The garden at Midsummer

I wandered round my garden today, two days before midsummer. It's so lush and green - fecund; now there's a word that sums up Mother Earth at this time of year

Here are cool mosses deep . . .

Here are cool mosses deep,

And thro' the moss the ivies creep,

And in the stream the long-leaved flowers weep,

And from the craggy ledge the poppy hangs in sleep...

From The Lotus-eaters by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Forest walk

These were taken on a walk on the Ashdown Forest that we call 'The Stream'.

These are Common Spotted Orchids - so beautifully delicate - if you just glanced at them you'd miss those gorgeous markings

Bark is so complicated and interesting - another of Mother Earth's wonders

The lushness of early summer - a carpet of ferns and mix of trees

Nature ALWAYS gets the colours right!

Young crone

There are resident herons on a nearby reservoir and each year they re-visit their nests to bring the next generation into the world. Unfortunately I was unable to get nearer and don't have the long camera lens required to get a better photo of this already large chick waiting for its mother to bring it food.

Heron is a sacred bird and was said to be the first bird to greet the sunrise and was able to predict storms. Three herons (or cranes) protect the entrances to Annwn, the Underworld. Heron is also associated with the Cailleach, the crone or hag, and as such is a bird of old age and longevity.

Herons dance in circles which mimic the movement of the sun.

umbellifer

Tried my hand at a little botanical study! I had no idea what this was when I picked it at the edge of a field planted with rape but when I got home and consulted my wild flower guide I found it's a Thorow-wax. Strange name but fascinating plant. It's an umbellifer which is part of the carrot family.

Still trying to get the hang of writing in my journal with the dip pen!

Sloe Berries

The sloe bushes at the bottom of the field are absolutely laden with berries this year. The first time I walked past I thought I must take a bag and collect some before someone else does! But the next day I had a closer look and they're nowhere near ripe enough to pick yet so I just picked a small branch so I could draw them. It's said the best time to pick the sloes is just after the first frost so I'll be lurking with my carrier bag in the wee small hours one day soon.

Winter Fungus

Growing on the side of one of my wooden barrel planters. We've had so much rain this year the whole character of my garden seems to be changing.

Dead Leaves

Beech Tree

The beech tree in our garden in its full flush of autumn beauty. After the huge storm we had in 1987, while we were clearing and logging all the fallen pine trees in the garden, we found a tiny beech shoot just by the side of the log pile we were making. We were very careful not to disturb it or cover it with logs and this is what we got for our care.

Actually, I think this is out of focus - that or my glasses are dirty :-)

Early morning cobwebs

Cobwebs caught early in the morning with the dew still on them

Branches

Squirrel Leftovers

Everything in my garden gets covered in pine cone leftovers after the squirrels have nibbled them. This is an old wooden table which lives right under one of the pine trees.

bleached leaf

seed launch

wheatfield

Taken from a very low angle - almost ground level.

roses

This is one of my favourite roses in the garden. It has the most amazing scent and grows in a pot near my back door. This year it's grown one long stalk to a huge height which makes it difficult to support and it's very vulnerable. I don't think it's going to survive my husband's hedge cutting exercise this weekend!

I held back from posting this until today - the rose did survive!!

spider's web

Taken first thing this morning when the sun was just coming up and the night dew was still clinging to the spiders' webs. They looked like lots of tiny fairy hammocks!

heathland colours

I picked these few heathers and grasses on the Ashdown Forest at the weekend. The colours are soft golds and greens mixed with vivid heathers and as I wandered along I thought how I could translate these into a tapestry piece.

So today I translated this into paint in my sketchbook so I can start finding yarns and thinking about composition. Unfortunately the photograph of the grass and heather doesn't show up the vibrance of some of the colours properly. Put that down to lack of photographic ability!!

spires

My very own Olympic torches!

beautiful lichen

Pretty lichen on my garden seat. Much too nice to remove!