First Day of Spring and a Total Eclipse of the Sun...

 As all we crafters know, one should never throw anything away! I managed to find these eclipse shades last used in 1999 and tried to get a shot through them as my basic digi camera could not cope with the sun - it was not very successful.  However we were lucky with the weather, the clear sky dimmed eerily and the gulls seemed rather confused, so on the First Day of Spring, International Happiness Day, and Solar Eclipse Day I was happy with that!
 

 

 And we were lucky as just as the shadow of the moon was moving away from the sun the clouds drifted over.  Looking forward to 2026!!!!!

Down by the Riverside

There's much to do in the house and in the garden but I've been itching to go walking in the fields since the good weather arrived at the weekend.  So I skived off for an hour or so this afternoon.  The river banks have been "tidied up" by the council in this field, as you can tell by the piles of wood chippings left at regular intervals.  This has rather spoiled the footpath as although you can't see in this photo, the ugly industrial buildings and council yards along the opposite bank are much in evidence now they are no longer screened by trees and undergrowth.

These three little chaps were certainly on a mission to get from A to B as quickly as possible!  I kept overtaking them as they dallied now and then in the shallows, but in next to no time they were there again paddling away as fast as they could. 

There's nothing as spring-like and sunshiny as a Celandine - they are like little candles lighting up the hedgerows.

I love to see a ploughed field all ready for planting.  I wonder what will grow here this year.

You know its a good day when you can see the moon lit up by the sun.  Its been evident in the daytime sky for the past three days.

And the sky has been that intense blue you only get in the colder months of the year.  Worth a little frost at night don't you think!

For the rest of the week I've promised myself I'll spend all the time I can tidying up the ravages of the winter and recent storms in the garden but I'm glad I couldn't resist the call of the fields today.

And I have been a bit productive too.  These little corsage brooches I made with Mothers Day in mind.  I found the pattern in Nicki Trench's book Crochet with Flowers.  If you like Nicki's patterns as much as I do you might be interested to know she has recently started a Crochet Club.  I thought we would be getting an exclusive pattern every month and special offers on yarn etc but today I was delighted to find out we will be receiving the yarn to make this month's pattern too - a small corsage similar to this one.  There's still time to join and get the pattern and yarn yourself if you are quick.  :)

Signs of Springing?

OK, I admit it - I'm a Radio 4 listener - I have it on permanently almost 24/7 - and all week there has been talk of early signs of Spring, even though its officially still winter.  In fact listeners were this morning invited to message, tweet or whatever you will signs from their own gardens.  Anyway, unable to join in myself as I was working, I did get up a bit earlier and went to have a look - with my camera.

 

Admittedly the Jasmine was in flower, there were catkins on my cobnut bushes and there was one rose on my David Austin bush (probably the last rose of last summer not the first of next!)

..... but looking back at previous years' photos, I don't think we are much more forward than usual.  There is sign of blossom bud on the cherry tree at the bottom of the garden but this is always the first of the year to burst forth.

There are still berries on the Ivy - which the birds might yet need as it was March before the big freeze came last year.

However, on my way down the hill to work I spied these daffodils in a neighbour's driveway, much farther forward than those in our garden.  Just shows what an effect altitude has. 

Yet on the radio I hear stories of snowdrops and daffs in flower already and even butterflies in flight (though I'm sure those must be hibernaters waking in a spot of warmth).  Perhaps its all happening 'down south'!

There is one sign of Spring I'm aware of though..... the birds are singing again!

The good old summer time..... UK style!

Wednesday was beautiful - a perfect summer's day.  I took the opportunity to walk through the fields and by the river.  The fields are ready for the hay harvest - full of buttercups and flowering grasses.  The river is in flower too.

In the evening we decided to walk by a local reservoir (The Alwen).  The sun was low in the sky and the shadows long.

The lovely sunset boded well for the following day.

British farmers know they must "make hay while the sun shines" and as we drove home there were tractors pulling hay wagons around almost every bend.

However, true to form we woke on Thursday to leaden skies and a steady downpour that lasted the whole day.  The garden is soggy and dripping but its good for the veg and the field crops.  I do hope all the cut hay was safely gathered in.

And the wet day gave me a chance to get my rather neglected stamps out.  I'm ashamed to say there are a number of sets that have hardly seen ink since their purchase.  I finished 12 covered notepads for my stall at the next fair and felt much better about them.

Today is a better day, though the sun has stayed stubbornly hidden behind the clouds.  We can but hope for a sunny weekend.

Edit:  For Simone, I made a little "how to make" for these pads here some time ago.  Don't know if the pads are still available though as when I revisited Tesco to buy some more they had been reduced to 10p each - so I bought the lot!!!! :o)

Two Types of Spring

A week ago we went to walk in the snow on nearby hills again.  This time we went to a beautiful area called "The Shelf" locally.  We found huge frozen drifts, high walls of snow on roadsides cleared by snowploughs, and beautiful ice sculptures shaped by the bitter the winds we've been experiencing over the last few weeks.  Although much of the lying snow has now disappeared these giant piles of ice will need lots of sunshine to melt completely, and that's not in the immediate forecast for us.  The surrounding hills are still showing a patchwork of brown, green and white today.

This weekend however we found time to search out signs of Spring in the Vale.  After my work shift we bought chips and set off down the lanes to find a pretty place to eat them.  There have been sad reports on the local news of hundreds of farm animals - sheep and lambs, cattle and even horses being lost during the blizzards, buried in snow drifts and starving in fields farmers could not reach at the height of the snowstorms.  And I can only shudder to think of the wildlife that has died.  But Saturday seemed to be the real first day of Spring with the sun feeling almost warm where there was shelter from the wind.

And what could be more spring-like than catkins, celandines, fields full of lambs and busy rookeries?  So at last we are looking forward to warmer weather and an end to those bitter easterly winds. 

A few of my faithful followers have mentioned that little white car cropping up in my photos recently.  Yes, it is a Morris Minor of 1960s vintage - a recent acquisition and my son's new pride and joy.  Goes with his mid-20th century style image don't you think?

Disappointment!

We were all very disappointed when our first vintage and craft fair of the season had to be cancelled on Saturday due to this.....................












and this........

But don't worry, this is not my gateway!  We went out in the car last evening to see the white-out that arrived here in the UK on Friday.  Some local roads, including the main A5, are still closed today and I've got an unexpected day off work.

The fair has been rearranged now to 27th April - plenty of time to rethink my stock.  I'd put far too much into my Easter basket - but no problem, I'll keep it all for next year and have a head start then.

 

I crocheted these hanging eggs and decorated them with buttons, braid, crochet and felt flowers and hung them on the twisted willow a friend kindly cut from her tree for me.  Rather tempting for the cats though!

And I have lots of things that will be just as appropriate for an April fair - like these scented hearts cut from old embroidered linens I've been collecting.

And the hair clips I've made using my new Boutique Accessories stamps and dies.

So now I'm off to find new inspiration in my files and on Pinterest - with a new springtime theme.  Try to keep warm everyone - apparently there's more to come!

Stormy Weather

I did want to walk by the river today as I'm looking for the perfect fallen branch to paint white and use as a Christmas tree.  You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find just the right shape and size.  However when I saw how angry the river was I decided not to risk crossing the bridge and came  home to get on with some more cereal box tree decorations instead.  I got out my Nestabilities hearts and stars and added in some Wplus9 die cuts and stamps, old sheet music, kraft cardstock - plus a few rhinestones coloured with my Copics.

I do hope the little bridge survives as its been there as long as I can remember and probably long before that too.  I'll have to visit again tomorrow to make sure its still there.


I'm not complaining about my aborted walk as many houses have been flooded in our small town today.  You can see from the two photos how the river has swollen in the night.  I've never seen the water as high as this before and the usually quiet and slow flowing river I photographed in Spring  has turned nasty, flooded the housing estate you can see in the distance, the park and fields around. These poor sheep have almost been marooned in a small space at the bottom of their field.

Luckily I live in the old part of the town near the church which was built on top of a hill - there are some advantages to living on higher ground even if I do complain about toiling up and down with my shopping.  Hopefully the river won't rise any further tonight - though there is a worry about more water pouring off the hills that surround us.

Supplies: Wplus9 Folkart Flurries stamp set, Seasonal Sentiments die collection, Nestabilities basic hearts and basic stars

May Memorised

Another month has gone by and I've put together my memories of May.  I've been using Carina Gardner's Design a Year digital kit templates for this project but changing the backgrounds to something more to my taste.  This month I've discovered some beautiful digit kits by Anna Aspnes at Oscraps.  Most of the elements I've used here are from Artplay Palette Jardinier. 

It seems the lovely weather we've been enjoying has changed and its clouded over this morning.  Sharp showers are forecast down south and I would like a couple of downpours for my garden too - hopefully the rain will arrive here tonight.  Last Sunday however we were still enjoying the heat wave.  We went up on the moors to cool down and sat in the heather for a while listening to the skylarks.

I don't belieeeeeeeve it!

Today leaden skies, blizzards on the hill, freezing snow, sleet and rain blowning horizontally across the fields and streets.  Last week blossom, butterflies, birdsong and paddling in the river with little fish.  That's British weather for you! 

Oh Spring, where have you gone?  Time for a treat I think..... waffles, greek yogurt and bottled cherry plums from last year's garden harvest.

Gloomy November?

Another month and another charming image from Children Month by Month.  We don't often have foggy weather here - except when the clouds are low on the hills and we have to travel through them.  However it really doesn't seem like November - I can still walk out without a coat and the garden really doesn't know what season it is......

The hollies think its already the festive season and are covered in bright red berries.........

but underneath there are fragrant pink sweet peas still flowering!

The leaves on the young maple are coloured ready to drop.............

but there are still alpine strawberries everywhere if you look carefully - and still some flowers!

But there's no escaping the long shadows mid afternoon and dusk by teatime when lights need switching on and the curtains have to be drawn.  Oh well, I'll just enjoy the last signs of summer and get on with my Christmas crafting!