I am, of course, talking about the bullfinch. There are apparently 190,000 breeding pairs of these critters in the UK and they are undoubtedly a pretty special species of finch. On a very long (20km!) walk in the cold and the rain a few weeks ago, my partner and I spotted a male and femaleContinue reading “The bull of all finches”
Tag Archives: Painting
A hopeful sign of spring
I’ve been enjoying updating everyone about my ‘wild’ undertakings over the past few weeks but I realise it’s been a while since I’ve done a bigger post. So say hello to a piece I really enjoyed creating last week: A hopeful sign of spring. I know we’re still, to some extent, in the throes ofContinue reading “A hopeful sign of spring”
A winter visitor
The winter visitor I’m going to write about today is the fieldfare. I first spotted a group of fieldfares towards the end of last year. I heard them before I saw them. It was a very odd noise and I wondered what on earth I was listening to. The British Trust for Ornithology describes theContinue reading “A winter visitor”
Regulus regulus
I recently learnt an interesting fact. I sometimes joke with my friends that when I learn something potentially dubious, I’ve learnt a myth. I think we may even have laughed about this before ‘fake news’ started becoming the way of describing such pieces of information. In any case, I think this interesting fact is undoubtedlyContinue reading “Regulus regulus”
Two Malhams
In this post, I want to introduce you to a beautiful place. It’s called Malham Cove. For those of you from Barlick and around, you’ll probably already know about this Yorkshire Dales icon. For anyone else, it’s a highly recommended place to visit if you ever find yourself around the Dales in a post-Covid world!Continue reading “Two Malhams”
A long walk (or ‘wawk’)
Ages and ages ago, my partner and I decided that we’d walk to Stratford-upon-Avon at some point over August bank holiday weekend. Back then, I’d assumed this would be about as long as the road route. So, around 9 miles. Quite long but definitely doable in one go. A few weeks ago, however, it wasContinue reading “A long walk (or ‘wawk’)”
A ‘collared’ kind of beauty
I think it’s fair to say that the collared dove has been on my list for a little while now. I wrote previously about its turtle ‘cousin’, but, though it lacks the colours of those impressive wings, this more common dove really does own its collar. I have quite an attachment to a pair ofContinue reading “A ‘collared’ kind of beauty”
The ‘Mot Mot’
Well, I should really say Motmot – the Lesson’s Motmot, to be precise. A different kind of bird to my usual ones. But this tropical species is no less special than the rest. I was lucky enough to see a Lesson’s Motmot in 2018 when I went to Costa Rica. It wasn’t long after weContinue reading “The ‘Mot Mot’”
They all have a story to tell!
I have to say, I never thought I’d create as much artwork as I have recently. The confidence boost I’ve received from sharing my work with family, friends, colleagues and on social media has really reignited a passion that I thought had died a long time ago. At the moment, I’m doing a lot ofContinue reading “They all have a story to tell!”
Approaching ‘negative time’
During a particularly busy period at work last week, I realised that I was nearly in negative time. My grandma’s birthday was fast approaching and I still hadn’t sorted out a card or a birthday present. I had planned to make her a card, but there was a real temptation now to go for aContinue reading “Approaching ‘negative time’”
Ramblings of a (very!) amateur artist 