Straw stars and snowflakes

The end of a year so time and an experiment with a new craft - straw work - good fun and it certainly keeps the grey matter stimulated!

First attempts; so there are mistakes.

Happy New Year to all. 

Mawbray to Allonby

A refreshing walk after yesterday's storms and plenty of flotsam and jetsam to scrat among!

Strong shadows in the bright light; cast off netting; rusting bolts - there were also large drifts of whelk shells.

Goose barnacles with Criffel in the background

Boxing Day Walk - Burgh-by-Sands

A lovely walk with Mum and Dad down onto the marsh.

Merry Christmas to all!

Pink-feet skeins: whooper swans; Rocky; reflections in the Eden 

Solway skies

A very refreshing walk along the coast, from Mawbray towards Allonby, dodging the hail, thunder and lightening!

The tree is up!

A busy weekend - the tree is up despite Rocky's best attempts! He has no concept of where his back end is and so we take it in turns to pick up the baubles and beads. Steve took himself of fishing, very productively for dab, while Molly created a Noah's ark christening cake for friends.

'Fluffy' - the three headed dog and Harry Potter!

A lovely evening at Wigton Dog Training Club where Rocky and I got a third prize for our fancy dress - me as Harry Potter and Rocky as Fluffy from The Chamber of Secrets!

Rocky with his third prize rosette, showing one of his additional heads.

Rocky asleep after all the excitement, or is he guarding the kitchen?
He also got a first for the musical cones although I'm rather afraid that
that was due to my competitive nature rather than his skill in running to heel!

A family walk

Off to Lowther to meet up with Rocky's family. Not a brilliant picture but at least they were all in the same place and vaguely looking the right way!

Mum -Tess; Sister - Saffi; Rocky; Sister - Fern. 

...and leaf cards

Winter leaves

A lovely walk around the block; sunny and frosty.

...and back for hedgehogs...

...and elephants . 

Psychedelic owls

It's a last push on the card front as stocks are getting low!

Mae's Tearooms, Uldale

Up early to move things around at Mae's - Christmas has arrived!
Then back home for a quick painting and some mini oils.
Before resuming work on owl, hedgehog, elephant and leaf cards.
I need more hours in the day!

Criffel from Silloth - just as dusk approaches. Oil 20 x 50 cm  £45

Greenhill Craft Fayre

Many thanks to all those who came to the Greenhill Craft Fayre today - at last all the sewing stuff can be put away - for a while anyway, and the kitchen swept of glitter!

The last blast

Well it's more windy than it was during the so called storm of last weekend! What fabulous seas. Started the day by walking round Trevose Head to Constantine where Rocky had a great run with another collie. Then into Padstow for a pasty at lunch where all the fleet were safely gathered in and Tom took more fish box images to research.

Decided a surf wasn't possible given the waves so walked from Harlyn round and beyond Trevone.

Unfortunately we couldn't get round the back of the beach at all on Harlyn for the return journey so a longer walk through the lanes. Back home tomorrow - could do with another week at least!

Newlyn and Sennen Cove

Started off, as the weather was forecast to be poor all day, by going to Newlyn to indulge Tom in his fish box obsession. Rocky enjoyed a bounce on the beach and there was a good exhibition in the Newlyn Gallery.

It was quite calm so decided to go to Sennen Cove for a walk on the beach - but there was a total maelstrom and no beach!

Walked to Land's End enjoying the spectacle of immense rollers pounding the coast.

Truly magnificent! Rocky enjoyed having his photo taken on the very end by various admirers.

Back home to Harlyn via a cone hunt and Aunty Flick.

Porth Quinn to Port Isaac

Up early to walk between Porth Quinn and Port Isaac before the rain arrived (Still waiting as it gets dark!) Rocky spent the walk trying to chase birds - be it: gannets over the sea; jackdaws and ravens on the cliffs; gulls on ploughed fields- hence he was on the lead a lot. An up and down walk and very muddy. Lots of parasol mushrooms and horse mushrooms in the fields on the way back through the fields.

Back home via the supermarket for garlic and butter - for the mushrooms, and then a great surf. High tide, so rather chaotic and short rides, but plenty of doubles and triples casting you high up on the beach. Also managed to collect Corsican pine cones - for Greenhill craft fare next weekend ...and find some ceps.

Bedruthan Steps

A lovely walk from Porthcothan to Bedruthan for Steve, Molly and Rocky while Tom and I sketched. Remarkably warm and sunny first thing although the day deteriorated.

A good surf and then in to Padstow for a damp wander round - even saw Mr Stein walking down the street!

Tom enjoyed carving a pumpkin - looks like primitive St Ives style to me.

Surfing Harlyn Bay!

What a super day - early walk to Trevone and back. Rocky enjoyed his bounce with various dogs on Harlyn beach before walking to Trevone.

Rocky is one of the two blobs in the center of the pic!

Lovely old zig-zag walls and good to see new ones being built too- quite spectacular.

Then a great surf (the water's very warm) with friends before another walk around Trevose Headland. Saw four swallows too!

The day the sea turned white!

A day of wave watching, first a quick nip down to Bedruthan, but the sea was completely in, so off to Newquay.

Vicious squalls for most of the day but super light as a result. Fistral beach was spectacular but the red flag was flying so no one in the water.

Then back home and a walk around Trevose and on to Constantine - particularly vindictive squalls but great light again.

One Man and his Dog

We obviously have a fan!

Rocky is finally asleep!

...and finally, the dog: after chasing seagulls; foam from the waves; endless dogs: scoffing our pasty crusts: barking at the flags on Trevose golf course and general charging around ....is asleep!

Trevose Head - storm on the way!

What an exhilarating day! An early walk around Trevose Head - the eastern side by Padstow lifeboat station was really quite calm, with lovely aquamarine sea and golden pink sands.

A different matter when we turned the corner round Dinas Head, the Bull (rock) was spectacular!

Constantine was a sea of white foam -  Rocky amused everyone by chasing lumps of foam as they were blown inland. Back to Padstow for a pasty and then St Merryn to hire Tom a wet suit before a rather extreme surf. The sea was so big that the front of the surf board was thrust down into the sand and you tended to be flung over the top! Good fun (I think!) though.

Harlyn Bay

A straightforward journey down to Cornwall - dry all the way and manged a good walk between Rock and Polzeath. Rocky certainly had the most fabulous time - vast stretches of sand with many, many dogs, all of which wanted to run or play! Waves not building yet, but the indigo skies, sunshine and rising wind hint at what is about to arrive!

Chanterelles at last!

Well, off to photo various fungi and to collect a lovely basket of edibles - some for immediate consumption with the rest currently being dried above the Aga.

Basket of edibles - containing chanterelles, hedgehog, horn of plenty and amethyst deceivers.