Seeking Inspiration

The great British summer is continuing with rain, thunder and lightening and strong winds. Looking around at gardens in other villages ours looks very sad, battered by the rain and seasonally behind it seems - so much for living on the Mendips.

Although the garden is small and plain I chose plants that I hoped would provide me with subjects to photograph throughout the summer - colorful, interesting forms and variety but its mostly green and rain sodden. OK I'm being a bit gloomy here, there has been some beautiful light and clouds, but they are so fleeting by the time I've gathered the camera bag and got in the car to drive out somewhere we are back in the rain again.

So what is the point of writing this today, well I'm desperate to find a totally absorbing project to commit to photographically. Having a new dog in the family has provided another doggie photo collection, you can see the happy bunch here. Fellow dog lovers will be interested in my never ending stream of dog photos but there has to be more. So I'm floundering, my first love is the landscape and country ways of life but I need the proverbial kick in the butt to move on to pastures new.

Rain, Rain

Well,its Glastonbury Festival this weekend so its inevitable that there would be rain - lots of it, as there has been this afternoon and evening. Equally inevitable are the television pictures of mud plastered festival goers enjoying themselves.

Rosie, has been with us now for a month and has settled in really well. Apart from some tummy upsets she has been no trouble at all. She is showing signs of feeling her feet a little now though and is not quite so responsive as when she first arrived. Time to do some really consistent training I think as she is just at the age where she could become quite a delinquent.

Photographically, this is a dead time for me, I'm uninspired and lacking creativity, really need something to kick start me. Book projects, print sales, commissioned work - none of these hold the slightest attraction at the moment, it actually feels burdensome to think about.

Goldfinches at last !!

Success with attracting Goldfinches has finally arrived following placing a feeder in the front garden, such a thrill to see them and they were actually quite bold. The Siskins are also very busy on all feeders, especially the black Niger Seed. I managed a few photos but only from inside the house and although the camera is at the ready I haven't seen them since.

Seasonal Change ?

After the warm, springlike weather of last week the weekend weather became quite wintery, with a couple of inches of snow on Sunday morning. Its started to fall following a clap of thunder and lightening flash at about 6 am on Sunday morning and by 8 am the Sun was shining on the crisp layer that now extended from the Mendips right across the Levels to Glastonbury and beyond. I walked at Deer Leap, typically, the wind was biting and the snow was crisp. The dogs always love snow, it makes them very playful, rolling and snuffling in it, catching snowballs and generally chasing each other around.

There was some talk in the news of this weather being yet another indicator of the seasonal changes brought about by global warming. However, Edith Holden's Diary of an Edwardian Country Lady written on 1906, records snow even later in April, accompanied by similar bitterly cold winds.

The Elusive Goldfinch

The birds coming into the feeders hanging on the patio have been a great source of pleasure throughout the winter, though the variety hasn't been great. Generally there are Blue Tits, Great Tits, Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Sparrows, Starlings, Robins, the occasional Blackbird, and newcomers Siskin and Lesser Red Poll. The latter two have appeared since adding the black niger seed feeder. I had hoped that this would also attract Goldfinches but so far, after a week there is no sign of them, this is quite disappointing but I'm ever hopeful.

The results of the 2008 RSPB garden bird survey are here

Spring at Last

After a long and dismal winter it seemed like spring had come at last, yesterday was the warmest day of the year so far and a respite from the strong biting winds of late. The woods are full of the delicate little Wood Anenome and the first Bluebells are beginning to flower, Primroses have been in flower for weeks and violets too, but its been so cold and windy I've not had any inclination to take any photos. This is normally my favorite time of year but it actually feels like it has just passed me by.
I'm taking a trip to the Quantocks at the weekend, looking for inspiration but the forecast is for wintery weather again.

A Quick Recap

The first two months of this year have just gone into a blur, it hasn't been the happiest start culminating in the loss of Fly on 26th February. My brave, feisty friend finally lost her fight against chronic renal failure 8 months after diagnosis. She had a full and happy life despite being handicapped by only having 3 legs. She deserves more than a few lines in a blog so I don't intend writing anymore here, other than to say she has left a huge gap in my life but she will always be in my heart.