January

I took one or two pictures of the place I came across my little friends while it was cold.Whilst we were out with Meg my border Collie and my grandson. These two seemed to be enjoying it and it was keeping them quiet .I do not know what Meg had smelt when she just drove her head into the snow.

This I found looks like a little avenue and it leads up to the tree with the little peoples home in , I wonder if I could use it and stay out of sight next Spring .

 

 After walking around  quite close to the tree we heard Lewis my grandson say I saw someone in there and suddenly stopped. I asked him in where and he took us back to this tree . I got my camera ready and sqatted down ,thinking I may be to near . It was'nt until he started talking again  I had this photograph to take .

 

 Lewis had gone home , I went back myself and this is all I could get , so what was it ,who was it I do'nt know . I wonder if it was the childs soft voice ? I will take him over ther next time .

My Art

                             

This was my first try on pastels , I was lucky finding a mount and black frame for it and I want to try this again as I like doing it but it is rather messy when you like the chalky type.

This is acrylic which is very fast at drying .

This also is acrylic , but I like sunset and I like painting water still or moving.

My only sketch with pencil was this one of the  late  Pope John Paul .It is the only time I have been satisfied with a face so I left it at that.

The stall at Grassington  with my D.W. stood behind . The woodwork seen is what I make and paint and the slates are for peoples door numbers to be added and then varnished   to make rainproof.

A closer look at the poppy collection , all that is missing is the large poppy clock which has been sold.

The two new clocks, 6 inch and 10 inch neither painted before . Heard once or twice from people at the stall flowers are lovely colours, or about the butterfly.

These are the two best selling  birds and the poppy is easily the best flower . I find it hard to believe sometimes how many people really like or collect things with poppies or owls on .

My painting in oils ,  I put it away in my folder and forgot about it . This was one of the first I ever did . I got it out to show a friend one day , and they said it has depth , the falling tree draws the eye in. It somehow looks  as though there is distance .

This the other oil painting trying to do the same thing , get distance . Trying to do the job with the path disappearing into the woods. They are both now framed and on the wall in the front room .

Anyway I now have somewhere to go and do my paintings I could call  my studio except for one thing it is up in the attic so I just call it up there. It has been used by DW as her workroom for the past 16 years but she doesn't use it as much these days and there is room for both of us up there .

Little Folk Part2

After nothing was to be found for a long time , checking around that same place seemed to be a habit each time  I went out across the field , but nothing was to be there.Until a few weeks ago although it was wet the leaves had been moved and that enabled me to see what was a back passage .The back passage ran around the tree just inside the bark of the tree.

Was this a little escape route,a way upstairs or could there be a back room I do not know and I'm not for trying to find out.   I do'nt know why but Meg  came running down the path, squirrels may  be as usual , when I went after her I caught her up and  turned around , well the the first thing I noticed was a canopy.

The canopy was over what I thought was the back door , but it really looked smarter than the other , so was it the front door? So my first idea was  to go back and have another look . I slowly went around to see .

The only thing I cannot understand is when I got there the door was actually closed , so someone was around , and had heard me . I thought the best thing I can do is go home.So I stayed away for quite a while.

We even got sorted out for Christmas  and even  put our little friends decorations up around their quarters.After Christmas I think they were still around as far as I knew although you never saw them through the day.

I then went back to see if anything was going on over the field , and to my surprise all the leaves had been cleared and what was this ? I found their little home was being re furnished , were they moving back or were another family moving in.

Meg's Little expedition

I thought I would take Meg out for a little run around on the back field , she is the right type for a run about each day. Well after crossing the railway and getting on the park as we call it ,I let her off her lead . We have been doing this for a while but with a ball , and she seems to expect me having this ball every time , so I am getting her used to no ball , it is easier than I thought . She has though taken an interest in grey squirrels. Now ,as soon as I let her go she is off towards the trees looking for them. The same route every time, but every tree , at least she can't come to any harm. The best part of this is she gets a lot of exercise while I just walk along keeping an eye on her.
Here it could be another dog if one has been around here, it could be a fox because they do come around at night, but I know the squirrels are around . Squirrels are the most likely as she doesn't usually pay much attention to other dogs.

The nuts around this tree make it obvious to me there are squirrels around here.Oh no ! where is she going this is someones private garden. I think I got a bit stuck what to do , reached in my pocket for a whistle I have to call her back and a man who was passing turned to me and said , in voice just like a policeman would sound . "Is this your dog ". She was stood behind me. I could have killed her.

But after taking back to the centre of the park I let her off again, when she is squirrel hunting at least she is getting her exercise

Then at the very end of our little walk , here we have '' I've seen one '' One thing for sure at least I know she will never catch one.

One day while taking Meg for a walk,I found what I thought was a little clutch of something growing in a little alcove . The alcove was made by the roots of tree. It was only a couple of weeks later I went back to see what this something under a tree was. It had actually grown , and luckily I was without Meg. As I approached I could hear rustling and movement of some sort, but when I squatted down to see , there was nothing just this. Then after a couple of days I couldn't stay away ,but whoever or whatever I had heard had gone and all there was is an empty little space.
Well that was it I had frightened them off , but they sure must have been small to sit in there
A fortnight or so later when I let out last thing at night I noticed something at the bottom of the garden, so I put Meg back indoors and went to have a look. There was an avenue of lights of some sort ,but I didn't want to go too near. My first move was for my camera, but be careful I thought, so I did all the work from the other side of the garden. Going by the sound of things it was the same as I had heard in the park under that tree. There was a quiet whisper and what were those lights .

Well after a while I got to where I had to go and find out, so I knew it would be the wrong thing to do but I switched on my flash and took a photograph .

The funny part of all this is each time I do something that I would expect to have frightened them off they come a little closer to me, so I have put a little door in Ursula's hearth for them to come and go as they please.

These are some of my products I knit for Ursula to put on her stall when out doing her work.I decided I liked doing Fair Isle so these seem to be the right thing for me , I also like doing small items for some reason.
The pattern on this one I made up myself and called it Jack Frost. the reason for that was there are snowmen around it and a snowflake in the middle.
I think the one below is my favourite , but as a tam. I think I like it both for colour and pattern.

It was this one I knit for someone who was only bothered about the colours and not the pattern . She also wanted it as a tam.I suppose any of them can be sold as a beanie or a tam .

This is Ursulas favourite it is pity it is to big for her although it was knit for her stall . The idea is to sell it .

One day it decided it was going to stay fine , so we took Meg ( the dog ) for a walk and a run around on the field and also took a basket with us as we had noticed some berries. Sloe berries. While I kept Meg occupied playing ball Ursula collected a few of the berries, these are what we usually missed out on , as we have , at this time of the year normally been up in Cumbria doing craft fairs .
This is Ursula sorting out and weighing her fruit, so to go for any more sugar needed and the right number of bottles of gin.
After stirring the suger until it's all mixed in these type of bottles can be put away and forgot about until Christmas.