Too far gone

I think not posting anything since July qualifies me as a terrible blogger. I could go back and re-cap everything since then, but really I think it's too far gone. So instead, I shall start again with the best of intentions and see how far I get this time.

It's been warm. Really warm. Like wearing t-shirts in October warm. Which is wonderful, if slightly confusing. We finally reached the end of bee-keeping season and the girls are settling down for the winter, which means we get weekends to go off and explore and DO STUFF. Mostly, this has been going for walks, seeing lots of amazing things, and generally having a wonderful time.

The honeybees are making the most of the long autumn and stocking up for winter.

Autumn is a great time to see wildlife, and the red squirrels here made my day. You'd think that living with small fluffy animals, I wouldn't want to see more of them. But I do, oh I do. I loved noticing the differences between the squirrels and our degus, even down to the fact that the squirrels will come right up to you for food and yet it took us MONTHS to get the degus to eat out of our hands.

I don't really think of myself as a bird-watcher. But as we go out and about, I find that I always want to know what things are. What's that bird? That tree? That plant? And the more I know, the more I want to know. Which might be why I've joined so many Isle of Wight nature groups on Facebook. I want to know ALL THE THINGS.

The last few weekends have been full of wonderful things. I'm quite emotional about it really - there's so much beauty around us and I love that we have the time to enjoy it together.

I love noticing all the little details, and feeling like we're making the most of every minute of this glorious autumn. These are good days, my friend.

Life right now: beekeeping

Beekeeping started off as the thing that Chris did. Then I got involved, and somewhere last year it became a massive part of our life together.  I can talk the talk about slow living and being close to nature, but this is walking the walk - and I have the stings to prove it. Maybe they are to remind me that this is reality; I don't just get up and go to work in an office, this is real life and it's happening now. With the coming of spring and some properly warm weather it is also time to acknowledge that this is going to take significant chunks of our free time over the coming months. This weekend we began our first proper inspections to see how the bees had coped through the winter and if there were signs of new life.

This weekend we have checked on 13 out of our 16 hives. As you can see, the bees are pretty comfortable with us, and us with them! It is still slightly stunning to have a bee land on you, but once I remembered they just wanted somewhere to rest for a minute then it was easy to just let them get on with it. If you look closely at this bee you can see she's been out collecting pollen and is carrying it back to the hive in little 'baskets'.

So, for the first time this year we got out the smoker and had a proper look inside the hives. We were looking for good numbers of bees, new stores of honey, and eggs and larvae which is a sign that there is a queen who has started laying. We've been seeing lots of pollen going into the hives so we were very hopeful. Chris is also trying out his new beekeeping outfit - wearing a whole suit is a bit of a pain, so he's gone for a hat and veil, worn over two layers of long sleeves. Much easier to get on and off, and I am tempted to do the same. (It also means you can wash your layers, which is excellent because they do get very mucky).

Pleasingly, all of our hives so far have got eggs and larvae in all stages of development - our queens are up and running. Some of the hives have more bees than others, but that was how they ended last year so it is not a cause for concern. What was most satisfying was that some of the hives we were most worried about - including this little one above, and the two that we rescued from the flooding over the winter - were all in good shape. We've removed the fondant food from most of the hives now, but we'll be looking to put new frames in and encouraging some of the colonies to make new honeycomb so we will have to give them some sugar syrup to help them along.

Watching the bees flying in and out is still one of the most relaxing things I know. They don't seem to mind me at all and just get on with their business, swooping past to drop onto the landing board and trot in to the hive.

As it gets busier it will be harder for me to take photos as we do our inspections, but for now I am enjoying getting to know our girls again and remind myself of all the things we have to do for them. Here's to a wonderful summer.

One of those weeks

It has been a busy week, which makes me even more grateful for moments of calm. And if they are accompanied by sunshine and blue skies, even better.

I have a whole stack of pictures that I want to turn into paintings, but I'm pretty sure that if I painted those trees at that angle you'd think I'd gone crazy, right?

And in the middle of a sea of mud, a whole bed of crocuses prove that spring is on its way. February was a tough month and I am ready to welcome March now.

Life in line drawings

2013 was the year I made sketching a habit. My book comes with me almost everywhere, and Chris has learnt to amuse himself while I sketch away.

Even after just a year, I can see the development in my work and (though I say so myself) definite improvement. More importantly, I enjoy it. And I enjoy looking back through my sketchbooks to re-visit the memories.


2014 will be my year of sharing artwork - I'm a member of lots of groups on Facebook and Flickr but I rarely post my work there. I'd like that to change. One of my favourite things last year was discovering other artists' blogs and webpages, and I'd like to return the favour. Even with sketches that are wonky and imperfect. It's still fun to share.

Scrapbook Sunday

Photos scrapped within a month of taking them? Yes, it's true. Sometimes I just have to go with what inspires me, and yesterday it was these pictures. I also have a new photo printer, which makes printing small photos for a collage like this so much easier. The photo grid inspired me to try a more streamlined design and instead of layering elements on top of each other, I worked to build a grid with different embellishments and journalling cards.

I've had that card with a sweetcorn on it FOREVER, so this was the perfect opportunity to finally use it. Everything else came together from that, and luckily I had enough elements to make the rest of the grid. The folded circles came from a discount basket somewhere, but they worked just perfectly for this, and I like how taking them outside of the grid adds a bit more movement. I don't normally do double-page layouts, or use 8.5x11 card, but for some reason it just happened with this page, and I like it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Preservation tactics

Life doesn't get easier. But if I have learned anything at all, it is that focusing on gratitude and action helps me through. So despite wanting to hide under the duvet most of the time, I am keeping going. Things that I am grateful for right now?

• Wonderful love and support.
• Small fluffy animals who depend on me.
• Making things (both the jam and the chutney were delicious).
• A sketchbook. I've just started a new one.
• Cosy blankets on the sofa.
• Autumn picnics after work.
• Scrapbooking. There are still lots of happy memories to record.

Opposite extreme

From the largest size photo to the smallest: a 4x4 print using one of my many photos from Instagram. There are various services out there that will print your Instagram pics, but I've found the best results when I upload them into Photobox on a standard size print and trim off the edges when they arrive. Simples.

Having a smaller photo leaves me more room for embellishment, and in this case also more room for the story of our second date. It's quite a long story, and involves me getting heatstroke and passing out in the middle of a field. Fortunately for me, it didn't put him off :)

I'm all out of enamel dots at the moment, so in a moment of inspiration decided to make my own using Liquid Pearls. This is the White Opal version, and I've discovered that if you put a good fat blob on the page and then flick the back of the paper really hard, the blob flattens out to become a lovely dimensional dot. Perfect for some subtle embellishment layers.

I haven't done so much scrapbooking lately as I've been busy filling my sketchbooks. Those photos aren't going to go anywhere, though!

His & Hers

Sketching outdoors is incredibly intimidating. It's really hard to choose my subject, to place things on the paper, to get the proportions and perspective correct. I am working on it - taking my little sketchbook out and trying to do a few sneaky sketches when people aren't looking. It's quite tricky to avoid people looking at your work. I'm told I do a good 'stern face' though, so that will come in handy. In the meantime, I am working on drawing from life in the safety of my own home.

Chris and I have desks which are opposite each other, so we can work on our many hobbies while still being a little bit sociable. This is his side. Mine will be slightly harder to sketch because I will have to stand in the kitchen doorway to do it. It's a small house, but it's home.

Tranquility - an evening walk

I haven't done a walk post in a little while. We often go for a stroll, some longer than others, and I take loads of photos. Some of them make it into scrapbook pages, and I might post one or two on Instagram. I think it's nice, though, to have all the photos in one place so that when I look back I can remember where we went and what it was like. There is a scrapbooking podcast that I  listen to (Paperclipping Roundtable) and their most recent discussion is with a woman who suffered amnesia and lost eight years of memories. Wow. I can't imagine. Without even listening to it I have started reflecting on life and how I record it. I haven't kept a paper journal for a long time, but I am considering how I can make sure I am keeping my memories safe. The idea of being 'caught-up' with scrapbooking isn't something that appeals to me as I like to craft when the mood takes me. But what about those important stories that I just haven't got round to scrapbooking yet? I need to think about that. 

Yesterday evening, we picked up some chips and a pineapple fritter (to share, I couldn't possibly eat a whole one) and drove to Gurnard seafront. We sat in the car and ate our food...why do chips always taste better outside? Then we walked slowly along the front, past the kids bringing their boats in after sailing club. Just after the boathouse, there was a turning to go up the hill and into a small wood, and a most beautiful sunset behind us.

This is where the photos start to get a bit grainy, because I only had my phone and the light was fading. Even so...the path looked so inviting, rising through lush greenery with the last of the evening sun glinting through the trees. The wood was quite dense and silent, a proper hobbit-wood and we half expected to see Frodo and Pippin sheltering in one of the secluded corners. There was lots of evidence of animal activity, but they all kept out of our way as we walked through.

Apart from this little chap! As we came out of the wood and onto the road again, Chris suddenly stopped and pointed. Whenever he does this I know it means he's seen something, and if I want to see it too then I have to keep quiet, move slowly, and try and see along his line of sight. Just how he spotted this little guy in the hedge, I have no idea. We moved so, so slowly to try and get a better view, and I really didn't think that the mouse would stay there if I took my phone out to try and take a picture. But he did. We moved closer and closer, snapping a shot with every step in the hope that one of them would come out well enough to see. By the time I got close enough to take the shot above (and there's no zoom on that, it's as it comes from the camera), I was holding my breath to try not to disturb him. I had my arm out holding the phone, and my other hand trying to fend off the branches and random insects that were doing their best to put me off. Mr Mouse, though, wasn't in the least bit bothered. He waited until we were up close and looked right at us, before turning and making his way slowly back into the depths of the hedge. Magic.

That moment is going to be a hard one to beat. I am so glad that there is that photo there to remind me, and I am so glad I've written down just how magical it was. Walking back to the car we could smell a beautiful floral scent from one of the gardens nearby, and could see the mist rolling in from the West. Beautiful.

Busy little bees

Things have gone quiet here on the blog front lately, and as usual it isn't for the lack of anything to write about, but because life has suddenly become so busy that there hasn't been time to sit down and put some words + photos together.

When I first met Chris and he told me he kept bees, I didn't really have any concept of what it meant. He became known as 'bee-man' when I talked about him to my friends, and it was one of those things that sounded interesting in a vague sort of way. Mostly I loved his enthusiasm for it, the way that he made bees sound so engaging and his plans for a bee empire. I helped with the honey collection at the end of last summer, but didn't really get involved apart from that. 

Bee-keeping season rolled around in the spring, and it was time to start inspecting hives again. Chris decided to do it at the weekend and invited me along to watch (with my camera, of course). I borrowed a bee suit and away we went. 

Bees are amazing. They are surprisingly calm when you lift the lid and start having a look, and many of them will just carry on with their work while you do yours. I watched Chris doing his inspections and took lots of photos.

Chris pointed things out to me (can you see the queen in the picture below?) and after a while I stopped taking so many photos and started to hold a frame, or help by using the smoker. I started to pick up the terminology, and understand what we were looking for. It was a very proud moment when Chris asked me to lift out a frame by myself and check it, before carefully lowering it back in. These bees are his babies, and I was honoured to be trusted with them.

Since those early inspections, it has been a steep learning curve as our original four hives started showing signs of wanting to expand, so Chris carried out some 'artificial swarms'. This left a queen egg in the old hive, and took the old queen and half of the bees into a new hive. Four became seven, and all was looking promising. Then the swarms began! And this is what has kept us so busy over the last few weeks:

Sometimes bees decide to swarm by themselves, and they will cluster on a tree or post while they look for a new home. When this happens - and someone spots it - Chris gets a phonecall and we drop everything and rock into action. The theory behind swarm collection is simple - the bees follow the scent of the queen, so get as many as you can into your basket and hopefully if the queen is in there, all the other bees will go in too. In practice we rarely seem to get the queen first time, and not all of them have been in such convenient locations as this tree. 'All of them', you ask? Our original four hives, with artificial swarms and 'incomers', are now a total of 17. Not all of them will produce honey this year, and we are braced for one or two to do less well, but even so - I keep having to pinch myself. 17 hives?!

I confirmed my status as bee-keeper rather than bee-photographer last weekend. Chris got a call for a swarm, and he couldn't go. The only way for us to get it was for me to go by myself - so I did. With a bit of help from Chris' mum (also a bee-keeper) who kept a close eye on me, I did it! These bees (above) are now safely in their new home. Their queen isn't laying yet, but there is still time and we are hopeful that they will do well.

In the midst of all this excitement, I totally missed that June 6th was the third anniversary of my most major surgery. As we sat on the Downs earlier, enjoying a picnic lunch after a morning of bee-inspecting, I couldn't help but reflect on how far I have come and how much my life has changed. Even this time last year, if you had told me how I would be spending my time and how good I would be feeling, I would have thought you were being ridiculous. I count my blessings every day, and there are many.

Adventures in my sketchbook

Scrapbooking has taken a back seat recently as I rediscover my sketchbook. I am so inspired by blogs like this one, this one, and this one, that once again I have decided to stop just reading and create some art of my own. These phases come and go and I am never sure how long they will last for, so I am trying to make the most of it. There is something immensely enjoyable about sketching and colouring, looking at lines and shapes and tones. Sometimes I just doodle, and draw patterns that I will fill with colour later. It calms and soothes me, and nourishes my creative soul. I don't know where this adventure will lead but it is most enjoyable indeed.

Moments in May

Enjoying: the sight of animals and their young.

Appreciating: every blossom and flower.

Savouring: the vivid blue sky and green spring grass.

Relishing: the challenge of our first long walk in the sunshine this year - and the ice cream at the end of it.

Learning: about honeybees and becoming enchanted by them. (This camellia is in the garden where we keep our hives...it was much too busy to be taking photos while we worked on them today. Don't worry, there will be bee-related posts later).

Feeling: the sand between my toes.

Looking: forward to many more moments like this.

Have a little faith

 It felt like Spring was never going to arrive. I should have had more faith, really.

Nature is doing its thing. Slowly, but it's coming.

 Every little flower, every little bird...it's all beautiful and makes me quite emotional, actually.

There is still lots of grey and brown. Lots of bare branches. But in between there are green leaves, tiny flowers, and splashes of colour.

 The wind brought with it some beautiful blue skies and clouds that left wispy, frothy trails.

I am SO going to sketch that shed. I took more than 90 photos on this walk and any one of them would make a lovely picture.

I'm thinking maybe a large-scale canvas/ I've been in this house for two years and there still isn't anything on the walls, so these photos might be the prompt I need to change that.

Don't get me wrong, it's still cold. There was a fresh, biting wind that made my eyes water and my nose run. I was very glad to get back into the warmth of the car and eat our picnic.

But Spring is a promise. A promise of sunny days and warmth that reaches your bones. A promise of new growth, renewal and opportunity. 

Life is good.