Collecting feathers

 It was a bright sunny day and we went for a walk down to a local sandy beach a few miles from us.  It was another day to get outside and enjoy the sunshine, as the days are getting shorter and much cooler.
We parked the car and wandered along  the well worn footpath on top of the sand dunes to the beach. And I said, "please don't let me collect anything today".  He just laughed and then asked, "Why? "
Of course he knew the answer as he knows better than anyone about my collecting habits!   Moments later I am picking up a feather,  then I put it down and walked away. But I really wanted the feather, so I went back and stuck it into the sand and said if I still wanted it I would collect it on our way back.

 We had not gone too far and there was another lovely feather, and another and he kept laughing as I placed them standing up in the sand.  Or perhaps should I take them now in case they blew away or we miss  them on the way back?     I am trying to resist by convincing myself there is no need to take them as I still have acorns and leaves and blackberries and red berries and sycamore sitting at home with a promise of being drawn,  all freshly collected from recent walks.
The day was beautiful, the views wonderful and that feelings of  freedom with this vast expanse of  space stretching out before us,  which is why I love being anywhere on the shore.  We wandered along the sandy beach and I see so many things I want to draw and I just have to pick them up and I failed miserably on the no collecting rule.

                                                                               This was my bag,  a small bag I found in my pocket which I managed to  fill with feathers, beautiful feathers and  some shells and a piece of seaweed that I could not bear to leave.  The larger gull feathers all have  fascinating  white spots which will make great drawing subjects.  And  the brown and white feathers  belong to the curlews, too lovely to resist and a few pretty shells thrown in for good measure.

 This is the view of the estuary with our village is on the right in the distance.  It was such a quiet day with just a few other people out for a walk,  all this to share.  The little tidal river weaves its way  towards our shore but soon all of this sand  will be covered with water as the tide comes in.  Along the way I found the two mermaids purses and the big fat bubble of seed weed in the tide line and I knew they would be part of my drawing.

 I like all of the objects,  each one picked up from the beach on such a nice Sunday afternoon.  And on the way back my feathers were waiting for me.....well if it makes me happy...no harm done....as the old folk used to say.

 And while I collected feathers my husband collected some beautiful photographs of the old boats.

 And as for the clutter.... I managed to draw a blackberry or two.

 Hope you liked the picture and the feathers, something tells  me  there will be lots more feather drawings soon. Thank you to my husband for the photographs.
My drawings are here for others to share and enjoy, please do not take my drawings, respect my ownership.

Thank you for the comments and emails.  I really do appreciate your comments and thoughts and to all the lovely people who let me know how much they enjoy my blog.
 Many thanks to you all.       Milly x