the patchwork dress

moonchasing

A couple of weeks ago, I was driving home from work when I saw the most incredible full moon rising over the hills behind Balloch.  It was one of those moons that seem larger than usual, and appearing just before twilight, it had the most amazing radiance.

I'd just read on someone's blog (was it here?) about just doing one thing out of your daily routine can bring something  to your life, so decided to drive home an alternate route along the back roads, where I could pull over easily and take a photo of the moon rising over the Campsies.  Unfortunately the image doesn't really capture what I was seeing, but as I perched the camera on a fencepost a passing cyclist, who was sharing the special atmosphere of that night shouted out "You're Moonchasing!".

I was quite surprised by his observation, but also relished this term - as that was exactly what I was doing. I felt entranced by the moon, that I had to pull off my main route and focus on its emergence into our evening sky. 

This week heralds a new moon on Thursday, the clocks go forward next weekend... a time for new beginnings and light nights.  Feels as if I could do with some 'new beginnings'.  I spring cleaned and saged the house in preparation yesterday.  I've been through all my photographs and thinking of making some new cards.  What will you focus on?

Speaking of bloggy influences and connections - thank you to everyone who has left great comments in recent weeks, and for continuing to read my blog (despite the slow posting of entries!).  

A week or so ago I got a call from my cousin who is a production buyer for film & tv.  She was keen to get her hands on some soft toys, like a doll, that she could use in a commercial asap.  Having done allnighters of this sort in the past, I immediately felt stressed about taking this on, then the penny dropped - I know a wealth of bloggers and creative sites like Folksy where she may be able to get something that she wanted.  In the end I put her in touch with Ginny ("She's my blogfriend" I explained.  "I'm not even sure I know what a blogfriend is!" replied my cousin.)  

Well, a blogfriend, I've decided, is just that.  Someone who serendipitously recommends, gives a hint, supports your blog even when you don't post for days, or comes up with the goods... just in the nick of time.

making tracks

Waking yesterday, everything was under a thin layer of snow.  I picked up my camera and decided to go for a walk up the lane.  It was that proper stillness you get after snow, no wind or breeze, and all sound slightly deadened.

I was struck by the number of tracks in the snow, leaving a history of who had been past in the hours before.  A person with their dog, a cat had trotted under that hedgerow.

In the woods, some rabbits had crossed by earlier...

...round the base of this tree...

..and through into next door's field.  They are usually long gone before humans turn up.

Along the path a little, some birds had got together and formed one big bird print - aha! trying to put me off the trail!

Further up the hill I could see where one or two foxes had passed.  One had had a successful kill, the tell-tale drops of fresh blood (a shrew sized amount perhaps) on the snow.  

Another observation was looking across to woodland, normally a dense mass of browns and blacks - now each tree was framed against white where snow lay on the ground behind it.  The monochrome palette of patchwork and landscape makes it all very sketchable.

count the birdy

24-25 January 2009

Are there 2 robins in this picture, or have I got double vision from doing the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch?

You'd need stop-frame vision to count those bluetits, they flit around so quickly.

Have you done yours?

she-holly

I felt inspired to take a photograph of the holly bush in my garden as my solstice photograph.  This bush was in berry when we moved to the cottage last year, and the berries stayed on and lasted right through to the summer.  There only seemed to be one month or so when they weren't as prolific.  

The birds love this bush.  They use it as cover, darting to the bird table and returning to the bush with their food to eat in safety.  This year it has grown out considerably.  It feels like a friend in the garden.

As mentioned before I don't know a lot about gardening or species of plants, but this holly is not spikey - it's variegated although there are the odd branches with purely dark green leaves on.  So I always think of it as a female bush (gardeners correct me, but perhaps with some male non variegated bits?).

I looked up Holly in "The Illustrated Plant Lore" by Josephine Addison.  It's a book I picked up in a secondhand shop years ago.  It literally seemed to jump out at me, although I had no particular desire for it at the time, it has been so useful and interesting to look up 'plant meanings' and folklore.

We're all familiar with the tradition of decoration either with the symbol or plant, which Addison mentions comes from the Roman's feast of Saturn 17-19 December.  This was later adopted by the church, and she goes on to say that it was a symbol of welcome at a time when people believed in fairies and elves. (Now not excluded!).  A symbol of eternal life.  A tree near the house was to protect against thunder and lightning, demons, witches and the Evil Eye.

She also mentions that people believed the prickly male holly is lucky for men, and the variegated she-holly for women.  Nine holly leaves from the variegated bush could be used as love divination, gathered at midnight on a Friday and placed in a 3 cornered handkerchief, which was then tied with 9 knots and concealed under the pillow before going to bed.  Absolute silence was necessary from the time of gathering until dawn.

The tales and superstitions around holly go on, but if you are a believer in angel or master numbers, this photograph happens to be the 6666th taken on my camera!

end of a cycle

Tomorrow is the solstice.  It's the end of another solar year.  Another year of growth & decay in nature. Looking forward to return of the light, growth, warmth and a sun arc-ing higher and higher in the sky.

foraging for food

This morning woke up to a smattering of snow.  The garden was covered in tiny footprints of visitors looking for breakfast.

Bit of a Jackson Pollock scenario around the main 'bird feeding station'.

The part of the garden where the robin and blackbird like to hang out.  I fancy these are their hop-prints as they inspected the area for grub, perhaps side by side, rather like Pooh and Piglet.

Then to my own trek in the snow... We are very lucky to have France Farm within walking distance of the house.  Every Friday they hold a veg sale which coincides with the very popular coffee morning at the village hall, where they additionally hold a small craft fair every week.  I haven't managed to penetrate the craft fair yet, due to an already high turnout in card makers, but this morning enjoyed a jaunt across the road to get my veg.  Thank goodness they do birdfood, veggies, kissletoe, tablet and macaroons... all a stone, or potato's throw away.  Brilliant.  That's the household fed.

I'm posting in haste as to spend the rest of the day making things for the Christmas craft fair at Killearn tomorrow 10am-1pm.  Had I been more organised I was planning to put more bits in my etsy shop, but makes more sense to do it after tomorrow as all my eco-cards and tags are one-off.  Once they are gone, they are gone.  So by Monday there should be some bits in the shop - probably only available to UK buyers in these days that are left.  Over the weekend I intend to post about my card swap with Melissa, and keep my advent posting going!

Hope you have a great weekend.

Up to trix

I'm sure by now you are probably fed up seeing photos from my walk - but the light was so lovely yesterday afternoon.

Autumn browns and golds with strong black shadows. A poem something like this was coming into my head..

mushrooms and leaf mould
shadows long
and autumn gold

I did this walk both days over the weekend. Today my visitor and I were accompanied by the local farm dog, called Trixie... and Tricksy she is too, with a capital T, as she decides to adopt whoever she sees walking past who might entertain her with a walk up the lane, with some stick throwing to boot.

With that determined fascination that only an elderly border collie can maintain.. she looks at the stick no matter where you are until you reach it, but the eyes don't go off.. until it's thrown. The first time she accompanied us, I assumed, being human, that I had the superior brain, and we would entertain her whim until we got to the gate and then we'd 'lose' her. However when we got to the gate and with firm voices said "NO!" (as in 'you can't go up the hill, there's livestock, and we don't own you') she just pushed her head under the fence and with a bit of a belly flop, emerged stick and all, trotting merrily up the path ahead, with us realising we had been duped!

So now we have become accustomed to her company should she feel like a walk. One day I noticed a couple coming up the lane who Trixie had adopted. I smiled at them and asked "Has she followed you?". "Not our dog!" replied the lady, in an attempt to disown the single-minded collie. Trixie had done her trick and gone under the gate again, when she realised that the couple had not intended climbing the path, and had continued up the lane.

Moments later I heard a bark, and she scampered after them, stick in mouth - as if to say "YOU are going the wrong way!"

I sometimes worry when I see other dog walkers that she might embarrass us with some inappropriate doggy behaviour, but she has always been courteous - as long as the visiting dog knows this is her hill. She probably says as she passes "look at these waif humans I have adopted", but as we near home, she trots off - our mutual duties done. Yesterday I saw her sitting under a neighbour's trampoline as the child and ball bounced ontop. Her face was delight, tongue lolling to one side, at the indentations that came and went above her head.

moments:6:an autumn walk

thank you so much for your thoughtful comments and emails over the last couple of days. It makes such a difference in the day to have these communications and messages in the inbox, it really brightens it and makes a positive connection. Hurrah!

I've enjoyed being able to get back into blogging just these past few days... and hope it may continue!
These are some 'moments' from a brief walk on Sunday just up the lane.

These hogweed heads remind me of the work of Angie Lewin - very popular at the moment. Speaking of hogs and hedges... we had a welcome visitor in the garden for a couple of weeks - a very large hedgehog! I enjoyed watching it snuffle around the lawn under the bird table for food, and even succumbed to buying it some hedgehog treats - which are supposedly good for their teeth. I watched as 'he' crunched away vigorously on them - they proved very popular. But since I put some out on Saturday night he hasn't returned. Perhaps he has moved on before hibernating, just gleaning in the local area. So if you see him with his red spotted hankie slung over his shoulder, full of hedgehog treats and brambles like this..

...send him my love!

vroom with a view

after a day when your head hardly lifts from the computer screen, and weeks and weeks of rain - what a lovely view on the drive home. The small flash of light to the left is Loch Lomond, with Ben Lomond the largest mountain to its right.

Queen's View, 'the Whangie' between Milngavie/Drymen.

therapy

A moment when we saw the evening sun in the garden this last week! It's been raining on and off - mostly on for what seems like weeks now... so the other evening when I got in brain dead from staring at a computer all day, it was so therapeutic to get my hands in the earth and do a bit of repotting.

I like the fact that you can do lots of little short tasks in the garden that feel as if you are accomplishing something. I'd been looking everywhere for really plain simple cheap pots to put my sunflowers into, as the plan is to train them up one wall in the garden. Eventually I bought these black pots online for the magnificent cost of 84p each or something. It actually cost more in postage to send them. But weighing up the driving around looking for things, with the time factor - it was the simplest thing to do, and the pots arrived the day after I'd ordered - very efficiently!

here are 'the girls' all lined up!...

Another online purchase was by N. He noticed there were a lot of wasps, attracted to one particular hedge in the garden, but very close to the composter. He'd read about this device that you can hang in the garden that deters them. Wasps are (apparently) very territorial and they think this looks like a wasp's nest, and will not invade another wasp territory.

So he thought he would try it as an experiment. Needless to say, that evening the bush was full of wasps merrily buzzing around completely oblivious to the odd looking thing the humans had hung in the tree!

Looking forward to a mini-crop of tomatoes, courgettes, herbs and lettuce which are all underway... The other night we found a wild strawberry growing in the corner of the garden - which was just plump and ripe for picking. It tasted fresh and fragrant - a subtler taste than a supermarket strawberry, with plenty of water in it... no wonder after these rains!