The Wild Remedy and illustration...

The weather turned quite stormy over the last few days and it seems like a dream away when we had such glorious, hot Sunshine & beautiful blue skies for the Easter Half term. The temperature has really dropped too...so a few woolly jumpers have come back out of the wardrobe to keep me toasty.  I was enjoying the Sun light through my Cottage windows but the Cottage now suddenly seems darker. 

  Today,  though it does seem slightly warmer (ish)... My daughter has had a sleep over with her cousins so 

I thought i'd spend some time in the garden (between little April Showers), So I walked up my narrow steep steps to the Hill top part of my garden to feed the birds and say a 'Hello' to the Robin that seems to hop around the Alfresco table on the lawn...The Blossom on the Apple tree's is in full bloom now~ Very pretty.  I have had a few days to sort out pots and yesterday Myself and my Partner Stevie visited a wonderful Traditional, Rustic Garden Nursery, Milton Abbot, Devon....I love looking around the old glass and brick greenhouses and polly tunnels filled with new shoots of veg and trays of young shooting flower heads. Lots of fruiting tree's, cherry blossoms... Lovely little shop with seeds, tools, plant foods ect...Garden Ornaments in the walled gardens and herbs.  We last visited in November (I think it was)...it was slightly bleak then but Now its really come A Live with Spring!...

This year my plans for more salad and herbs has really taken off...I do not own a greenhouse ( Its on my list of wanties)...So I've been growing lettuce and tomatoes on my bright kitchen window...They will be taken outside soon when the weather turns a bit warmer and brighter again!. I decided to get a few different varieties and see which grow best...I'm 'New', well, New~ish to growing from seeds and ive found ive lost quite a few shoots after a few inches high...I'm teaching myself as I go...learning from my mistakes. And when you don't own a green house I find its hard finding space on bright window ledges for all my new shoots. We had a glass fronted, hand made cabinet top with stain glass type doors...I saw on BBC iplayer, Alys fowler's 'Edible Garden' series that she was using a type of cupboard with glass doors. It might just protect my veg, salad and fruit shoots from the blustery skies and bugs!...but keeping them warm and sunny as well...Another thing I really need is a water butt to collect rain water in as the steep steps is hard going carrying watering cans up and down.  On another note, I was just thinking of a valid lesson learned last summer when Sophia had her paddling pool up there~ I kept the water for weeks in the pool when she wasn't using it and on a few very hot days I went up there and sadly, to my horror LOTS of bees had died in it!!!...they obviously landed to drink and couldn't get out.  So the best thing to do is to have a shallow bowl with stones, pebbles in it for the bees to land on and then drink. And cover over paddling pools.

 I really L*O*V*E bee's. And its so vital to help them any ways we can as they do so much for our eco system...

Oh my, this is a beautiful area and only a stones thow away called Harrowbarrow in Cornwall.  Such beautiful Spring lanes towards the village and lots of farmers fields and community garden surround the village. We often have a few hours walk there in the fresh air...say 'hello' the horses, watch the rabbits across the fields and take in the breath taking views. My Mother's cottage isn't far away so we often stop in for a well needed cuppa tea and a slice of cake afterwards.

Talking of nature and good well being...I was given this wonderful book called 'The Wild Remedy', 'How Nature Mends Us Diary' for Easter from my Lovely Stevie by fellow blogger, writer and maker of beautiful silver jewellery~ Emma Mitchell (Silverpebble2 on instagram)...

I have only read snippets (before bed usually) and its really inspiring as I also suffer with depression. I don't like broad casting it as Its private to me and I try to keep things a lot to myself (which I know isnt always helpful). But Nature has always healed me through really hard days, weeks and months...Absorbing myself  into walking and my art has always been my way of dealing with it...Its not something you really get over, I dont think anyway...but you can help yourself to channel positive energy through simple, cost free, natural ways of healing.  I also often write little nature notes and notes to myself. Especially, I used this when I was a single Mother for 8 years. Just to remind myself of the 'good' things,  the 'proud' things...the little things that gave me 'joy'...keeping my Father going through his Cancer treatments has made me value my life and focus on the 'positives' as well. On that note...My Dads out of Hospital (for this week) and coping so far...He's really amazed us all. He's still needing more treatments but at the moment he feels a lot more mobile and stronger. 

But he's still sleeping a lot. he's still got fight in him and seems so much more up beat about life.

 So thats a real 'Positive' at the moment too.

I have never been a 'towny' type person, Shopping in the malls on a Saturday is something I dread with a passion. My real 'Joy' is the sounds of the sea, beach combing, walking through woodlands listening to the birds...enjoying nature through the ever changing seasons...

I think getting back into blogging has really helped my mental well being too...reminding me of the 'happy snippets of life'...and all the things im so grateful for...I have such a Loving, supporting family.

I'm still busy with new artwork/illustrations...Must head off to the Printers at some point then I can add these new ones to my etsy shop...

Lovely to sit down with a cuppa this Sunday afternoon...Peaceful...relaxed.

Before the new, busy week returns...

Thanks for visiting,

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