February 2023 Sketchbook & Journal Here’s my sketchbook pages and notes from the (thankfully) shortest month of the year. I tend to think of February as a bit of a non-month, really. A funny little insert month between proper winter and proper spring. But it is only actually two days shorter than other months, so …
January 2023 Sketchbook & Journal Thank you for starting off 2023 with me! Here’s my sketchbook pages and notes from the first month of the year. On Hogmanay, I commented to Ross that if Trix knew all she was expected to achieve this coming year, she might be a little overwhelmed. Crawling, teeth, talking, walking, …
December Review: Snow, Warmth, Magic My final review blog of the year… FIRST SNOW Early December, and the first snowfall of the winter came. There’s nothing more simultaneously peaceful and thrilling than opening the curtains to a blanket of unexpected snow. The startling whiteness! The stillness, the sparkle, the way it turns-upside-down all your plans …
February Review: Stormy but sweet This is how February went: snowdrops, muddy puddles, blackbird, pheasant, snowdrops. All with a background of wind. Outside, February was stormy. Dudley! Eunice! Franklin! More trees down, more powercuts. We found a whole nest, perfectly formed and still intact, on the ground. Beautifully arranged sticks and little fluffy white feathers. …
Lockdown Wildflowers: How I Made My Biggest Drawing Yet I’ve recently finished my biggest, slowest, most favourite drawing ever. Here’s a little summary of how it came about: Lockdown 2020. Sometimes I forget how extreme it was and then I remember a detail – like there being chains round the gates of play parks, or …
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January Review: Slow, Sleepy, Sleepless I always look forward to January. It seems like it has so much potential. But somehow it never quite goes to plan. I like the idea of January being a clean slate. A fresh, cold start. There seems to be so much to like about January. Bright, chilly mornings; good …
Bird of the Month December: Fieldfare My very last bird of the month! And a stunning final entry, I think. Our gorgeous winter visitor, the fieldfare. The reason I chose the fieldfare for December is very simple – at the beginning of the month, I was driving home in the golden early afternoon winter sunshine …
My bird of the month for February is the mute swan. Here’s why: Swans have been really visible this month. At the start of the month the pond near us, at Tweedbank, was frozen solid and the swans stood awkwardly on top of the ice. I always think swans look funny standing. They are so …
This year I am going to feature a ‘Bird of the Month’ on the blog as the year goes by. This is the first in the series. My bird of the month for January is the heron. It took me all month to decide. Then on Monday I was walking down by the river and …
[This year I have decided to study two big Horse Chestnut trees near our house. This is Part 2 of my sketchbook-learnings.] February was hostile. Storms everywhere, wet almost every day, icy winds. Not the ideal weather for visiting trees with the baby. We did manage a few trips along to check up on our …
