Morning on the farm

Posted on October 16, 2011 by Hannah

Mornings on the farm certainly don’t sound like any pastoral symphony but I like them all the same. We do get the birds. The first birdsong of the day always sounds particularly bright and shiny. This is shortly followed by a second dawn chorus from the dogs. The youngest border collie sleeps in our next door neighbour’s boot room so she is let out first. She then enjoys going round and teasing all the other dogs who are still in their kennels. She manages to wind them up into a frenzy of howls and barks. There are two tribes of dogs on either side of the farmyard and it is all out war between them. So once the first tribe have started up it’s not long before they’re trading insults with the other lot over the stoney yard. Not long after this, tractors and various other forms of farm machinery are being started up. In the midst of this arrives one of the most brilliant men I have ever met: our milkman. Here is a cheeky portrait of him. When all else came to a standstill in the snow last year he didn’t miss one day’s delivery. He is a big man with enormous forearms who wouldn’t look amiss standing next to William Wallace in Braveheart. He has an accent to match so when he was giving me directions to our local Common Riding I hadn’t a clue what he was talking about. He was one of the first people to make us feel welcome in our new community and I would take his tourist information and weather forecasts over anyone’s.

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The Knitter Magazine

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Hannah

 

 

 

 

 

LOOK! The very lovely people at the Knitter Magazine featured my sheep book in this month’s issue about British sheep breeds. Welcome to everyone who is visiting this blog as a result of seeing my book there. Please do visit again!

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‘S’ is for…

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Hannah

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think I must have had a hormone surge yesterday. I baked a fruit crumble in the oven for tea thinking it was a chicken pie. The topping is the giveaway I always think so no excuses there. Then I filled the bath up entirely from the cold tap. Hmmmm.

Another project I’m working on at college is based around the The Robert Smail Print Works at Innerleithen. It’s an incredible place now preserved by the National Trust. The presses and case room are as if a victorian printmaker just nipped out. There’s even the shop with its old till and steamer tickets for America. Part of the project was to produce a design of a wooden letterpress block. Here is my design: a gluttony of every font and size of ‘S’ I could find in the print room at college.

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Change is afoot

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Hannah

The temperature dropped by 5 degrees this week so it was time to recommission the birdfeeders ready for winter. Little Owl carefully held the plastic funnel as we loaded the feeders with a variety of seeds and nuts. Later in the day we were rewarded by seeing a beautiful nuthatch munching away outside the kitchen window.

Yesterday I lost a paintbrush in a giant pot of red ink. Big Dreamer spent a good ten minutes trying to fish it back out with two kebab sticks. He kept muttering to himself, “It’s all in the technique.” He has been muttering in a similar vein over my plans for a website, which have involved a lot of work from him. So, this is a little heads-up that hopefully it’ll be up and running soon. When you log onto www.owlingabout.co.uk things will look quite different but you will be able to navigate from the homepage to my blog. Please do let us know what you think and if you have any problems with it. It’s just us doing it, not a snazzy computer company, so we’ll probably need some help from you all to get it just right. Thanks in advance!

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Craft Fair

Posted on October 8, 2011 by Hannah

Next Saturday I will be at the North Middleton Craft Fair so if you’re in the area do come along. There will be lots of local crafts people. I will be bringing along all my Sheep paraphernalia, as well as my Haiku prints and my brand new selection of Christmas cards! Definitely worth a look. Full details are on the poster below.

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Local characters

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Hannah

Most places have some great local characters. I remember Xylophone Man when we were in Nottingham. When he sadly passed away he was commemorated with an engraved paving stone outside M&S, where he used to sit. Edinburgh is no different. The character I was most excited about seeing again on my return to college was Night Owl. He is a crazy cycler who we pass on our way into Edinburgh in the mornings. He determinedly cycles past us in the opposite direction. He has an amazing bicycle done up with a silver and grey shield. He doesn’t actually wear a cape but it’s as if he does. We call him Night Owl after the character from the Watchmen comics. His get-up is not dissimilar to that of the action hero Night Owl in the comics and we’re sure he must be a superhero hidden amongst us! To my great disappointment I have seen nothing of Night Owl since returning to college this year and my daily commute is much the worse for it.

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Dramatic skies

Posted on October 3, 2011 by Hannah

Little Owl and I sauntered home behind a tractor carrying hay bales. We didn’t mind because we could take in the dramatic evening. Wheeling flocks of seagulls, seeking escape from the stormy seas, made black patterns against the gold and pink of the sky. Weight lifts off me in pounds as I drive away from the city and I am almost gleeful as we pass the snow gates. Once I’m on the right side of the snow gates I can really relax, as if I’ve passed inside the harbour wall.

Here is a drawing of the vegetarian cafe Henderson’s. It’s a bit of an Edinburgh institution. At college I am working on an illustrated map and this little sketch will hopefully go in it.

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Coffee morning

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Hannah

It is glorious here today (that indian summer finally hit Scotland). Little Owl and I took the day off from our studies to help out with the Toddler Group Macmillan Coffee Morning. The idea is to raise funds for the cancer support charity. We bustled about the hall and all the wee ones were very helpful (particularly around the plates of cakes!). We had a great turn out from the village and everyone was really generous. I also love how it contributes to a general feeling of community. We all get together for a good cause but also get to chat and catch up. I rarely come away empty handed either. I went with my iced buns and raffle prize but came away with runner beans and a bunch of flowers from someone’s garden. It’s like a big old friendly swap shop.

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Wannabe Wizards

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Hannah

Remember that long piece of wood Big Dreamer had collected from our weekend woodland walk? The one he was going to fashion into a Gandalf-type staff? He had left it leaning against the house outside the front door. It clouted me hard on the head as I walked out of the house this evening. Do you know, heads bleed a lot? Why can’t I have a normal husband who doesn’t dream of being a fictional character? I couldn’t be angry though because he had also bought me Shaun Tan‘s latest book as a ‘back to school’ present. Shaun Tan is an incredible Australian illustrator and writer. He has written some wonderful and unusual children’s books. This latest book is a collection of short stories beautifully written and illustrated by Shaun. So although I have a headache and am now quite nervous of that wannabe wizard’s staff I’m happily clutching my precious present.

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Sticks and shoes

Posted on September 25, 2011 by Hannah

Today we went for a great walk in the woods. Big Dreamer found a long piece of wood which he intends to turn into a staff like Gandalf’s from Lord of the Rings. We drove home with it wedged through the car.

Yesterday I went to collect some logs from our wood shed to fill up the stash in the house. Our wood shed is in fact an old coal house so the walls are black and dusty. The golden logs glow like treasure against the darkness of the shed interior. It gives me a snug feeling to know we’ve got our fuel for the winter.

I also collected some kindling from the shed. We have an almighty stash of kindling. Last year huge amounts of twigs started appearing in the shed. At first we thought our next door neighbour must be finding good piles around the farm and putting them in there for us. It would be just like her not to say anything. The thing was it carried on until we could no longer get into the shed. We wondered how we would broach the subject to her as we didn’t want to offend her when she was being so kind. As time went on bits of feather and grass appeared amongst the twigs. We realised it was in fact a pair of jackdaws who were building a nest in our shed. They were getting in through a hole in the door and must have been getting pretty annoyed with us every time we tidied all their twigs up. Anyway, they have left us with the most amazing pile of perfect kindling. Big Dreamer says we should leave the door open for them next spring too.

I have drawn Little Owl’s new shoes. Yesterday we went shoe shopping for her. They are shiny and red. Little Owl likes them so much she wore them to bed last night.

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