Wildlife
She who hesitates ……
I’ve just started a little sketch in slate. Having not worked slate before I made a very tentative start. The efficient and helpful Burlington Stone supplied samples of their greenish Broughton Moor stone and the grey Brathay (which is the one I’ve carved here). I have never thought of myself as a nervous carver, […]
A walk with three toes
Instead of taking my usual route I followed tracks in the snow. Overnight there had been a deep frost so I crunched as I walked. A clear, winding set of footprints marked the way. These were pheasant imprints and I took its walk. It became difficult at times, on hands and knees, in and […]
Winter Preenings
I’ve collected these feathers over the last few months. The soft, feathery gifts lie beneath the Barn Owl’s nightly perch, and show me she stayed there a while to preen. Sometimes there is just the tiniest wisp of grey fluff in evidence, and at others, treasures like these. They are so soft and light […]
Badger with gilded paws
Today – 6th October, 2015 is National Badger Day, so I’m thinking about badgers a lot, and the work of the Badger Trust the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and locally Ryedale Wildlife Rehabilitation. Though I’ve carved a number of badgers, there’s a sculpture I love by Beth Carter called Badger with gilded paws and here it […]
Thoughts of Bop
Bop is a tiny, few week old Tawny Owl chick, found by Countryside Tales blog in the road, bleeding. The injured bird was quickly taken to someone who has expertise in wildlife rehabilitation who was able to care for it. I’ve been thinking about how lucky it was that someone who has understanding and knowledge of wildlife […]
Little Snores
Found sleeping.
I didn’t know spiders ate snails
Whilst taking refuge in the greenhouse during this morning’s hail-storm, I noticed this spider. It had snails caught in its web – I’ve never seen this before – do spiders eat snails? I can’t think why the snail would wander into a web – or perhaps it was ambushed and then secured by silk. I wonder […]
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust at Appleton Mill
This is the sight that met us when we arrived at Appleton Mill Farm – a felled Ash tree. It had been taken down as it was old, in places rotten, leaning into the road and in danger of falling. I had seen earlier in the month that the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust volunteer group were meeting […]
The Year in Books – May 2015
What a wonderful reading month I’ve had. Badgerlands by Patrick Barkham. This is a stunning book, difficult to put down and I didn’t want it to end – so immediately started reading again. It is full of vividly told experiences of, and encounters with Badgers or Badger related matters and has such a sensitive, balanced tone when […]
What inspires your sculpture?
This is a question I’m asked quite a lot. Most obviously it is from my interest and love of wildlife – sometimes it is just an expression of how I see the world. I do like to know my subject and invariably in researching it, I’m diverted to look up things I didn’t understand, which lead […]