Red

Posted on November 1, 2020 Posted in Sketching, UncategorizedTagged #bandofsketchers, Art, Autumn, Colours, Drawing, Greens, Leaves, Red, Sketching, WetLeave a comment

Today’s sketch for #bandofsketchers, the theme is red. Not many trees in this country turn bright red in autumn. I think that’s because we don’t get cold enough weather to force the chlorophyll out of the leaves to turn them to brighter colours (is the red xanthophyll?) long time since I did O level biology!

Anyway these were on the road outside so I did a quick sketch and then filled it in. I’m afraid I cheated as it was so wet and windy so I did use a reference photo to try and get the right colours. Another sketch with permanent markers.

Rain and shine

Posted on October 26, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Cold, Flowers, Gardening, Life, Mild, Rain, Showers, Sunshine, Weather, Wet, YardLeave a comment

It was hailing earlier, then a great shower of rain and then the sun came out. That sort of weather when it doesn’t know what it’s doing… Leaves are still on the plants and flowers too. Mainly because it’s been cloudy at night, keeping the heat in a bit. The lowest temperature I’ve seen was about 5.2°C in the middle of the night.

My hanging baskets are looking a bit bedraggled but we will see what happens over the next few days. Life cycles round, winter arrives later every year…

Morning glory flower

Posted on October 7, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Cold, Flower, Germination, Morning glory, Plant earlier, Plants, Sad, Time, Trumpet shaped flowers, WetLeave a comment

They are just about hanging on, and starting to develop flowers! The rains coming down most days and is starting to soak the soil too much. If we get a frost it’s going to destroy all the plant cells, and then, no more tender plants like these. The thing I’ve learned? Plant the seeds a month earlier, get them warm and germinating and get them out in the sun a month earlier too.

Just wrote to my MP

Posted on October 5, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Cold, Homeless, Life, MP, Nowhere to live, Pay taxes!, Sad, Terrible, Unfair, WetLeave a comment

Dear XXX MP
Why have I just had to give my takeaway meal to a homeless woman by xxx bank in xxx tonight. Why is she sitting there with a wet duvet, in the cold. Articulate and desperate. Crying.
She didn’t ask for our help, she was just desperate.
Why do I need to take pity on someone? Be a good Samaritan. Why isn’t your damn government doing something Christian to sort things out?
Oh we can’t afford it? But you damn well won’t charge taxes to the rich!
Yours Sincerely
Xxxxx Mallaband-Brown

But I shouldn’t have to write this. Our MP doesn’t seem to be in touch with the local population. I don’t even know if she lives here. When she was first elected she answered my emails, then one of her staff answered. Now I expect silence. In the meantime people are suffering. If I’d had somewhere for her to go I would have offered her somewhere to stay.

Back yard today

Posted on October 4, 2020October 4, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Art, Back yard, Begonias, Cold, Flowers, Gardening, Microclimate, Plants, Surviving, Wet, WindyLeave a comment

It’s still looking good despite the heavy rain we have been having. At least its meant that the hanging baskets have been getting watered. I think we have a bit of a microclimate so the area doesn’t get as cold as in the main garden, but it does get the sun when it shines in the afternoon. Hopefully everything will keep going for a while longer. The begonias have bee spectacular this year!

Raining

Posted on September 30, 2020September 30, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Digitally manipulated, Editing photos, Life, Photo, Photodirector, Picture, Poem, Poetry, Random, View, WetLeave a comment

Rained all day,

today,

poured down,

persisted it down,

grey clouds,

lower than the tree tops,

streaks of water on the windows,

birds needing shelter,

sparrows soaked,

don’t go out,

keep warm and dry.

Winter greys

Posted on September 8, 2020September 8, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Dark, Grey, Icy, Lake, Life, Photos, Poem, Poetry, Pond, Rain, Sad, Snow, Weather, Wet, WinterLeave a comment

Soon there will be bare trees

Dark skies

Fallen leaves

Damp leaf litter

Cold miserable ducks

Sitting on icy ponds

Or Canada geese

Stretching their legs

Ruffling their feathers

Trying to keep warm.

Weather drawing in

Cold wind

Rain falling in sheets

Snow and sleet showers.

Winter greys, not blues….

Cat in a basket

Posted on August 25, 2020August 25, 2020 Posted in Cat, UncategorizedTagged Basket, Blogging, Cat, Curled up, Humour, Photo, Sleepy, Tired, Washing basket, Wet, Yawn2 Comments

Our boy cat likes to sleep anywhere enclosed, like boxes or behind curtains, when he got in the old washing basket where we keep shopping bags, that was OK… That was in the quiet of the bathroom. But hubby wants a shower so he’s bought the cat and the basket into the living room so the cat doesn’t get wet! He was fast asleep so had one huge yawn, not he’s curled up and gone back to sleep! (the cat not hubby!)

Storm Francis

Posted on August 25, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Blogging, Blowing a gale, Gale force, Life, Rain, Storm, Trees, Water, Weather, Wet, Wind2 Comments

The storm has been winding round our house all day. Trees bending, wind moaning through the gap in our badly sealed kitchen window. Gusts over 50 miles an hour. The fence is collapsing, the hanging baskets are skittering about, too heavy to take down from their brackets. I will wait and see what damage results from the storm. Meanwhile its blowing across the whole country, an unusually low pressure system for this time of year is tearing at the leaves on the trees. There will be trees blown over, heavy seas, gusting winds. Not fit for man or dog! Torrential rain falling and flooding towns and villages. Not fun. X

Funny……?

Posted on August 14, 2020August 14, 2020 Posted in UncategorizedTagged Bird, Blogging, Canal rescue, Cauldon canal, Etruria, Feral pigeon, Life, Pigeon, Pigeon joke, Safe, WetLeave a comment

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Apologies, I stole this from Facebook. It amused me so much I had to share… My friend rescued a baby pigeon from the canal a few months ago. It had apparently fallen in. She took it home and dried it and gave it somewhere warm and dark to recover. Then she had to find out what to feed it on, (pigeons feed their squabs something called pigeon milk before they go onto solids). It grew and she called it Keith.

If flew round the kitchen to start with, then was let outside, it stayed close by and in a rabbit hutch for a few days until it had grown up. Finally it flew away.

Take care and keep safe Keith. Coo…