I think we should all consider the future and work to make a better planet. Perhaps then we can all sleep a bit more peacefully in our beds if we have them. At least I hope so and that equality is our future goal. I know I’m naive but I still can dream.

Through the window

Posted on May 1, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Atmosphere, Blogging, Cafe, Environment, Fenton, Food, Life, Lunch, Stained glass, Stoke-on trent, Taste, Window2 Comments

Sitting in the Barnicle cafe, Fenton town hall, Stoke-on-Trent. I looked up and saw the ornamental cherry tree through the window and the stained glass above. The lights were on inside the cafe because the clouds were dark and low, but it was a pleasant place to have a lunch break. Cheese oatcakes and fruit loaf toast were our delicious meal. Sometimes a simple recipe can be as effective in sating your hunger as a complicated and over fancy meal. The friendly atmosphere and warm welcome made it even more pleasant.

Panda drawing

Posted on April 24, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Challenge, Digital art, Digital drawings, Environment, Panda, Sketchfu2 Comments

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Another sketchfu challenge drawing I did so many years ago. Pandas have been in decline for years. They are limited by the food they eat (bamboo) and their habitat is disappearing like many places where the pressure of agriculture outweighs the needs of animals.

Panda jaws are very strong to chew bamboo which is why they have a fixed characteristic “smile”.

They are iconic animals and the World wide fund for nature uses a stylised panda as its symbol.

There are breeding programmes but nothing can compare to an animal in the wild, not cooped up in a zoo. Unfortunately poaching is a prolem as with other animals like gorillas.

I loved drawing this. Some challenges were a bit irksome but this was fun.

Giant beetle

Posted on April 23, 2019April 23, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Biology, Environment, Insect, Model, Nature, Pond, Science, Water, Water boatmanLeave a comment

A model of a waterboatman. They swim upside down on the surface tension of the waters surface. They eat duck weed and algae. Not to be mixed up with great diving beetles or pond skaters. When I saw this I was amazed at its intricate structure.

This model was in a local shopping centre. It was about four foot across. Fascinating

N’er cast a clout till May is out…

Posted on April 23, 2019April 23, 2019 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Blossom, Environment, Garden, Hawthorn, Life, May, PlantsLeave a comment

May blossom? It erupts in spring, flowering in masses of tiny flowers. The proverb doesn’t mean that you have to wait till the end of May to wear less clothes but just until the May (hawthorn blossoms) are out.

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Tag: Environment