The moth's birthday

During a recent fit of digging, I noticed a little creature struggling in the soil. On closer inspection, I realised it was a new moth, battling its way out of its chrysalis. Its tiny wings didn't look properly formed, and I was worried I'd disturbed it before it was quite ready to hatch. (Is hatch the right word?) Also worried about Harvey treading on the moth, I managed to move it onto the hydrangea where it could dry out in the sun. Sure enough, its wings gradually uncrinkled, and here it is, in the centre of the picture if you can spot it.

After a while it moved itself down into the shadows of the plant, where I hope it survived birds and bats. It's not every day you witness the birth of a moth! I wonder how it feels, to go into a chrysalis as one creature and come out as another. How do you suddenly get the hang of flying?

I've been looking at my 'Complete British Wildlife', trying to identify the species of moth for you. Some of the pictures give me a funny, tickly feeling at the back of my neck, so I had to stop. However, the names of moths are very poetic. The Vapourer. The Heart and Dart. The Beautiful Golden Y. The Canary-shouldered Thorn. I could go on. There are pages!

Everything in the garden is lovely and green. We have lots of yellow poppies (Meconopsis cambrica.) The odd one comes up more orange in colour, like this. I'd like to try growing the difficult Himalayan Blue ones, but don't think I have the right soil.

Here's Harvey in the park. I had to attach him to a tree to take this photo, otherwise his retriever snout is down on the ground, snuffling out every bit of smelly goo. He's looking affronted at the interruption to his foraging.

The park is all frothy with cow parsley this time of year. Also known as Queen Anne's Lace.

Who lives in a hole like this? Elves, maybe. Or moths with magical names.

Have a magical May!



Books, books, books

There've been many changes in the three months (three months?) since I last blogged. Without being too specific, inviting stalkers, lurkers, or "I'm your number one fan", I am now working at a place with lots of books! In addition I have a few hours voluntary work that involves sewing and crafts. How lucky am I? Books and sewing are two of my favourite things, so it's lovely to have them as part of my gainful employment.

I thought I would be writing more, but I am still progressing at my usual rate i.e. between steady and slow. However, I have sold some stories so that's fine. I also won a £5 Amazon voucher for a little poem on Kishboo.

Some of the books I've enjoyed so far this year:

'The Casual Vacancy' - J.K. Rowling. Dark but brilliant. Did you see that a chair sat on by J.K. Rowling when she wrote Harry Potter has been sold for almost £280,000? Someone could buy all my furniture, and probably the house too, for that much!

'The Franchise Affair' - Josephine Tey. Classic detective mystery.

'Room for a Single Lady' - Clare Boylan. A series of lodgers provides entertainment and education for the young daughters of a Dublin family in the fifties.

'Miss Marple and Mystery' - Agatha Christie short stories.

And because I seem to be on a mystery theme, I have also been reading my way through the Fethering mysteries by Simon Brett.

Question of the day: why is a grapefruit nothing like a grape?

 

I'll let you ponder on that for the next three months or so. In return, you are welcome to leave me some book recommendations if you have any. I'm always on the lookout for the next good read.

 

Hope you have an inspiring April. Watch out for the showers!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all of you. I hope 2016 has begun well, and will bring even better things as it goes on!

 

You may remember that my job is due to disappear at the end of March. I have promising news about an unexpected opportunity, but I shan't say more until it's all signed and sealed. It will definitely leave me more time to write though, so 2016 is looking good for me so far.

 

We had a sprinkling of snow this morning. Harvey enjoyed a good chomp, but it is melting really fast. Barely enough time for him to try fetching a snowball.

Here is a snowier scene. Last year the subway beneath Cannock town centre was retiled, and local artists contributed paintings for the walls. It is such an improvement on the dingy old underpass. Lots of the paintings relate to the area's history. In this one, by Matt Sayers, you can see the old pit in the background.

Mining stopped in the Cannock area some years ago, but there are still rows of miners' cottages in places. Another painting by Matt Sayers...

I'll take a few more photos next time I visit. There's a wide variety of subjects and styles, some lovely murals on the theme of Cannock Chase, and it's so much more interesting to walk through that subway now!



Christmas greetings

 

It's December again already - and yet lobelia is flowering in my patio pots!

Not feeling festive? Don't worry. In Asda yesterday I saw air fresheners to hang in the car. They were shaped like bunnies and adorned with the words 'Happy Easter'!

Merry Christmas to you all. x

 

November blues and a lucky win

November is always an odd month. I miss being outdoors as much, and hate it when it's dark at four in the afternoon.

A couple of weeks ago it was confirmed that the place where I've worked for the last nine years is to close in the spring. At the moment none of us really know what we'll do next. Although in one way, it's good to see new possibilities ahead, I know we have emotional weeks to go through while we wind things down.

Harvey was twelve recently, and is doing OK for his age. He still has times of appearing quite vacant, and he sleeps a lot, but in himself he seems content.

 

  

I follow a few blogs about sewing, and this week had a stroke of luck in a book giveaway. The blog is A Stitching Odyssey, and I was so excited to win this, which arrived in the post this morning...

 

If any of you watched The Great British Sewing Bee last year, you will remember runner up Chinelo Bally. Her way of working freehand was fascinating, just using measurements, not patterns, and The book explains how to do it! I am really looking forward to trying out some of Chinelo's techniques. They look very creative and liberating, compared with using our traditional paper patterns.

 

Marie at A Stitching Odyssey has another great giveaway going on right now, for some lovely fabric. Do have a look if you are a fabric fetishist like me!

 

So, I may be out of work soon, but I shall not be short of things to do. With metres of fabric already in my drawer, I may even have a whole new wardrobe before too long. Watch this space.

Chinese Lanterns

When we lived in the house before this one, somebody gave us armfuls of beautiful Chinese Lanterns she'd grown and dried. I kept them for several years, until they got too brittle and dusty to bring here when we moved.

In recent years I've been trying to grow my own. They are supposed to be easy - but can also be invasive in moist soil.

Year one: I planted them in a dry spot. They died.

Year two: Planted them in a large pot, but didn't water enough. They died.

Year three: Planted more in the same pot, but they got overshadowed by other things around them. I had only one or two lanterns among all the foliage.

This year: Was more conscientious with the watering, but realised too late that I should have staked them. All my stems grew crooked, instead of nice and straight.

Then I had the quandary of how to dry. Some websites said hang them upside down, others said the right way up. I dried mine upside down, but now my little lanterns mostly poke upwards instead of having that pretty droppy down effect! In addition, I managed to put my foot through the green garden chair, visible in the photo above, and cut the back of my leg! Don't worry though. It has already become a story.

Next year's mission will be to grow perfect Chinese Lanterns. All advice appreciated. Every year the prospect of winter seems worse, and I need the lanterns' vibrant colours against the enervating darkness.

In other news, I am delighted to have a story close to my heart in the latest People's Friend Special, number 114. Also a poem in issue 5 of the online magazine Kishboo. The former was inspired by my fascination with sewing; the latter, my fascination with the moon.

Kishboo publishes rhyming, light-hearted poetry, runs a quarterly short story competition, and includes various articles on writing. Do take a look.

Have a happy Halloween. May your pumpkins glow bright, and all your ghosts be friendly.

On insects

We had a hummingbird hawk moth in the garden a few weeks ago. I'd never seen one before. It came flying towards me, like a tiny bird, wings humming audibly. Then it hovered by my red valerian (apparently one of its favourite plants) to suck up some nectar, and I realised what it was. Sorry I didn't have my camera handy, but here's a video of one from YouTube.



It's definitely insect time of year. Last week I was reading Maggie O'Farrell's wonderful book, 'Instructions for a Heatwave', when I had a nasty surprise at the top of page 183. Nothing to do with Maggie O'Farrell, I must add, who placed every single word in that book just perfectly. No, the surprise was of the eight legged variety.

 

 

Was it murder or accidental death? Suicide seems unlikely. I have disposed of the body in the hydrangea. Beasties are all very interesting, but mostly better in the garden.