Wednesday 18 May 2011

~ Sun Moon Stars and the Sea ~

I have been feeling rather mute recently. I don't know why, and just have to accept that sometimes this is how it is with me. The moon was full yesterday and today I  feel inspired to write a new post. Maybe her waxing pregnancy influenced my mood to be a time of quiet reflection, and now her slow waning has given birth to a creative flow. I hope so.

I'm house~sitting in one of my favourite places for a few days. This little video...my very first one :~) ....is the view I see as I sit here writing.  





I filmed a little more this morning. I couldn't resist that blue.
Life is good
Soon after we arrived, my Man spotted something other than seagulls flying low over the water ~ frequently diving in with a splash. He excitedly identified them as Gannets. I had never seen them before and was enthralled by their size, the black tipped wings and pale yellow heads, not to mention their grace in the air. We were entertained for an hour as three of them did some serious hunting for their dinner. 



At the beginning of this month I signed up for Jude's next mini whispering class in the series, Whispering Sun Moon and Stars. Her classes are relaxed, extremely informative, inspiring and encouraging and seeing the results of her students' work is testament to her teaching skills. 
I have done some preparation for the class....


....using cyanotype sun~developing on white silk to create moons, or maybe suns. The blue velvet is a piece from a table runner I've had for years and has faded to a gorgeous golden colour in some places. I was sitting in my studio tidying up its frayed edges after washing, when I noticed the similarities in its colour...including the shots of gold....to the piece of labradorite that shares my deskspace.


On Monday, I found lots of lovely cotton tops in a charity shop. It's not that often that the really good quality materials turn up, so I bought quite a few....including a couple of white fine lawn blouses.

My stitching has taken second place to gardening in the last few weeks, as I've been transplanting cucumbers, courgettes and basils into bigger pots, preparing beds and planting lettuce, runner beans and peas. Cleaning and clearing the greenhouse and planting some more lettuce and a tomato plant, and preparing for the cucumbers for when they are big enough. 

When I was weeding one of the beds, I came across a gardener's friend tucked into the corner...


Mr Toad. I was very happy to see him, and asked him to please keep the slugs under control as I hate to use slug pellets. So far, lettuce and salad~mix leaves have not been attacked....but I also left a load of borage plants that had self~seeded in there, as slugs adore their leaves, and there have been a few nibbles taken out of them, so maybe this will turn out to be a successful experiment in slug control. That would be very satisfying.

As this is a post on Sun Moon Stars and Sea.....here's one of the results of Solar Imaging from My Man...


....complete with a couple of sun~spots. This was taken from our garden. It is incredibly exciting to be able to look at the sun. This image has to cover the 'stars' part too! So far, May has been a most astronomical month.....fitting really as Taurus is one of my favourite constellations...along with Cassiopeia....time to do some join~the~dot stitching I think.

8 comments:

  1. What a view! Beautiful place... and I love the blues in the cloths and labradorite. I love that stone, so full of magic! Hope the toad keeps up with the slugs! Happy gardening and stitching.....

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  2. Oh My, that is a wonderful view.. and to watch the birds diving there too... What a treat that must have been....

    Gorgeous Labradorite.... I love the subtleties and surprises of it.. that looks like a very large piece!

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  3. Hi Valerianna...it is beautiful here. I was born only three miles away and raised ten miles away....I still love it in this area....and it is such a treat when I'm asked to house~sit. Thank you for visiting :~)

    Hi Gwen...the birds were incredible...and we haven't seen them since, so it was very special. The Labradorite fits nicely across the palm of my hand. I love it too. Thank you for visiting :~)

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  4. wonderful post, helen :)

    join the dot stitching, yes!

    and I'm so pleased that you have a lovely toad in your garden. wish we did ~ but the robins are settling into their nest and, amazingly enough, I believe a pair of house finches are nesting on our drainpipe as well! It's going to be busy out there soon.

    cariad mawr, brooke

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  5. Hey hey Brooke bach :~)

    Jude came up with join the dot stitching in our lessons...need to photograph my efforts soon.

    Oh, how lovely to have robins and finches nesting in your garden...I always take it as a great honour whenever our garden is chosen as a home. We have magpies nesting in a very large hawthorn in the garden next to ours...they have come back to the same nest for, I think, the third year now, and I can see them through the doors of my studio.

    It will be wonderful when you hear their babies chirping demandingly for food :~)

    Cariad mawr x

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  6. hello, this was just what i needed today. a planned overnight to the beach was cancelled due to a sick child & i've been so dissappointed to not be looking at or listening to water. thank you!

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  7. and I forgot to mention your beautiful moon cloth, that is the stuff dreams are made of!

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  8. Hi Cindy...I am so glad this brought you something you needed and so sorry that you had to miss out. I hope your young one is better already as I write this and that you'll get to the beach really soon....is it far or near for you to visit the sea?

    Thank you about my 'moon cloth' ~ it is all I have done this month....preparation! Thank you for visiting :~)))

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