THE RAMBLINGS OF A STRUGGLING ARTIST ON LIFE WITH TWO TERRIERS, A PONY WITH ISSUES AND OTHER WILDLIFE AND BIRDS THAT CROSS OUR PATH

19 February 2015

BELATED JANUARY BITS AND PIECES


I sincerely apologise for the amount of material in this post. I've already edited out a lot of other stuff, even at this stage. So, here are January's bits and pieces. Prepare for snow.....





Christmas card?




Everyone loves snow:





This is a section of a cow's spine in Jack's mouth; lovely.


First ever picture of a fox on the moor here....it was a long way off:






Our very own glacier:


Snow bath:




Long shadows:


The snow in the garden lasted for weeks and if it's not raining, the washing goes out:


A couple of phone pics:



Tertia:


That lovely Dun pony:



Another bone being gnawed:


Hawthorn berries with all sorts of different lichen:



More frost flowers:


A frosty morning opposite OB's school





Frost trees:


Dawn skies:




I have nowhere to work where there's any light, so resort to drawing standing up in the kitchen...please note the trusty rubbing shield on the drawing board! Phone picture, hence appalling quality. OB's origami butterflies are hiding a crack in the glass; functional AND beautiful.  


Half term is dragging a bit. Only a term and a half left until OB leaves primary school for Okehampton College. Terrifying on so many levels. He's really trying to be more independent but finds it SO difficult. He'll be eleven in a few weeks and wants a guitar. He's teaching himself how to play a half size one that he was given years ago in the hope of musical interest, of which there was none bar the odd tuneless strum. I had it tuned to thirds to make it sound better but he's really getting the hang of it now and uses some kind of tuning app on his i-pod and is writing music. Way beyond me as usual. Another Aspergers related talent. I may be rambling a little as my blood sugar is a bit low thanks to an over enthusiastic insulin injection after supper and I'm currently quaffing some vanilla flavoured milk....liquid ice cream really, which kills two medical birds with one stone: sugar to raise the sugar levels and calcium for the dodgy bone density. Time to hassle OB up to bed so, until next time, here are the snow dogs, or at least I hope they're here as I'm having serious problems loading pictures. This should have been published two days ago....have a lovely weekend all. 


49 comments:

  1. I LOVE the photo of the sheep's face, just perfect. However they are all lovely photos.

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    1. A very bold sheep who just stood while he had his portrait taken!

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  2. Wonderfully wild Wild West.
    Lovely photos of land and life. One could believe there’s no one else but you and yours on earth.

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    1. I do feel like that sometimes out there and love it. Whenever I see another person in the distance I run to avoid them. I say it's because of the dogs but actually.....

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  3. Always love your photos...could have done without the snow though...I was hoping for a snow free few minutes!
    Jane x

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    1. Sorry Jane - I know you're suffering over there. Pretty but disruptive. x

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  4. As I said before, I wait till I have the time to sit and enjoy your photos.
    These are wonderful with several all time favorites.

    cheers, parsnip

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    1. I like that blurry one of Jack best and the ones where the wind is whipping up a mist of snow.

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    2. Many favorites but the clouds with the golden light 4th from the bottom...brillent !

      cheers, parsnip

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  5. Several Christmas cards in there. Snippet looks like a Yeti in that first pic.

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    1. Doesn't he? A lucky fluke picture as many are!

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  6. wonderful pictures...20 years since I was up there...

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  7. Wonderful pictures and not too many of them!! Don't ever worry about that, although I understand the age they take to upload. OB has some amazing talents doesn't he, playing the guitar and the amazing origami. A great use for the butterflies in your kitchen - and you would never know they were covering anything! Hope that you have a good weekend. xx

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    1. The glass has reached a point where it's going to have to go with all the cracks in it, so the builder is coming to do a little tiling job next week. Georgian wired glass as a splashback was a thing I#d wanted to do for years and now I know it doesn't work! xx

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  8. Golly that is a freezing cold post! I'd come from Jessica's blog, and she'd been at Tintagel in glorious sunshine, so the change in temperature was a bit rapid for me! Your two boys certainly keep each other fit, don't they. What a picture of health and dog-happiness they make.
    Hope you survive mid-term. Keeping lads occupied and fed is a full time job, isn't it.

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    1. Tintagel did look glorious didn't it? We have had sun but it's still so cold. You must be in the middle of summer I guess? Lucky you!

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    2. Summer drawing to an end unfortunately, but some glorious, still days at present. Yesterday New Zealand played England in the Cricket World Cup, here in Wellington where we live, and your news will show you a perfectly blue sky, and the English going down to a humiliating defeat ... but don't worry, the tables will be reversed in the next game!

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  9. I'm amazed that you can draw standing there like that Em. If you are not careful you will be putting too much strain on the back and neck, not to mention the strain place on the body by standing all the time.

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    1. You're right Roy but I get so little time to draw that I'm not doing it every day or for any protracted length of time. Not enough commissions!

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  10. I don't think you've had too many photos at all!! I've enjoyed them and seeing your "work space." It looks creative and fun, and am I seeing a "purple shamrock?" They are one of my longtime favorites!

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    1. I didn't know it was called that Kim - thank you. I knew the Oxalis bit in the Latin name but that's all. I bought it at the Eden Project the first year it was open, so....er....2003. still going strong-ish after 12 years. I love them too.

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  11. The frosty photos are nice.

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  12. Some wonderful photographs. So good to see the happy dogs. Love the sheep photo too.

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  13. Wonderful photos - I really wanted to be there in the snow too!!! Some Christmas card material that's for sure.

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    1. You know I like the bleak ones best but I'm not sure many other people do!

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  14. Marvellous photos as always, like your working area as well. And as I have just heard it on the news, be careful with getting your insulin, apparently you need a medical exemption form, or you maybe liable for a fine. Bureaucracy gone mad as usual...

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    1. I heard that report too. I do have an exemption certificate but I'm not sure whether it will run out so I'll check with the surgery...thank you!

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  15. Marvellous photos as always, like your working area as well. And as I have just heard it on the news, be careful with getting your insulin, apparently you need a medical exemption form, or you maybe liable for a fine. Bureaucracy gone mad as usual...

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  16. WOW! This is a totally fantastic post and I really would not know where to start comment as I love it all. The atmosphere in each shot is amazing, the energy of the dogs shows through, the rocks are terrific and the lighting is fabulous.

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    1. I think I should use this comment for publicity purposes Margaret! Thank you very much.

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  17. Love them all. Not one to much. The sheep, the dogs the rocks, the snow and ice and the drawing board in the kitchen with one more artwork in the making. Just wonderful.

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  18. I love to see the dogs having fun in the snow! Poor Buster would love to join them.
    As ever, your photos are spectacular and much appreciated by me!
    OB seems to have many talents. The ability to concentrate on difficult things can be a great blessing amidst other challenges. Perishingly and beastly cold here. Quite fed up and stir crazy. Takes me about 15 minutes to get ready to go outside....
    Hope you, personally, are feeling better? All best wishes

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    1. You poor things. It's a bit milder here now so it doesn't take quite so long to get ready. Does Buster have a coat???

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  19. Your photos always make me smile! I would love to visit Dartmoor one day. Such pretty sheep, as well!

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  20. Lots of Christmas Cards here Em, maybe not the cow's spine, ;)

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  21. Love all the photos especially those frosty flowers - they are just amazing. Its great to see some snow as we've had very little here and what has fallen has gone in a few hours.

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  22. Beautiful photographs of January. Wonderful! J9 x

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  23. Gorgeous photos all Em! If I had to pick a favorite, a chore with all there is, but the sheep looking over the rocks at you would be it!

    The bronchitis turned into bronchial pneumonia which I am still trying to recover from.

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    1. You poor thing Gail. Sending warm, healing thoughts over the pond to you!

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  24. A blog entry full of spectacular photographs. Thank you so much!

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