Sea glass hearts

I'd forgotten just how fiddly the small hearts are to make.....back to some larger ones tomorrow I think! It's a shame glass doesn't look so shiny when it dries. All the glass has to be washed so that salts don't come out as this causes the glass to fall off the card backing.

High Rigg - a nice ridge!

Earlier in the week, Molly ticked off another Wainwright with Rocky - this time High Rigg and typically the rainbow came out when she was at the bottom when telegraph poles etc interrupted the view, so the phone camera came to the rescue!

Patterns on the car!

A lovely frosty morning....

Rocky's 100th Wainwright!

Although Rocky didn't have any clue about the significance ...he went up Low Fell and Fellbarrow earlier in the week!

Low Fell summit.

Fellbarrow summit.

Mungrisdale Craft fayre

Well tonight, after school, I went through to Mungrisdale to set up for the preview evening (tonight) for this weekends craft fayre ....rather a rush! However it's all done and tomorrow I shall be at the school craft fayre while Steve does Mungrisdale for me (thank you!).  Apologies for the poor photos - from the phone...

Cobalt Crust and Bartheletia paradoxa

High up on Tom's 'fungal bucket list' is the Cobalt Crust (Terana caerulea) - a spectacular fungus. Its spectacular colour makes it relatively easy to spot, and though uncommon, it has been recorded once in the Clyne Valley, Swansea..... so that's where he went on Sunday. Tom explains.....

After a general fungal foray, I had given up on finding it as I had checked in all my 'usual' spots for fungi. However, when walking out of the park to the car-park at Blackpill I spotted a solitary tree that looked like it had had paint thrown over it. The tree was dead but still in its upright position and it was surrounded by brambles. Interestingly the Cobalt Crust, while predominantly on the tree itself, had spread onto the dead bramble stems - a truly spectacular sight!

Cobalt Crust (Terana caerulea) 

After walking through the Clyne Valley I walked back along the coast and through Singleton Park where I wanted to check for a rare fungus I had only heard of the week previous.
Bartheletia paradoxa is a fairly inconspicuous leaf fungus that was only formally described in 2008.

It is under-recorded due to its specialism- it can only grow on the dead leaf litter of the Ginko tree- a living fossil, physically unchanged from millions of years ago. Its is the only surviving species from a group of trees that were widespread 250 million years ago.
The Bartheletia paradoxa is also a living fossil and has evolved with the tree over geological time.

Due to Ginko being ornamental, most records are in botanical gardens, parks and streets. I found this leaf (among others) in Singleton Botanic Gardens, although it is only early in the year for the fungus and hopefully more should develop.

Bartheletia paradoxa

Caldbeck Cottages - finished!

The first six prints are now hand-coloured - A challenge to get the perspective correct, but worth the effort! Just hope they sell!

Snowflake printing

This morning was spent, when I should have been doing other things, playing around with my gelli plate and snowflakes. A mixture of stencilling nad overprinting and even a little bit of glitter!

Rocky on Blencathra

Following Saturday's scramble up Sharp Edge here are Molly's portraits of Rocky on Blencathra. We used a harness rather than just a lead on a collar which made the ascent a lot safer for him....just incase....

Scafell from Wasdale

An excellent day ...a stiff walk to be honest - rather straight up and then back down! We parked up for free at Wasdale Head and took the footpath back to the National Trust campsite ...the path was damp in places! We then took the track up to Burnmoor Tarn... looking for the path towards Scafell several minor tracks take off across the molinia peatiness....so we struck out...fortunately it was dry! Then up the obvious path to the left of Hardrigg Gill. Steep in parts and then as you ascend on to the rockier parts it was ...steep again. As you climb you get superb views and the summit arrives very suddenly - no chance of a gradual ridge or plateau. Coming back down there was a decent path back down into Wasdale without going back to Burnmoor tarn ...I think we need newer maps - ours are 30 years old! ...Again a steep, but rapid descent and then to the Wasdale Head Inn for a pint. Fantastic conditions - very little wind and unnervingly way too warm for mid November.

Great Gable in the morning light and evening sun.

Scafell.

The summit....

Wasdale walls .....

Wasdale screes.

Blencathra via Sharp edge...Mungrisdale Common and Bannerdale Crags

Today we had a great walk - I've already posted about Sharp Edge - which was superb - a great scramble click here but adding in the two other Wainwrights made a day of it. After Blencathra we walked onto Knowe Crags as the light down St John's in the Vale was lovely; then back across to Atkinson Pike and then across a peaty expanse onto Mungrisdale Common. This is a Wainwright, but it is singularly un-impressive - although it does have good views around it ... Wainwright himself isn't  overly effusive in his book on the Northern Fells ' To add to its other failings Mungrisdale Common does not lend itself to illustration. Most fells have at least one aspect, but the common, from whatever side it is seen, has no more pretension to elegance than a pudding that has been sat on' ...and he has a point! After this we cut across the plateau, which was damp - even though it has been relatively dry, to the head of the Glenderamackin and then onto Bannerdale Crags top before returning to the col and back down the Glenderamackin before returning to the White Horse at Scales for a quick pint. Superb!

Sharp Edge and Scales tarn.

Through St John's in the Vale; back of Skiddaw and Knowe Crags.

St John's in the Vale

Then onto Mungrisdale Common with views across to High Pike and then onto Bannerdale Crags...and then the sun disappeared behind Blencathra.

Sharp Edge onto Blencathra

We'd, as always, been watching the forecast for the weekend and today was as good as promised! The main aim was Blencathra via Sharp Edge with the dog. In fact we added in Mungrisdale Common and Bannerdale Crags as another two Wainwrights...so a cracking day. The conditions on the edge were perfect and Rocky managed absolutely without hesitation.

Calbeck Cottages - printed!

Well that's the linocut done and printed! Time to wait impatiently for it to dry so I can hand colour it.

Grange Fell, Borrowdale

Molly took advantage of a decent day to take the hound up Grange Fell - I just love herdies!

Binsey in low cloud.

No good views today, but Rocky certainly enjoyed a quick blow. Then I look at the photograph and think - how lucky are we if this isn't a good view!