February 2nd

A fine Candlemas will bring about a prolongation of Winter and a rainy Candlemas means that we will have an early Spring. A fine but very cold day here. Perhaps this means that our long awaited Winter will at last arrive - not that I am relishing the thought of ice and snow but this long green Winter seems very strange.

On the Snowdrop

Already now the snowdrop dares appear,

The first pale blossom of the unripened year:

As Flora's breath, by some transforming power,

Had changed an icicle into a flower:

Its name and hue the scentless plant retains

And Winter lingers in its icy veins.

Anna Laetitia Barbauld (1743-1825)

A little bit of history

A cold January day with flurries of snow. I have been priming canvas and painting. Everything is slow to dry because of the cold so I have been spending some time researching a little bit to get a feel of the area where my studio is based. I live where rivers run, between the Severn and The Wye, where hills rise and forests cover the land. When I come down from the hillsides as I drive some 18 miles to my studio I see a more pastoral landscape with rolling slopes and green meadows. My studio is at the village of Trumpet on the Trumpet Crossroads. I found this today on Wikipedia:

Trumpet, Herefordshire

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Trumpet Inn

Trumpet or The Trumpet is a village in Herefordshire, England. The village is named after the timber-framed Trumpet Inn.
The inn is located at a major crossroads of the A438 and A417/A4172 from where:

• the City of Hereford is 18 km (11 mi) to the west on the A438
• Ledbury is 7 km (4.3 mi) to the east on the A438
• Leominster is 28 km (17 mi) to the northwest initially on the A417
• Gloucester is 32 km (20 mi) to the southeast initially on the A4172

The half-timbered inn is said to be some 800 years old and so named from the obligation of coaches that passed by to blow their coach horns.
The crossing must have been an important intersection of the Gloucester to Leominster and Tewkesbury to Hereford roads.
Local agriculture includes the growing of hops and cider apples.


  This Inn stands across the road from the studio. Reading this has summoned up images in my imagination of coaches and horses and a slower pace of travel than the cars and lorries that rush passed my window. Knowing a little more about the history of a place can change the way you view it and give a broader understanding of its place in the landscape.

One Little Word

As we enter 2012 I am going to keep one little word and carry it in my mind and try to keep it ever present throughout the year.  That word is 'ACTION'.  As I sit and day dream and make plans there is always something that holds me back from bringing those dreams to fruition. One day I'll do that I think, one day when I am more skilled, have more resources or opportunities, one day when the time is right.

In the summers of 2010 and 2011 I did an online course with an American artist, Kelly-Rae Roberts (it was so good that repeated it last summer) called 'Flying Lessons'.  Kelly-Rae describes herself as a 'possibilitarian' and she instills in her students a belief that anything is possible if you put your dreams into action.

So, this year I will be putting things into action, I won't wait.  I may never be quite good enough and the time might never be right but if I try then who knows what might happen.  

This blogpost is part of a group bloghop which is being carried out by myself and my fellow 'Flyers'. I do hope that you will be able to link into their posts too and see which little words are inspiring them this year:

http://fly-tribe.blogspot.com/2012/01/wordhop-2012.html

Now that's a pie!

On this date in 1770 a Christmas pie was made in London town. The ingredients included:

4 bushels of flour
20 pounds of butter
4 geese
2 turkeys
2 rabbits
4 wild ducks
2 woodcock
6 snipe
4 partridges
2 neats' tongues
2 curlews
7 blackbirds
6 pigeons

It was apparently 9 feet in circumference at the bottom and weighed about 12 stone (168 pounds).  It took two men to bring it to the table and it was manouvered at the table by four wheels which were attached to a case underneath it.  If the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds was around at the time I doubt whether a representative would have been invited.

Christmas Eve and all is quiet

Everyone is home for Christmas and they are all still upstairs in bed. It is quiet in the house. Today I am going to be looking for that Christmas Eve stillness that can be found in the quiet times. There is a depth to the silence on Christmas Eve that seems more intense than at any other time of year, if only you can find it. Think of a solitary candle shining out in the dark from a farmhouse window on a snowy hillside. The night is clear and the sky is full of stars, travelling with a bright moon.  The silence rings in the air, the frost descends, all is still and peace is revealed upon the land. I shall steal away tonight for a little while to find that moment of stillness and then I shall know that Christmas has begun.

Encounter with Apples and Dragons

I live on the edge of the wild hills and forests, amongst rocky escarpments and meandering rivers. My house stands on a lane along which Romans trod as they marched from their hilltop fort and the mines of Deep Dean to the banks of the River Wye where their boats embarked. The river winds on passed King Arthur's Cave and the castles of Wilton, Goodrich and the mighty Chepstow and the mystical ruins of Tintern Abbey in its wooded valley.

I now venture out of the lands of wood and water almost everyday and cross over the Marcle Ridge to the rolling pasturelands and orchards in the valley below. This is cider country and on Saturday I am going to give a workshop at the beautiful Dragon Orchard at Putley (see www.onceuponatree.co.uk, isn't that a wonderful name?). The Dragon Orchard is owned by the lovely Ann and Norman Stanier who live in a stunning eco-house in the orchard.  At the workshop we will be making door wreaths with greenery from the orchard hedgerows which can be taken home and hung to welcome guests at the festive season. I am having an enlightening time researching the folklore of the greenwood at Christmas time and finding it difficult to know where to stop as I steep myself in ancient legends and myths in preparation for the day.

Ann will be making mince pies and if they are as good as the spicy pickled quinces that she made and let me sample we will be in for a treat, they were Christmas in a jar and quite unique.  I know that I shall have to visit their Christmas shop before I leave because there is something special about the juices, wines and ciders, as well as the beautiful craftwork and local produce that comes directly from the land under your feet. There is something about the Dragon Orchard that makes you want to be a part of it and I am considering becoming a member of the cropsharers scheme, not only for the share of the fruit and the events, but for that little sense of belonging that draws you when you walk the fields.

When I lived at The Old Cider Mill at the edge of the Forest of Dean I planted a small orchard in the paddock amongst the remaining old perry pear trees. I was sad to leave it behind when I moved house but if I pass along that lane now I can see my trees growing tall and strong and my wish is that they are bearing good fruit. I hope that, if you live nearby, you might consider joining us at the Dragon Orchard on Saturday as there are a few spaces left.  Come and share with us the magic of the orchard at Christmastime and hear the folklore and symbols of the hedgerow plants that we use so that their meanings will be carried forward into the present from the ancient times.

Dreaming in December