They say a change of scene is as good as a rest… having spent a week in the Wirral, Cheshire, I can totally agree.
I found the perfect place to sit quietly and study a new landscape at Parkgate – at the beginning of the Wirral Country Park, looking across the River Dee Estuary towards the Welsh hills and mountains in Flintshire.
Wild flowers flourish in the marshes which stretch as far as the eye can see under a panoramic sky.
A paradise for bird watching, walking and painting.
Oh my goodness so many butterflies in the garden today. Fortunately I paid no attention to my husband’s comments the other day when he said the buddleia bush needed cutting back outside the kitchen window. The buddleia is still covered in flowers and until they go to seed I shall leave them for the butterflies to sip the nectar.
Red Admirals, Peacocks, Gatekeepers, Commas and the beautiful Silver Washed Fritillaries – a pair! The rain may be coming again tomorrow but the butterflies were certainly making the most of the warm sunshine today.
The baby birds have fledged and our garden is alive with young families of goldfinches, bluetits, blackbirds and woodpeckers to name but a few!
Spotted flycatchers dart across the meadow at top speed – rarely pausing. The heatwave appears to be over and I can sit and paint in the summer sunshine – early morning to dusk if I have a mind to!
Buddleia is coming into flower – will there be masses of butterflies this year? I can only wait and see. The buttercups have gone and clover is covering the lawn – providing a feast for the bees.
“Where every flower that was not a buttercup was a daisy “.
Thomas Hardy (Far from the Madding Crowd)
It’s June and the sun is warm – my daughter Sam and I are painting in my garden. A shared art experience.
The birds are singing their hearts out – blackbirds, robins, thrushes and green finches fly in and out of the elderflowers and bees gather on the comfrey.
My garden is a garden of wild flowers and trees – roses and geraniums, the gentle colours mixed together like a romantic painting. Gardening for wildlife and Zen painting – what could be better?
Feeling the Colour – a selection of my original paintings and Dorset Landscape photography by Rosie Mathisen.
Now on show in Brewery Square.
I am standing on the Roman road which crosses the Heath from Thorncombe woods – near to Thomas Hardy’s birthplace in Higher Bockhampton.
The remnants of the wild Heath cling on despite forestry plantations and the tidying up of paths and trails. Signed footpaths are helpful and many are now more accessable to visitors but the gentle commercialisation of this magical place and its popularity could change it forever.
Late afternoon in the bluebell woods – it’s still Far From The Madding Crowd.
We travelled on motorways – an endless stream of cars and lorries and finally reached our destination – Norwich. Still surrounded by chaotic traffic at every roundabout and junction we ventured out to the Broads and fens determined to find tranquility in nature. At last – at Titchwell Marsh an RSPB reserve – we found it.
We stood transfixed, watching the Marsh Harriers, gliding and swooping over the reedbeds. We had come a long way to see them – a very special moment.
Every village we drove through has a new housing development and that means even more cars on the Norfolk roads but as long as the nature reserves and wet lands are there the birds and wildlife still have a chance.
The Magnolia avenue is in full bloom and the pure white flowers gleam like pearls against a backdrop of dense woodland. My daughter Sam and I walked up the steep path to look at the view – Chesil Beach towards Golden Cap to the right and the Fleet Lagoon with Portland in distant haze to the left.
A panoramic scene – one of our favourites.
Spring has truly sprung and the Studland Peninsular is covered in a profusion of yellow gorse as far as my eye can see. The warmth of the hazy sunshine helps to release its natural vanilla and coconut fragrance – heavenly.
The National Trust cafe is overflowing with visitors – and its not Easter yet.
It’s doesn’t take me long to find quietness. I follow the sandy trails and wind my way through the dunes and dry heather to the view point and look across the bay to Old Harry rocks , gleaming white against a silver blue sea.
The sky was grey and for most of the afternoon the sun didn’t shine but as always this tranquil area of nature – a sanctuary for wading birds – gives me time to walk slowly and just look. Lodmore is slightly off the beaten track and almost hidden from the Weymouth esplanade but it’s a very special and rare place to find so close to shops, houses and traffic.
At the end of my walk I caught a glimpse of sunlight reflected in the water channels and pools and it was beautiful.