The other week a bird woke me with its clear song while the day was still dark. Our bedroom double-glazing is badly fitted so we are usually woken by raucous seagulls or the revving engines of the early-shift workers heading off, but not that morning. As I snuggled down for another five minutes (fatal!), I remember thinking, hurrah, that’s Spring then!
Since then, we’ve had blue tits exploring the second bird box on the end of the house. They tap away at the entrance with their beaks, and then tap from the inside, as if checking it’s solid enough. I hope they decide to stay! Our lawn has turned into a sea of celandines and primroses. We even had our first daisy. I’ve been working hard to encourage other plants than just grass to grow, and it seems to be working. Lots of early nectar for pollinators!
Though I’ve had a fair few soakings on my bike this month, the last couple of weeks have been heavenly, with some really spectacular blue skies. Entirely appropriate then that the house should be full of Christmas tunes! The kids performed their Covid-cancelled, school productions last week, bedecked in tinsel and festive jumpers. I have to be honest, my heart wasn’t in it, not with tulip bulbs bursting forth.
I handed in final illustrations for a project with The Scottish Centre for Conflict Resolution (SCCR) this month. These images will be part of a new campaign exploring the biology of decision-making. It’s a great project and it was great to work with them again. For those of you who don’t know, I’ve illustrated for SCCR since its inception, so it was lovely to be asked to be a panellist with Dr Sara Watkin, discussing our work with SCCR, as part of the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival this coming May. The event will be online, so anyone can attend. It’s free, but ticketed. You register via the following link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/293049227127
I also have some very exciting book news I can share a little bit of now. I have a children’s novel coming out in February next year! It’s a new story with a new publisher. I can’t wait to tell you more about it!
