Happy Holidays and Harvesting

We have been away for nearly three weeks at our daughter's wedding in Rome and then to Chamonix and Wengen in Switzerland. In the time I have been away the gardens have grown like topsy and there is a lot of fruit and vegetables to harvest from among the weeds.

I was manning Alston Art Show yesterday and made these cards.

Oriental beauty

Dotty birds

Houses in the main street that back onto the graveyard.

Many of the houses are very old

Looking down Alston main street.

Natural beauty

The  Derwentwater clock in St Augustine's church in Alston.

This clock is very unique

Looking towards the Solway from Hartside.

Atmospheric

Looking towards the Eden Valley. 

Look at the different field colours

Heather is now growing on all the moors.

Purple hues

Willowherb drifts in the verges.

Purple power

Wall art near Queen Street station in Glasgow.

The 3D effect is excellent

What can she see?

Spectacular Scenery

The days are lengthening and it is lovely to wake up and hear the birds singing. I have been busy making some more pottery this week and hope to get back to my gardens next week.

On Thursday I had a trip to Northumberland. I travelled there via Hartside.

There is still a lot of snow left from last weekends deluge. Not a lot of snow fell in the Eden Valley or at Alston but mainly on Hartside. 

Snow cleared from the road by the snow plough

The journey from the Cumbrian border into Northumberland is beautiful. There are many stunning vistas. This is Langley castle.

Very grand, a wedding venue

A willow deer that is now turning green.

Oh deer

Looking back to Alston from Hartside summit.

The bleakness has its own beauty

An abandoned house on the Alston Hartside road.

What a view from the windows

Looking across to the back of Cross Fell.

Browns and beige

Looking over towards the back of Cross Fell.

Can you see the river in the bottom of the valley?

A typical rural view in Cumbria.

Pastoral beauty

A very old sign on the Gloucester Arms in Penrith.

This pub has recently been restored

Remember to look at my shop on Etsy magscreatesandmakes

Snow and Sun

I had a wonderful walk around Ennerdale last weekend. The ground was frozen and the lake looked superb.

Looking towards the lake

Snow capped hills

Frost on the dried flower heads adds a new beauty.

Frozen in time

Look at the detail of the moss and lichen.

Moss, heather and bracken

Fungus are still surviving in the cold weather.

Black and nibbled

Can you see the elephant in this lichen?

An elephant came marching

This sunset was one of the best I have seen.

Vibrant

Glowing

A trip to Alston yesterday revealed the beauty of the Eden Valley.

Looking towards the Lakeland hills

Look at the field patterns

The heavy snow of last week still lingers on Hartside summit.

Heavy drifts of snow

Dimpled snow

I saw this elk in a shop in Alston.

Elk,elk

A Polish puppet theatre.

Wesołych Świąt

Looking across to Cross Fell.

The snow lingers

The leaves have fallen off the apple tree. The few remaining apples look like tree baubles.

Just hanging

I have been busy making my Christmas cakes.

Not long to go now

These are two new designs I have added to my Etsy shop.

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/magscreatesandmakes?ref=hdr_shop_menu

This is a card and also a tree decoration

This is a card  and also a tree decoration

 I have also redesigned my shop logo.