Tuesday

In the early morning garden beautiful things were kissed by the dew.

London

Before I went to London I played with my new desk, making a space for it and myself in a jumble of rubble and stored things. It now looks like a shrine to Robin Hobb.
On my return I found ruby jewels in the garden.
And London? Well. The Pop Up Festival began this week and they have so much planned. It is ambitious, expansive, inclusive, exciting, enticing, informing, playful and much much more.

 

I met and talked to children in a library, The West Library, in Islington ( and in my mind, Neverwhere by Neil Gaimon). Then the next day I went to The Grant Museum and as a result am now haunted by a jar of moles. So many stories tied up in this place. I think for me the most disturbing thing I saw was the Tasmanian Tiger skin and skeleton. For the children the most disturbing thing was probably me telling them how polar bears lick the ice clean after a kill. Perhaps a bit too graphic and I don't think any of them will ever ask for one of those slush puppy things you get in newsagents again.

 

And meanwhile I found that my garden obsession could continue as Robin and I wandered a wonderful city allotment while Robin's brother Jeremy picked strawberries for our supper.

 

I have so much work to do. And supper calls. In the oven, butternut squash, bright golden, roasting to be made into soup, and beetroots also roasting in their deep red for a beetroot and yoghurt creation tomorrow.

Beautiful Distractions

The day began with walking the dogs ( and Elmo). I then became trapped in the garden. I was distracted by:

potting seeds, salad leaves and coriander,

 

courgettes,

planting tomatoes and watching the butternut squash grow,

 

hanging up washing in sunshine,

butterflies,

 

Tirion's flowers, planted in my garden by her dad, because they are her favorite and reminded her of him.

Finally I made it into my studio where I drew for a while, before becoming distracted by blogging, taking in the dry washing, planting out the baby leeks and weeding one of the raised beds.

The more time I spend in the garden.....

...the more time I want to spend in the garden.

My Garden

And a new front door, made of Welsh oak, by Astrid. Beautiful. 

 

Red food

In the garden there are still beetroots that have survived the winter, in the ground. And in my cookbook from Druidstone Hotel, a wonderful vibrant recipe.

4 beetroots, roasted and grated

300gms of Greek Yoghurt, thick, creamy

3 tablespoons of fresh squeezed sharp lemon juice
a handful of tasted, chopped walnuts

a couple of tablespoons of olive oil

one clove of finely chopped garlic

salt

and always

black pepper.

I roast the beets in olive oil with some black pepper because I love the smell of the dark ruby roots and the cracked black peppercorns. There is something wonderful and jewel like about the grated beets. All you have to do is stir all the things together and then I find if you make it the day before and keep in fridge the taste is more wonderful and the colour is a feast for the eyes. 

Seedlings are sprouting up in the raised beds and I am wondering if I will have enough of everything, do I need more raised beds, should I just dig up the whole garden and plant food?

In Wales vegetables can be dangerous creatures so we keep them caged, or maybe this is just to keep the cats off the raised beds!

Fast cats and flowers

Working on the first spread for the cat book and thinking about leaving home . 
Yesterday I watched a skein of jackdaws chase a merlin along the hedgerows, a peasant mob after a small falcon.
There is too much to do, as usual and I am trying to do it all at the same time and as a result getting nothing much done.
So far my list of things that need doing is morphing into having sub-lists. Not a good state to be in.
1. Finish cheetahs. I want to do this before I go away, for peace of mind. 
2. Stretch paper. I want to do this before I go away so that I have blank paper ready to begin when I get home.
3. Make list of things to take away. I want to do this before I go as there won't be much point when I get back, and I have to take dragons and bears and maybe my bowl, and amber and silver and paints and brushes.
4. Tidy studio. I want to do this before I leave home so that when I come back I can sit down and work. I have a lot to do.
5. Tidy bedroom. Hmmm...... trolls live here.

It is raining now, and the sunshine and rain and lack of frost makes the vegetables grow. I still marvel at the bright flowers on the courgette plants, like jester's hats and so golden saffron coloured.

 

Leeks

This time last year I had a new roof put on the house. Now I have raised beds that have grown out of left over building materials and old roof beams.

And I have leeks from the old roof beams, but a different kind to the leeks I had last year.

Courgettes are still growing, and beetroots and spring onions which are so lovely to pull fresh with the lambs lettuce for lunch.

Today I started painting for I Am Cat. I have until Tuesday to get the dummy book and a spread to London in time for the presentation meeting for Frankfurt. 

Pirates and treasure

Dropped Tom at school then headed to Porthllisky where there was a promise of treasure. Blue sky, red coat of a pirate, seal in the bay, walk slowed by blackberries kssed by the sea salt breeze, buzzard and the haunting cry of lifting curlew. I played with my shadow on the rock face, a sea so blue.

Back at the car I called on Jan and sure enough she had ruby red treasures, bright beetroots. I envy her the raised beds she has. They are so full and looked wonderful in the slant of morning light. Hoping to learn all that I need to know from her and Daf and Tom.

Back home, working towards finishing the KNTR calendar piece, which Hannah described as 'an incredible piece of product placement'. The piece has something from The Snow Leopard, Tell Me a Dragon, The Ice Bear, and The Panda's Child ( waiting for contract).

Time and tide

In my garden plants that were only a few weeks ago small seedlings are now strong and beautiful. The leeks, pulled from the earth, smelled sweet, strong, fresh.

At the beach Robin played with Charlie. The sea had thrown itself back leaving wide clean sand.

Today I started work early, then walked, alone, along berry filled hedges to the blue sea. I stood for a while with the wind wrapped around me and contemplated the texture of water. Sunlight reminded me of a poem from The Barefoot Book of Classic Poems.

 Until I saw the sea

I did not know

that wind

could wrinkle water so.

I never knew

that sun

could splinter a whole sea of blue.

Nor

did I know before

a sea breathes in and out

upon a shore.

by Lilian Moore

Back home I settled again to work and watched the sea of time wash over different sands.

 

Green light

Early morning sunlight on vegetables made the garden beautiful. Later today I will turn the spinach into bhaji and the courgettes into a prawn and courgette Indian dish. For now they look glorious.

Much to do. In teh garden there is spinach and leeks, courgettes and beetroot, a few roses clinging to the memory of summer and some honeysuckle. Also passionflowers climbing and twisting up the wall and the drain pipe. And ginger cats. The flowers on Kiffer's grave are strong.

1. Sign books for The Mill.

2. Tidy up computer desk and work table. ( I keep buying things, and saying, I will put this on my desk. Soon there will be no room to work. But I have a beautiful Amanda Popham sculpture that needs to sit on a desk, so it needs space.)

3. Draw out and begin to paint KNRT calendar painting. ( Maybe squeeze in a ginger cat and a polar bear?)

4. Roughs for I Am Cat.

5. Blog post. ( Listening to the lovely Karine Polwart singing.)

6. Check that there is an Ice Bear Powerpoint, and dragons and Little Bear for trip away in October.

7. Make list.

8.Walk dogs.

10. Find moments to read The Anatomy of Ghosts by Andrew Taylor. ( This is my book for September from Mr B's Emporium and it will have to be a good one to follow on from the wonderful Hummingbird's Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea. His book still haunts me. Such a wonderful story so well told.)

11. Work on website and links on blog to website, and hang new work in The House of Golden Dreams.