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Tag Archives: winter
Another year
A year has passed and I don’t need to look back at old blog posts to know exactly what I was doing this time last year. April is my mum’s birthday and to celebrate, every year my mum, my sister, … Continue reading
Posted in Family and friends, Growing things, Illustration
Tagged cake, children's books, childrens' book art, day without kids, Finch, garden, gardens, geraniums, gift shop, Hannah Foley, history, illustration, illustrator, maid, morning, mum's birthday, non-fiction, outings, plant sale, school, second-hand bookshop, snake's-head fritillaries, snow, stroll, tea, tea room, topiary, tudor, winter, year
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Smuggling
Last night must have been perfect for smuggling. It was pitch black when I went out on my bike first thing, only a thin slither of a moon to be seen. My bike light picked out the edges of the … Continue reading
Posted in Illustration, Wildlife
Tagged 18th century, aconite, Britain, canal, customs and excise officer, cycling, dog mercury, groundsel, Lakes, Margaret Erskine Wilson, mist, moon, red dead nettle, river, smuggling, snowdrop, UK, wild flowers, Wild Flowers of Britain Month by Month, winter, winter heliotrope
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Wreath-making
The river returned quickly to its normal level after Storm Angus and this week has been full of bright frosty days. Little Owl loved riding her bike through crispy cold leaves on the way to school this morning. They made … Continue reading
Posted in Countryside, Family and friends, Growing things
Tagged berries, carols, christmas, course, creativity, fruiting ivy, Hannah Foley, holly, illustration, illustrator, laurel, lights, pine, ribbon, stars, sunsets, tea, winter, workshop, wreath, wreath-making
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Feeling smug
I’m feeling smug. We all made it to school this morning with our clothes on the right way round, our teeth cleaned and I flossed. Impressed? I am. I’ve heard people say that the jump from one child to two … Continue reading
Posted in Illustration, Wildlife
Tagged birds, illustration, laughter, parenting, sparrows, spring, The Little Book of Garden Bird Songs, winter, wren
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Waiting
Phew – Storm Imogen has just swept by! It feels like it hasn’t stopped raining this winter. Yet, there are signs of returning life. Daffodils are out in my pots at the front of the house and the birds are … Continue reading
Posted in Countryside, Illustration
Tagged birds, daffodils, hedges, pregnancy, rain, storm imogen, third trimester, waiting, winter
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December
It is December and everyone is busy with the lead up to Christmas. In his chapter on December in his book The English Year, Steve Roud reports that, perhaps unsurprisingly, most of what we consider to be a traditional English … Continue reading
Posted in Countryside, Illustration, Wildlife
Tagged Aguilanneuf, America, banning Christmas, books, christmas, Christmas pudding, Christmas tree, Church of Scotland, Circus, climate change, conservation, countryside, Craigmillar, December, England, environment, festival, flocks, frost, Frumenty, Germany, goose, hogmanay, illustration, Little France, Long-tailed Tits, Mary Queen of Scots, Merrie England, mistletoe, new year, Old French, Puritans, Restoration, roll-up, Santa Claus, scotland, seasons, Short-eared owls, solar panels, Springwatch, Stephen Moss, steve roud, storytelling, the english year, traditions, vegetarianism, victorians, Wild Hares and Hummingbirds, winter, Yule log
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March
It is the beginning of a new month so I turn to my seasonal reading again. In his book The English Year, Steve Roud’s chapter on March is preoccupied with the weather. March “comes in like a lion and out … Continue reading
Posted in Countryside, Illustration, Wildlife
Tagged ash buds, birds, borrowed days, dunk, hares, illustration, light, mad march hares, march, migration, migratory restlessness, Mothering Sunday, spring, St Chad's Day, St David's Day, St Patrick's Day, St Winneral's Day, Stephen Moss, steve roud, sunrise, swallows, the english year, vernal equinox, warmth, Wild Hares and Hummingbirds, winter, zugunruhe
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Kingfisher sighting
Last week the most amazing thing happened. Finch and I were out for a frosty walk in the nature reserve opposite our house and we saw a kingfisher! It was bright blue against the dark wet vegetation. It flashed past … Continue reading
Posted in Countryside, Illustration
Tagged frosty, illustration, kingfisher, scotland, walk, winter
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Catkins
As the beginning of February unfolds I turn to the corresponding chapter in Stephen Moss’ book Wild Hares and Hummingbirds. The countryside surrounding his home on the Somerset Levels is shrouded in low mists and dripping with damp. He describes … Continue reading
Posted in Illustration, Wildlife
Tagged catkins, creme egg, hazel, illustration, robin, rooks, roosting, silver birch, song thrush, sparrows, spring, stpehen moss, Wild Hares and Hummingbirds, winter
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Wild Hares and Hummingbirds
The sparrows have found our feeders! Granted it took minus temperatures for them to venture into our exposed garden but it’s a start. The hills behind our house were thick with snow this weekend. The trees wore strips of snow … Continue reading
Posted in Countryside, Wildlife
Tagged bird feeders, birds, blackthorn, children, church yards, gilbert white, gold crest, great tit, illustration, January, landscape, Mark, nature, Random House, seasonality, simplicity, skein, small birds, snow, Somerset, somerset levels, sparrows, Stephen Moss, The Natural History of Selbourne, Wild Hares and Hummingbirds, winter, yews
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