Blog
About January’s Garden
From Geoffrey Chaucer’s ‘The Canterbury Tales’ in the The Merchant’s Tale, about January’s garden – such lovely words and I agree! He made a gardyn, walled al with stoon; So fair a gardyn woot I nowher noon. The whole section where these lines appear. This noble January, with all his might, Honourably, as does […]
Big Garden Birdwatch
This is a Dunnock, perching on the edge of my trailer. This bird became the star of my Big Garden Birdwatch last year. This afternoon I’m getting ready for the 2014 watch, filling up feeders and making sure the birdbaths are topped up with fresh water. I love this dedicated hour of watching my […]
Winter Sculpture
It was lovely listening to Andy Goldsworthy on Countryfile talking about sculpting in winter time and that he relishes the snow and ice. For me the colder days mostly just bring the challenge of keeping warm, though invariably the thought of working with cold stone and chisels is much worse than in reality. He […]
In the Workshop today
Apart from cloud watching that is – I actually worked pretty hard today, and now in the warmth, and full of supper, feel happily tired.
My very own climate change
It is something I’ve never experienced before – indoor clouds! Well, inside sort of – actually in my workshop. The hard frost meant iced up locks and bitter working conditions today, and I might have given in, except for the strong sun, which stung my already ‘frost-burned’ face. As soon as it was high […]
Cabinet of Curiosities
Sometimes as I garden, little treasures pop up out of the soil, or occasionally they are washed down in the beck and stand out because of pattern, colour or shine. These are recent aquisitions, and will join my other rows of comforting curiosities. I have quite a collection now and I love to […]
Visit to Mima
On Thursday I visited Mima – it was a trip planned and organised by Ryedale Artworks. We all gathered and travelled by mini-bus to Middlesbrough. It was my first visit to Mima, and I have to say that on arrival I was a little underwhelmed – though we did seem to arrive at the […]
Knotty Brambles
I’ve spent time this weekend clearing brambles. The area where they grow, down the side of my workshop, used to be a hedgerow, there are ash tree stumps and it is a place I tend to leave to grow naturally wild. The geese have made nests and laid eggs there in the thick […]
Birdsong and Breakfast
The very first things for me in the New Year are birdsong and breakfast with my geese. Happy New Year to all – hope your 2014 started as happily as mine!
MBE for Ryedale Wildlife Rehabilitation
I was so pleased to see on the front of our local paper today that Jean Thorpe, who founded Ryedale Wildlife Rehabilition, is receiving the MBE for services to wildlife rescue in Yorkshire. For over thirty years Jean has been dedicated to the rescue and returning to the wild, of injured and sick animals […]