Binsey

Our local fell affords some beautiful views!

Looking down Bassenthwaite towards Keswick.

...and across to Dash Falls.

Overwater....

Herdies.

Enjoying the view...

Skiddaw and Bassenthwaite.

Happy lad! 

Drumburgh Moss

The mosses are really beginning to colour up. After all the hard work of Hesket Show and a sustained period re-finding the garden, it was nice to be out in a big landscape with big skies. There were lots of Speckled Wood butterflies, Back Darters and many Swallows and Martins, that were preparing for their southwood departure.  

Conservation grazing - Exmoor ponies.

Male and female Black Darter.

Speckled Wood and Small Tortoisehell.

Part of one of the old carved interpretive board: an adder and moth just about distinguishable.

Looking across to Skidddaw.

Bog Asphodel and Heather.

Strong colours.

A nice expanse.

Walking back.

Buttermere

I can't believe that it's only my second visit to Buttermere this year! Mind you, now that the schools have gone back, I'm sure we'll be visiting again as the colours begin to turn. The late summer purple haze of heather giving way to golden russet of leaves and bracken. A few classic views!

Chicken of the Woods.

Hesket Show 2025

Another excellent day and the rain even held off until the last minute, which was remarkable, given  that the dry summer has now progressed into typical unsettled autumn.

Plenty of prizes in the Garner household, with Molly retaining the most points in baking and I was joint for most points in the Industrial tent. Tom didn't enter much this year on account of having to submit his PhD theseis the day before! But he was particularly delighted with his first for his hand spun, dyed and woven scarf among other prizes. Natalie got prizes for lemon curd and chocolate brownies, while Will's chutney was a winner ....a good day! 

The flowers did well!

A second for the item containing hand-dyed fabric (left) and a third for my item of patchworking and quilting (right).

Artwork.

Floral art.

Finally 'cracked' Pasche eggs, and a first for marmalade, a second for 3 chillies, a third for cheese straws and a third for a dish of rum butter....

Watercolour splashiness

I don't often do watercolours. Apart from sketchbooks, I only do one, for Hesket Show, every year - so it was slap some paint down and see what happens...to be fair I really enjoyed the afternoon sploshing paint around and may well do more! These were based on South Uist, a misty moisty day! The bottom one was my Hesket Show entry ...and it did get a first...although it was rather close run with Tom's technically brilliant painting of a 'Reconstruction of the early paravian dinosaur Microraptor on Ginko from early Cretaceous China, in the compostion of a Audobon's Bird's of America plate', gaining second. To be fair, it came down to the judges taste...I may be forgiven at some stage! 

Tom's watercolour.

Dark Red Helleborine Textile

Following making my Dark Red Helleborine book click here to see it, I have finally finished the textile piece it inspired. The fabric was coloured using gelli plates with hand-made stencils, watercolour was added and then it was patched and sewn/quilted. It took a while to make! 

Dark Red Helleborine and habitat.

Sample pages from my design book...

Printing and colouring the base fabric....

The finished piece and details below....

What to do next? 

Fungal flushes

It's been a while since I blogged, as life has been rather hectic, in the run up to our local Agricultural Show. Entries have been completed and exhibited and the garden has had a complete overhaul. It isn't often we get a prolonged dry spell in Cumbria, so we've gardened and gardened - mainly with an axe and fork! But we have had a couple of trips out to our local wood in search of fungi. 

We had an early flush of activity, with lots of edibles, click here, on August the second, but things kind of began to 'dry up' with the summer heat. Our visit on the sixth August saw a wide variety of fungi including a new one for me: Phellodon niger, more commonly known as the Black Tooth Fungus - a good find for Cumbria! Our visit on the 18th August was memorable for a gorgeous Elephant Hawk Moth caterpillar and some beautiful light, but no fungi to mention!

Chanterelles.

Hedgehog Fungi.

Horn of Plenty.

Black Tooth Fungus...

The 'teeth' on the Black Tooth Fungus.

A random selection of other species...

Elephant Hawk Moth caterpillar...bimbling - we moved him off the road. 

..and woodland light.