Nini Makes

18 days

Pair of House Martins 

It takes a pair of House Martins about 18 days to build a nest (only a few days to prepare their existing nest from the previous year). 18 days may not seem long for a new home, but consider that amount of time in bird years. They are amazing architects and so selfless. Imagine carrying mud in your mouth, back and forth from puddle to nest for 18 days, after having flown thousands of miles from equatorial Africa. Do you think their little chicks appreciate it? Probably ;)

Taking a peek; image taken around midday

I don't have a good view of my garden bird feeders in our new home but I've moved my computer to an upstairs location that just happens to be right underneath the eaves of our house where eight pairs of House Martins nest. At certain times of day their frantic activity is mesmerizing. I can't help but stop and watch their comings and goings when I hear the familiar screeching starting up. 

Off to catch more flies

I've been trying to capture them with my cameras for the past week but haven't had the best luck. I managed one shot with my good Canon and long lens yesterday afternoon (2nd image) and a couple with my little Lumix just before sunset. I wish you could see their silky blue/black feathers and sweet little faces better. Most mud nests here in Somerset are a reddish colour because of the red colour of the soil here. You see it a little better in second picture taken at midday.

::: Note – click images for a closer look :::

While I haven't been dashing out to try and photograph the birds I've been trying to meet deadlines this week. Now I must be off to finish another big one. Before I do I must mention a very important fundraising effort Margie is involved in. Margie and her family are taking part in the, 2012 Walk for Memories, a Canadian-based charity raising money to support individuals with Dementia. Learn more about this important cause and the devastating advance of this disease by visiting her current post, here.

Happy Wednesday!

Jx

New routines and discoveries

Abandoned

New routines are being hatched. Saturdays have become quality time for Gracie and her new best friend, April, the pony. And while Gracie is busy T and I explore our new surroundings. 

Last Saturday we tripped over this abandoned hamlet while we were walking in Exmoor. Apparently it's inhabitants left or died out during the Black Death of 1348. Some research says people still lived here until Victorian times but we saw little evidence to support that suggestion.

Wall with a tree growing out of it

The dry stone boundary walls seemed to go on forever and one can only imagine how long it must have taken for a small community to construct them, especially when a lot of time was dedicated to the art of survival. 


Peak out that tiny window to a valley below

If this area was abandoned in the mid 13th century, when was it first built and inhabited? Tris and I were imagining the long walls being constructed during feudal times, the land being portioned off to tenants.


Wall meandering through the woods

On this particular day we walked for miles and didn't come across another soul, unless you count the deer that were spying on us from the safety of the thick woods. The quietness added to the old and creaky atmosphere.


Nice pattern

I love that the building techniques used all those hundreds of years ago are still used in the area today. The dry stone walls (no mortar used), the simple building construction with local stone, lime mortar and lime-wash... it's all around us.

Pretty ponds

The ponds and streams with little bridges crossing them at the base of the hills are clear and beautiful and there's lots of smaller life to explore.

Life in old logs

Then it's time to cruise back over the gentle rolling hills to find Gracie again and make our way back home. 

Springtime landscape

The geology of the Exmoor area is so varied. This section of hills we hiked are covered in slate with some sandstone and granite too. Here's a short pamphlet that shows how mixed this relatively small geographical area is, I know some of you are into this sort of stuff, I find it fascinating and you might too.

Can't wait to see what this coming weekend brings (though it really should involve the last bits of unpacking, lots of cleaning and catching up on laundry).

I hope you're weekend is full of small adventures, or big ones!

Jx

A quick look

Hanging laundry at the Woodshed

One of the funny details I forgot about moving house is that daily life still must go on even if I have a hundred boxes to unpack (or more) and furniture to shift and utility companies to sort out. The dog still needs walks, the laundry still needs washing (if I can get to the machine) and deadlines still must be met. Sometimes my children even expect a square meal, good thing we've moved to a village with an excellent shop – they turn their noses up at frozen pizza, even though I explain that it's a square meal because it comes in a square box ;)

Pippi bringing me the antler she found

Living in a temporary state of disarray has meant my absence here and I've missed you blog; the process of creating I've missed even more. I'm bursting to make things which admittedly has sometimes led to crankiness, but we're getting there.

Here's a quick look at where we've been. The two images above were at of our temporary lodging at the Woodshed, a little holiday home when we were between houses (and without Internet access). The rest of these are from the last week and a half which have been crazy but fun. Good friends even came to stay two days after we arrived and they were very good humoured about wading through boxes (thank you Dianne and boys).

Though we've been in Somerset for such a short time there's already lots to love – like hearing the bells ring out across the village from the church just up the hill, amazing walks and incredible nature reserves, stunning views, welcoming neighbours, a beautiful riding school for Gracie to join with lovely horses and not silly prices and very importantly, a pub with great food and brilliant local brews.

A new creative space in the making

Gracie finally gets to ride, she's been begging for years

Wild pony and her foal on Quantock Common approaching the parking lot

Walking above the village

Special visitors

View from our walk above the village

Thank you for the emails and comments of concern wondering if I'll return; yes I will – see, I'm making a start already with this quick hello. Thank you also to friends who gave us all a lovely send-off before the move, you'll be missed!

Now I'm hoping to get back here more regularly and start making visits to friends soon too.

Jx

getting out on grey days

Sunshine inside

Sitting under a grey sky meant a very wet walk this morning and enjoying the sunshine inside. My first bundle of daffodils of the year is making my desk sunny and bright.

Nature notes

I came across an old page of "nature notes" while I was sorting out ugly, gigantic piles of paperwork. Living in a country that often sees days on end of grey skies in the winter, I used to make up little nature scavenger hunts to help get the kids more interested in getting outside when it was cold or wet.

These little nature notes only took a couple of minutes to write up and worked well to get the children to look more closely at the world around them. Sometimes they would fill in answers when they got home and more often than not only one kid participated, but I know the other one was still taking it all in.

It's easy to make them up to match the environment where you live. If it's damp out, rub a candle over the page to keep it dry, if it's rainy then pop it in a plastic bag. 

On this particular sheet these are the questions I asked: 

• Can you find any animal homes?
• Can you still see any fallen leaves?
• Look out for birds with bright colours. Can you see any?
• Are there any fungi still around?
• What kind of trees do you see that still have leaves?
• Are there any bright colours in the hedgerows? What do you see that is brightly coloured?
• Have you seen any animals that live under ground? How about mini beasts?
• Did you find any puddles to jump in?

Very simple and achievable, that was key. I wish these sheets still worked for T & G. Nowadays I resort to bribery more often than not and we stop for a special treat half-way through our walk. 

Hope you have sunshine where you are today. 

Jx

Cold walks & a sweet new zine

Tristan is ripping out a Metallica song upstairs on his guitar, Gracie is washing her hair and Pippi is tucked up next to me hogging the heater, so I'm stealing a few moments to post some images from a very frosty walk I took yesterday morning. It was one of those mornings that looked like snow at first glance and you just know an extra layer will be needed.

I half expected a Snow Queen to pop out from behind a tree somewhere.

Now onto a much less subdued image, a new zine by Nicole, from Follow the White Bunny and Carina from Carina's Craftblog; the pair have teamed up to start &Stitches.
When Nicole contacted me a couple of months back to be one of the crafters featured in their first issue I didn't hesitate, I knew their new zine would be fun and first rate and when I received it I wasn't disappointed. It's bright and cheerful and full of tips and talented stitchy people like the authors themselves. The zine also includes patterns like the fishies below – I'm seeing this one on a beach bag.

The first issue is all about colour and it's a cracker. In their own words "&Stitches is a quarterly e-zine, all about modern stitching. It has a strong focus on Embroidery (and yes that includes all kinds of Embroidery!) but other (hand) sewing projects and themes are definitely on the map too."

I'm looking forward to future issues, this stitchy zine is off to a fantastic start. Now hop on over and pick yourself up a copy here.

Leafy walks and other good things

Little bath

Tiny bath for a tiny mouse or maybe a wren.

Hedgerows showing off

Our mild autumn has meant lots of colour still in the hedgrows. 

Couple

Looks like the one on the right is napping.

Gnarled

Love these knobbly trees.

Yellow

We've been so lucky to have the autumn color for so long. Our current blustery storm is bound to strip all the remaining leaves. I just struggled to walk home against the wind, Pippi had no problem though :)

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Some good news. Cousin Mark and wife Leanne just had their third sweet girl. Welcome to the world little Élodie, can't wait to meet you.

Also, across the pond cousin Brinkley has a new photography page on Facebook here. Her images look so much wiser than her seventeen years.

On Sunday Gracie and I spent a couple glorious hours at the seaside. Stone skipping, making art then watching the sea reclaim it – G's posted more about our excursion on her blog.

Sand doodles

Happy Tuesday to you!

Jx

PS, I my apologies for the phone camera images, I haven't managed to get out with my good camera lately.

Images from a weekend

Sunny morning

What a beautiful weekend of sunshine. We spent the weekend in Kent with friends and family, it was a lovely break.

Pretty leaves,forgot the name

Love the colour and shape of these.

Little Owl

In the evenings we were entertained by the music of lots of tawny owls. This owl makes different sorts of sounds.

Touch of frost

We had a little icing on the plants.

Thanks to our hosts, we loved spending time with you!

If you have a blog, this post will make you laugh, oddly it also made me cry.
These stitched book covers are wonderful, what a great FS contest. Go and vote.
I'm wanting to squeeze in the making of at least a couple of Christmas gifts but it hasn't happened yet. If only I could schedule children's illnesses, car break downs and unwelcome surprises in the post... life would be a regular walk in the park!  

Still not much time for blog visits, forgive my absence friends. Really hoping to see you soon. I leave you with this image: This morning I saw an old lady impeccably dressed from head to toe walking down the road blowing an enormous bubble. She reminded me of my kooky maternal grandmother and really made me giggle, if I were Jill, she'd be my drawing today ;)

Jx

You can find me here

Down this lane is a pretty thatched cottage, not huge, just the right size. First you reach this shed made of oak beams and walled with long branches. Then curve around the pond on your right and 

come up this path and through the garden gate; you'll find me making a morning coffee in the cottage up on the left.

Now let's walk out of the cottage across a big, beautiful kitchen garden and step into a gorgeous old barn. The barn's been converted for entertaining. This space is for big meals with friends gathered around a large table having long conversations lasting well into the night.

And if you were to tiptoe past the barn as the sun is coming up you'll find a few cows in another barn and a couple horses in the paddock waiting to greet you.

In my dreams, this is where you'll find me.

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When I take a long walk through the village where we live I walk through a small wood then come across this house in the most wonderful setting. Every time I go past I can see myself living there, as clear as I see my hand in front of my face. Sadly it's been unoccupied for years now, except for the barn and stables that are rented out. The good news is that it's for sale, the bad news is it's so expensive it will probably stay unoccupied for a lot longer. 

When I win the lottery, because I fully intend to you know, I will buy this little piece of paradise and invite you all around for a good old "knees up" as they say in these parts.

If Pippi hadn't got the cows all in a twitter this morning I'd have showed you the house and barn too – next time.

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I can't believe it's nearly Thursday already. We had a fantastic weekend seeing the Antonio Forcione Quartet on Friday night, going to our school founder's day celebration on Saturday, and on Sunday we spent a lovely day with my in-laws.
And today I realized my small, Wednesday textiles class has grown from five to ten so my hands were very busy – I can't tell you how much fun we're having together. 
Also, I finally replaced my little digital camera so I hope to have nicer images again and not rely on the phone so much. 

Tomorrow I'm off to London to spend a few hours with a good friend and to celebrate becoming another year older :)

So happy Thursday to you in advance,

Jx

PS, back soon with an early Christmas treat.

Tiptoeing through the toadstools

I couldn't help showing a few more of the agarics. There is a small wood that I visit when I only have time for a short walk – this is where I found the mushrooms from the last post. One section has a huge crop of these red fly agarics. Our recent storm on the tail of hurricane Katia dropped branches on to many of them but there are many more untouched, apart from the odd slug feast here and there.

Agarics after the storm

Agaric emerging

Twins

Agaric umbrella 

Slug window

Agarics in the sand

If you're on the hunt for agarics the area where these are flourishing best is at the base of birch trees and in various mosses. The soil where they grow is well draining due to sand deposits in the area. I also spotted more in a small grove of holly trees. In both cases the agarics are along the edge of the wood, I rarely find them deeper in the woods where there is less sunshine.

I'm sure the attraction agarics hold is partly the surprise of their vibrant colour but it's also so easy to imagine tiny creatures carving out homes in them, the stuff of Enid Blyton and Beatrix Potter.

Recently I've also been really enjoying crafting with wood again, more about wood projects next month.

I'm returning to the classroom this afternoon teaching some after school activities. We'll be working with repurposed textiles and doing lots of hand stitching – I'm very excited about it, in fact I'd better get back to organizing materials.

Before I go, Tara is giving away some of her gorgeous soap, enter here. And Feeling Stitchy has an interesting stitched book cover contest starting here.

Happy Wednesday!

Jx 

Life continues, it's just different

Just a week ago when I walked through this small wood there were a few mushrooms scattered here and there but nothing very special caught my eye. Today, I stumbled over so many more. All shapes and sizes including the amethyst deceiver (below right) that I've never found before. It was such a beautiful purple, the camera on my phone did it no justice. The camera I normally take on walks is broken :(

Change is constant, sometimes even just a week makes an enormous difference.

Today, like most people, I am remembering where I was 10 years ago. I was blissfully looking forward to the birth of my second baby only weeks away and in nesting mode. 

When the Towers fell I prayed the sickening feeling inside of me wouldn't be felt by the new life growing in my belly. I'm sure most pregnant women felt the same as me, thinking "What kind of world am I bringing this new life into?" Then worried how the feeling of despair and sadness would affect my unborn child.

But my baby was and still is a happy, healthy little soul. She's strong, curious and smart too. The world she grows up in is different than the one I grew up in just as my world was different than my parents'. She already faces bigger challenges than I did at the age of 10, but she will cope and adapt because that's what we humans do and because life goes on.

My thoughts today are with a close friend who received very sad news this week and also with all those who lost loved ones 10 years ago today.

I hope your week ahead brings change in wonderful ways and that you give your families extra squeezy hugs as often as possible, I know I will :)

Jx