New paintings and regular art updates.
I took this photo today because I was amazed at how many flowers were blooming on the fushia bushes outside our local pottery. The leaves have wilted a little and I’m expecting it to be clobbered by the cold because we, are due freezing weather over the next few days. But its December, this is not normal. Its getting dark earlier every day and we have a chilly northerly wind blowing. It’s not proof of global warming, but it makes you think!
Butterflies, summer creatures
Hide in crevices
Overwintering
Blood like antifreeze
Or lay their eggs
Somewhere safe
To form a chrysalis
That will emerge next spring
Or flutter south
To warmer places
Migrating to survive
And moths?
Do they do the same
Flitting to darkened spaces
To wait out the cold?
Mild winters fetch them out early
Cold and hungry
Where can they feed
If plants are dormant
Not in flower
No leaves to eat?
A delicate natural balance
Disrupted
It is foggy today, the mist started this afternoon, a cloud coming down low, covering the sun as it set. Blurring and shadowing the skies colours. Now it is more dense, I drove up our hill and the lampposts disappeared, like white smoke was hiding them. It was hard to see through the fog, obstacles hidden until you were almost on top of them. There’s a set of traffic cones half way up our hill where a car partially knocked a wall down. I didn’t see it on the way up! I came home along a different road to avoid it.
Wild birds
Wild land
Flowers and sedges
Bullrushes
Frogs and toads
Dragonflies
Watery world
Weathered fences
Water voles swim
A meditation on Westport Lake
It hasn’t stopped raining for the last two days, places in Scotland have had as much rain in a day as they usually have in a month. I’ve kept inside and kept my sore throat and sniffles to myself. I think the weather has bought the bad bugs out. Plus with travelling last week I’ve probably come into contact with other people who have had colds. I did a lateral flow test this morning that was negative, but instead of my usual poor sleep I’ve been totally exhausted. Anyway at this rate I’ll be building an ark!
The skies have cleared and the rain has stopped, the temperature has fallen without the clouds holding the warmth in. In some places its due to be foggy and frosty. November had been unseasonably warm. My hanging baskets have literally hung on, with flowers and leaves surviving and the odd bee bumbling around. Now though I’ve actually put the heating on, I also had the oven on to cook yes (might as well heat the house and cook food at the same time.
A national newspaper has reported we should be having six inches of snow, but the real weather forecast is for the temperature to rise again slightly.
In amidst all of this the Ecological Cop27 meeting has just gone back on some of its resolutions to reduce global warming. Major oil and gas producers have pushed for natural gas not to be treated as a greenhouse gas! I’m not sure of the whole story as I only heard a bit on the news, but I think it’s despicable that vested interests can be allowed to harm humanities future because they want their profits.
In the meantime I will continue to plant trees and try and do my bit to reduce my carbon footprint.
Mares tails over head
Flying out across the sky
Fluttering, fraying
Splitting and plaited
Spreading across the blue
Mares tails, mares manes,
Weather vanes
Foretelling Rain.
I drove up into fog
Cloud coming down to greet me
November fog and mist banks.
Cold dank cloud
Overall grim and frightening
One huge hound
At the side of the road
Waiting to pounce
If you slow down…..
On a tomato plant at the back of the yard. Eight tomatoes in November. We have eaten four but we are waiting for the rest to ripen. But it’s NOVEMBER! How on earth have they lasted this long.
Tomorrow the weather forecast is for temperatures of 19°C. That’s about 8°C above normal. The COP 27 Climate change conference just discussed trying to keep temperatures from going above 1.5°C higher than before the industrial revolution. Only a small rise, but enough to cause damage and disaster. So what? Flooding in costal cities across the world, dangerous increases in the ferocity of hurricanes, tornados and typhoons. Melting icecaps and glaciers. We must all try and do something about it.
It’s cloudy again tonight, any sunlight has been stifled by cloud. I’m looking forward to a good, colourful sunset. But if we get that it means we need high pressure and less clouds. That means the sky will clear and heat will be lost so we will get colder weather and frosts. At the moment we are getting gusty winds from the south and scattered heavy showers. It’s knocking the old leaves off the trees. I hope it does clear up, apparently the Taurid meteor shower is due.
Anyway when did this blog turn into a weather forecast? Hmm, must think of something else x
Mallaband-Brown