Garden
Nobles of the Woods
This holly tree has the most beautiful pimpled bark. Clusters of nodules and wrinkles which I think tell of its age. Nature writer Roger Deakin describes the burrs and bumps on trees as being “like pearls in oysters”. They’re fascinating – some looking almost like fruit. Are these from insects, or environmental pollution – […]
A Loveliness of Ladybirds
As a result of the clocks going back I discover that the collective name for Ladybirds (Ladybugs, Ladybeetles) is a Loveliness. A Loveliness I’m sure I should have known this, it seems so obvious now! And perfect! I clambered up into the rafters at the workshop to alter the clock hands, back one […]
A vole scurries for cover
The burnished copper tones in the Owl and Oak Leaves stone roundel express themselves magically – each time I move the inlay shines, glimmers and glows a myriad of metalic pinks, gleaming reds and rich shimmering browns. It will be lovely to see the emphasis change as the scene weathers and softens, time enhanced […]
North Yorkshire Turtle Dove Project
The beautiful Turtle Dove is our smallest European dove. This tiny power house of a bird flies 7000 miles to reach North Yorkshire from Mali in Africa each spring. Unfortunately Turtle Doves are in big trouble; their population has declined in both the UK and Europe to such an extent there may now […]
Sun’s Time
We lost an hour, and then nearly another putting all the clocks, timers and dials to the right spot. It is a funny shift we’ve imposed on ourselves! It does however seem to have brought much needed sunshine and a bit of warmth. I’ve carved this little stone sundial in a simple column shape, […]
Spring Welcome
Yesterday it said on my calendar Spring Begins – hurrah! Happy Springtime everyone
Cadeby Stem Vase
I’m going ahead anyway with thoughts of spring – it has turned distinctly cold with bitter wind here after half a day of warming sunshine earlier in the week. Birdsong encourages my belief that the seasons are shifting! I’ve been making some Cadeby vases, so at least some uplifting spring stems can be brought […]
A pot for a baby Pilea
I’ve just bought myself one of these sweet little plants – its a Pilea Peperomioides (or you may know it by its other names Chinese Money Plant, or Pancake Plant). It has rather squishy, rubbery leaves, growing on vigorous plump stems. Here it is in one of my stone pots. It is going join […]
The Yews are filled with birds
I’ve just watched Goldcrest, but Blackbirds, Thrushes, Fieldfare and Greenfinches are turning up too. They’re stripping the Yew Tree of its fruits. Unlike many conifers, the common yew does not actually bear its seeds in a cone. Instead each seed is enclosed in a red, fleshy, berry-like structure known as an aril, which is […]
Oaks and Acorns
About this time last year I collected acorns, eight in total, and planted them in pots. For a number of reasons, along with natural withering and rot, I let two dry out during the summer beyond saving, and the geese nibbled three which didn’t survive, I have only two oak saplings left. They’re doing […]