Rousseau paintings

Posted on August 30, 2020August 30, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Blogging, Challenge, For August, Henri rousseau, Life, Orme Art group, Painting, WatercolourLeave a comment

We had to chose one or more squares to paint frome a Henri Rousseau painting as part of this months challenge from the Orme Art group. I chose these two. I’ve looked for the painting online but all I can see is one of him riding a tiger with what looks like bird of paradise plants instead of fruits? So I don’t actually know what this is called. I did two small watercolours and had to blot them a bit to take off some if the colours that were running into each other. The top left one was particularly difficult to do as I had to try and get the leaves to overlap. Also the colours I had did not exactly match the picture. Each image has a yellow number on it, in a large font…. So it’s a bit difficult to guess the details under the numbers. I hope to see everyone’s finished work this week when they are amalgamated together.

Quiet rest

Posted on August 30, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Blogging, Friendship, Life, Rest, Tired, Tired now, Uphill, Walk, Walking2 Comments

Today I walked 4.3 miles, not far, but part of it was up one of the steepest hills in Stoke-on-Trent. I’m trying to get fitter, and lose a few more pounds in the meantime. We stopped off at a local pub in Hartshill and had half of lime and soda water. The beer garden would have been quiet except for the traffic being heavier today than it has been for ages. I tried to talk to my walking partner, but I’m too slow and I’m also trying to keep to social distancing, so I enede up having to shout a bit, then every time I spoke another car came past so I repeated myself a lot. Well I’m not a great walker, but I did OK. My legs were wobbling by the time we got back. Highlights were seeing five or six bees feeding on Japanese Anemone plants. Sadly no photo unless my friend sends me a copy of hers.

We had blue sky this morning…

Posted on August 30, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Blogging, Blue sky, Grey, Humour, Life, Overcast, Poem, Poetry, Rain, WeatherLeave a comment

Made me feel happy, seeing sunshine

Seeing blue-sky

Now it’s grey and overcast

Threatening rain

What a pain…

I’m going for a walk

Long or short?

Depends on the weather…

For ducks?

A year ago

Posted on August 28, 2020August 28, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged A year ago, Environment, Life, Moss, Nature, Photo, Red Cow pub, Tree, Tree bark, Werrington2 Comments

Looking out of a window of a restaurant looking at the trunk of a tree covered in moss. The trunk was cracked and split. It might have been diseased. It was just interesting to see. It made an odd thing to photograph.

Its outside the Red Cow pub up in Werrington. There are views out into the countryside there and the food is really good (if its being served still).

World, wrapped…

Posted on August 28, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Bad dream, Blogging, Earth, Life, Nightmare, Plastic, Poem, Poetry, Sad, Sadness, Smothered, WrappedLeave a comment

World wrapped… Up

In a plastic bag,

Or bubble wrap….

World wrapped in packaging

In yards or meters of soft, slithering, veils.

Plastic permiates

Plastic stifles

Plastic swallowed

Blocking guts

Strangling

Plastic smothers

It won’t go away.

Like an infinite being

Never-ending nightmare.

Permanent

Plastic…..

More plants

Posted on August 28, 2020August 28, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Autumn, Blogging, Bulbs, Gardening, Gazenia, Life, Pelagoniums, Planting, Plants, TulipsLeave a comment

Ivy leaf pelagoniums and a gazenia (not sure of spelling). We saw them for sale at a florists in Wolstanton, Newcastle-under-Lyme today. I decided to get them as the weather is changing and I want to extend the flowering season in the garden. We also got some cyclamen including normal ones, and some called petticoat cyclamen which are more splayed out than the original type. I picked up a red sedum too.

It’s heading towards autumn now. I noted a tinge of broken or red on some of the trees as we were driving over to Wolstanton. It will be here soon. The nights are drawing in too.

When we got home I popped to the shops. While I was there I was tempted and grabbed a box of mixed tulip bulbs, and another one of various small flower bulbs. Gardening is a wonderful occupation. Try it if you can.

How big is Earth

Posted on August 27, 2020August 27, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Anthropocene, Blogging, Circumference, Diameter, Earth, Ecosystem, How big?, Life, Size, Space, Third planet, World4 Comments

How big is Earth’s diameter? Just under 8,000 miles. How big is its circumference? Just under 25,000 miles. That’s not very big really. There are statistics saying how many Earth’s fit into Jupiter, the biggest planet in the Solar System, or even how many Earth’s would fit into the size of the Sun.

What I’m trying to say is, this is the third planet from the Sun, in the habitable region of the system (not too hot or too cold) and we need to look after it. We are using up its resources at an alarming rate, polluting our home world with plastics and toxic waste, killing off the insects including bees with insecticides and heating it up till the North and South polar icecaps are severely effected and melting rapidly. Why are we doing this? Are we, like Covid19, like a virus, impacting on our host, the Earth.

Discuss…….

Box

Posted on August 27, 2020August 27, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Bicycle, Bike, Bike frame, Box, Life, Package, Post, Postage, Sending bikeLeave a comment

We contacted our local bike shop because my hubby wants to send his old bike frame to his brother so that it can be tidied up and restored a bit. If we were not nervous about going to visit hir brother, and they were not under a local lockdown, we would have taken it in the car. But no, we can’t travel there as we would not be allowed back!

So this is a HUGE box to put the frame in. It’s about six foot by four? It’s sitting in the living room because it’s too wet to pack it up at the moment. No doubt the cats will try and get in… Sending cats to Lancashire? Not likely!

Dawn

Posted on August 27, 2020August 27, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Blogging, Dawn, Life, Ocean, Poem, Poetry, Sailing, Sailor, Sea, SkyLeave a comment

Dreamt the first two lines of this poem So I decided to go for it and see what emerged….

There’s a sullen red cloud on the horizon,

A ships in dock they say..

Will there be sailors in port today,

Or will it sail away?

Off to chase the Mackrel

Or to fish for Cod

Leaving on the high tide

Into the hands of God?

There’s red upon the horizon

Is it a sailors blood?

Staining the water with it

In a storm greater than the flood.

Will the sailors return again

Back to this quiet bay?

No man of weather can tell me.

But the portents are bad, they say.

Begonias

Posted on August 26, 2020August 26, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Begonias, Blogging, Colours, Flowers, Gardening, Hanging baskets, Inspiration, Life, PlantsLeave a comment

One of the best things this year have been the begonias in the hanging baskets.

I’m not certain, but I think there are male and female flowers. Because some are big and blousy and the others are smaller and more simple. Whichever they are, they have been beautiful this year. The colours are subtle and amazing. They have also lasted a long time. I’ve only had to dead head them a few times. I’m hoping the weather does not get cold too soon so I can enjoy them for a few weeks longer.

Mallaband-Brown

Tag: Life