It was good to catch up with a friend today over coffee and a rhubarb and elderflower tart. We took in a little culture at the Victoria at gallery, spent time in the art shop equipping her with a few items for sketching whilst she is holidaying, caught up on the news.
Back at home the sunny sky encouraged me outside again, to re-pot some shrubs that had outgrown their present containers, to turn over the salad bed near the back door, whilst one of the robin pair watched me attentively for interesting morsels turned up by the fork. From time to time sleet showers drove me indoors, but the songs of the birds and the spreading patches of snowdrops were too appealing to resist and I ventured out for a few more minutes.
Indoors the onion seeds have germinated, sending out tiny green shoots, and the potato tubers are beginning to sprout on the safety of the spare bed. Soon the urgency of spring will be irresistible and these lazy perfect days will give way to the bustle of cultivating. But for now life seems to be filled with the simple pleasures.
Yesterday was spent in the company of birds at the Wildlife and Wetlands Trust centre at Slimbridge. I made a few sketches whilst I could feel my fingers…
This is my new journal-I have filled the last one and was so thrilled with the enjoyment I have had from it, I immediately began again in a new one.
Much time was spent with the adorable , endangered Nenes (Hawaiian geese), the most delightful birds with curious feathering on their necks that is like fur. Or the pile of velvet or chenille.
They are still seriously endangered, although numbers are increasing and many have been reintroduced to Hawaii from the captive breeding programme here at Slimbridge.
I resorted to taking photos when I could no longer feel my hands, but with gloves on I can’t say I was particularly pleased with anything much I took. It is curious, but when I was drawing I was able to ignore how cold I felt for much longer. Probably explains why it took me a couple of hours when I got home to feel properly warm again!
When we were in North Devon last weekend we drove past a small farm where a few chickens were scratching about on the verge at the side of the road. They were attended by a gorgeous bantam cockerel who obligingly posed for some photographs. This is he.
Watercolour pencil used dry in my journal. The light is so poor this morning I will try to re-post later if the cloud lifts.
Possibly the most welcome sight of the year-the first snowdrop. It has a few friends…
…and soon there will be a whole snowdrop party. Spring is coming…listen for it.
We spent the weekend in North Devon and at one point found ourselves on the beach at Welcombe Mouth. It was cold, the wind blowing down from the Arctic, and very few people were about. What a joy to be in a place so peaceful.
The light had a gun-metal quality, reflecting the coldness of the last day of January.
If you could see that far, looking due west from Welcombe would give you uninterrupted views of Newfoundland and Labrador. Hello Canada.
