Week 20

This weeks page turned out rather different from what I expected.   It started with the live beetle in the jam jar.  I watched it moving around and made the three sketches at the top of my page.   He has now  been safely returned onto the shore to roam as free as he likes.  I looked it up in an insect book to find it is a Cockchafer, which likes to live in oak trees and feed on oak leaves.  That does make sense as I found it on the large oak leaf in the tide line.  So I placed them together and was interested to realise the leaf was eaten, even had a serrated edge,  I think made by my friend.  Actually I was a little uncomfortable with it,  it was big and I kept it  tightly sealed in a container as I sketched it.  The flowers are Thrift,  growing on the shore and looked so bright in last weeks greyness.  I picked them during the week and decided to put them all in, buds and flowers.  I chose a pink coloured crab and some green seaweed and I just loved this twisted brown piece of seaweed so had to include it.  So that is Week 20 completed and all painted with my acrylic inks and a little sable brush.
It has been a cold wet and windy week.  As the tide comes into the estuary it gets stormy and we have had some really heavy rain.  I chose my window of opportunity and went for my walk and collecting yesterday after seeing the weather forecast.  And as I am writing this it is really windy, cold, with a stormy grey sky and it has poured with rain all afternoon,  so I am glad I did go yesterday.  
There were lots of feathers,  the striped ones which belong to the curlew.  Lots of black ones too which is no surprise as there are many Crows, Rooks  and Magpies on the shore. We were also followed by two Swallows which kept swooping right in front of us, we think to collect the insects which we disturb as we walk through the grass.  We were amazed at their speed and agility and enjoyed watching them.   I found a black mermaids purse and a ball of  whelks egg cases  which was washed up.   There were so many crabs which had been eaten,  their backs opened like a hinged lid and the contents removed.  We saw oyster catchers, gulls, a curlew and shelducks in the sand by the water,  the tide was just coming in and the water was quite rough with the strong  south westerly wind.  It felt really cold and we were well wrapped up.  The sky was getting darker and warned that the rain showers were heading our way.  So we made our way back and shortly after reaching  home we had a really heavy shower.   Of course I still  found plenty of objects to choose from  for next weeks page.
Thank you for all the lovely comments.  "Ibisbill"  the striped feathers are Curlew feathers.  I was pleased to read that a school art group is following my blog....Hope the children are being inspired and are doing some lovely drawings.   The three giveaways have been posted. See Carrie has posted on her blog, thank you Carrie.  Hope you all enjoy my page for week 20.
Millyx

Week 17

I am pleased to say this is week 17, that means a third of the year has been completed and that must mean a give- away.  So to enter tell me which week you like the most and why,  and please let me know where you are from.....I am curious to know which countries are following this blog.   The winner will be picked 15th May  and  will receive a little prize.  
My drawing is of a beautiful shell I found last week,  with the limpet growing on the side and the other swirling shaped growths.  I thought this was a great subject to draw and the other flat shell matched with  similar colours.   I added the little piece of seaweed,  all found together as I walked along the shore.  I did collect other objects but decided I liked these best.   I have let you see my first pencil  sketch and then the finished page.  I used the acrylic inks and a little help with colouring using Derwent signature pencils.  I am wearing out my fine number one sable brush.
Yesterday I went for my Saturday walk.  I have been away this week so as I stepped onto the shore I could tell how dry it has been by the pale coloured sand.  It was very white in patches where the salt has dried on top of the sand by the hot sun.   The sheep had gone,  all was quiet except for two girls dressed in shorts and vests  splashing around and kicking the water up,  their dog equally enjoying the fun and  making lots of noise as it bounced around in the water.   I was wearing a jumper and scarf with my hat in hand!  There was actually a strong  breeze blowing  from the North,  I was glad to be warm.  The sand was covered in sheep footprints and the shore in sheep poo.  The green grass has been enjoyed by the sheep, who will be brought back  next week to graze again on the grass.  I noticed although we had quite a full tide that filled the tidal river the sand was cracking in places and some more huge chunks had fallen from the banks,  the ground was so dry.    Lots and lots of crabs,  the large ones broken up and eaten with legs and empty shells discarded.  I found lots of little shells and some rather battered feathers.  I saw patches of white feathers on the sand and then discovered the remains of a bird,  almost certain the work of a hawk or other bird of prey.  A second dead bird on the grassy shore has been there slowly rotting for a couple of weeks.    No sign of the swan but I did find one of her feathers, so she is around somewhere.
It is a pleasure to walk with the clear blue sky and crisp views of the hills.   The fields and surrounding country side  is all looking green and lush.   All the pools of water have dried up,  hard to believe the swan was swimming on water on the grass just a week  ago.  Wild flowers and plants have filled the edges by the railway lines and attract butterflies and bees,  I spotted an orange tipped butterfly.   Birds calling out, others move around the sand looking for food.   We are crossing our fingers this lovely sunny weather lasts.  I reluctantly head for home,  nearly time for tea,  the sky is blue and the views are  beautiful,  another pretty  sunset to enjoy.
Thank you for the lovely comments.  Hope you like page 17, press for close up.       Millyx

Week 16

We have had such lovely sunny weather all week and I have had several walks on the shore.  On Tuesday we were aware that it was near tide time but what we witnessed was a complete surprise.  We heard a sudden sound of rushing water,  the water was coming up the tidal river with such speed and it just took seconds for it to spread and fill the river to the sides of the sandy banks.  It was a tidal bore.  We watched at the frightening speed of the incoming water,  we stood by the railway bridge and watched the water rise up, counting the bricks on the  bridge support,  as our shore was soon covered in water.  As we walked back close to the fence at the edge of the shore,  huge pools which were empty were now filling up as the water tipped over the banks.   It was here I found my fish, stranded in a pool but dead.  I was sorry for the fish but thrilled to be able to draw it, a great find for my page.  I quickly sketched it in pencil and captured some colours in crayons. There is no way I can tell you how much this fish started to smell on this hot evening as I sat outside drawing it, but it was a lovely find and fun to draw.  We had heard fish jumping last week,  it is a young salmon, they swim in the estuary and in the river which runs into the sea.
The shore has many crabs, see the photograph of a few we found, different colours and sizes.  The bigger crabs are found with the backs opened and ended up as tea for the birds. The two crabs I chose,  the green one with the dark markings and a pinky orangey one were rather smelly too.  The snail shells were two I found but I did see some climbing up plants.   And my feather was definitely  from an oyster catcher.   I keep adding the oak leaves because they are always on the sand,  now showing signs of aging.  I hope you like the page, it is a mixture of things I found and makes me realise what lovely colours and interesting natural objects can be found here.

My collecting day is usually Saturday, so I kept my rule and went for a walk at 6pm.  The noises were different today, a farmer has put his flock of white sheep and many lambs to graze on the fast growing green grass. A notice to owners to keep dogs on leads meant the shore was empty, with just a couple of people walking.  It was getting a little cool but we were rewarded with the sight of a heron ,  it landed and we sat and watched it slowly step through the shallow waters left after the tide.  As the sun was getting low it made such a beautiful silhouette against the sky. We saw the first two swallows dipping and swooping in front of us as they flew around and circled in the sky.  The oyster catchers in pairs and so were the shell ducks, all calling out their own bird calls.  A pied wagtail was sitting on the railway bridge supports and kept disappearing under the bridge, perhaps nesting.  I must confess I have all these bird names and calls given to me by the expert, thank you,  I am always grateful.   Of course I know the seagulls but I had a lesson on the herring gulls and the black backed gulls,  lets hope I can remember them all.  No sign of the swan tonight but we saw her through the week gliding on the water covering the shore at high tide, see photograph.   I just love walking along listening to all the bird calls,  and hearing them drift through my windows at night.
All too soon the sun went down and we left the shore to the sounds of  crying lambs looking for mothers.  I collected some soft curly lambs wool caught on the fence,  to stuff a pin cushion.  I bet you do he said.  Well I bet I do,  so now another job for my list,  just to prove him wrong!
Thank you for the lovely comments, I  love to read them,  so do stop and let me know how you are enjoying my shore finds.     Millyx

Week 15

                                  Me and my little friend today searching for crabs.

Here is my week 15 page with drawings of the crabs and seaweed collected  last week.  You can enlarge to see the details of the crab and the colours and a pencil drawing of a leg.   Today just as I was photographing the  picture above,   I had a little  visitor. He was so interested and curious about the crabs.  I gave him a magnifying glass so he could see the details,  and then he wanted to know where I had found them.   So we went for a walk this afternoon and found a whole plastic box full of crabs for him,  ranging from a big long legged beast to lots of smaller less frightening specimens.   So many questions from a 4 year old,  is it moving?  is it dead,? where are the eyes?  After I reassured him they were all dead,  can we find one alive?    I love the way young children are so interested, and he made me smile the way he said, "do you think we have found all the family? "   It reminded me of when I was teaching.   We got home, rather muddy,  with his very precious  box of  crabs.  I washed them and then my little friend examined them all,  decided which he was taking home and which I could keep.   Somewhere in this transaction he managed to "choose" my crab off the page and it mysteriously ended up going home with him...good job I had finished drawing it.   To capture the details I painted with my coloured acrylic ink,  a fine black ink pen for the stippling and a pencil study of the leg.

I had my usual Saturday walk collecting for week 16.  It has been a bit of a damp week,  but yesterday was fine and sunny.   I went with my husband around 5pm and we left the shore at nearly 7.   There was a cold breeze from the west,  but we were prepared and well wrapped up.   It was a lovely bright and sunny evening,  birds singing and we had the shore to ourselves.  The full moon means the tides are quite high, we could see the water line by the brown bubbly foam,  a frothy scum which floats on top of the incoming tide.  Lots of tiny shells, crabs, shrimp bodies, feathers and bits and pieces of broken sea creatures were mixed up in this brown wavy line on the shore.  The grass looks so green after heavy morning dews and the new fresh growth.   I noticed dandelions and yellow gorse  flowering, bothgrowing against the railway fence. A tiny white flowering plant sprinkled amongst the grass.   Several bees buzzed past,  my husband pointed out a freshly dug rabbit hole.  A group of black headed gulls pick in the wet sand searching for food.  We saw a dead gull,  it had been attacked at the throat and left on its back feet in the air,  soft tufts of white feathers blowing around.  The bird expert pointed out a curlews call, the air was full of bird sounds.  The two ducks, the green headed male and the brown female swam close together.   Poor swan, she looks so lonely sitting on the muddy bank in her usual place.  As we walked by and stopped a little fish jumped from the water.  I collected objects and ideas for next weeks page, things I have seen  and would like to record.
On Friday evening we saw a  bright light,  drifting across the dark sky.  We guessed it was a lantern and the answer was there caught in the fence, a large white paper structure still intact.  I held it up to the breeze and it billowed up as it became full of air. I couldn't resist bringing it home,  maybe I will paint on it. 

We sat on the boulders and enjoyed the stillness, the views and last hours of this lovely day, the sun dropping low ready to disappear behind the hills. Making our way home  over the railway bridge,  we glance back at the hills and watch the mist  creeping over the hilltops.  My head was already planning next weeks page.
Thank you for the comments, I enjoy finding them,  and it is always lovely to read them.  
Hope you like the picture.                 Millyx      

Week 14

Another week and how lucky we have been to have had long sunny days to enjoy.  We have had times to sit in  the garden and look across the shore and to the hills and known that summer is on the way.  My page started as I tipped the contents out of my bag into the sink.  I sort and wash the items,  it cleans them and also makes the colours glow.   I had a real tangle of seaweed and as I began to separate it, it reminded me of being a little girl and playing with a chocolate box filled with strings of beads, some of my mums necklaces.  I thought the bubbly seaweed looked like a string of  beads and then I found the twisted piece which could be a bracelet.  This thought influenced my choice of what is on the page, a matching necklace and bracelet, and with some imagination, a charm bracelet and two little charms in the form of the well worn sycamore seeds.   And finally a little broken twisted piece of black seaweed.  I always try to capture true colours, it amazes me how many shades are found in one piece of seaweed when you really look.  I worked in acrylic inks, yellow ochre, red, blue, green and brown,  and my number 1 sable brush.
 I have photographed them with my beautiful sea inspired necklace which I was wearing.  It was handmade by Delila,  go and see her beautiful blog.  The little shell says "sound of waves".   In a few weeks time she in coming from Finland to spent a week with me,  and I will take her  a walk across the shore and visit some other beaches and beauty spots.  My  page could have had more little charms of crabs, shells and mermaids purses,  but I am leaving it.
Yesterday I did my beach walk around 6pm,  it was still so warm and I could feel the heat and smell the salty sea air.   It was busy with dog walkers,  I counted eight dogs.  There were two dogs splashing around in the water whilst their owners sat on the edge and threw balls for them.  I saw dog prints everywhere in the sand and human footprints,  all the birds must have been scared away.   The shore was also crowded with the flock of sheep which were put out to graze during the week,  now that the high tides are over.  A breed of black sheep with pale faces, Herdwick, which are more commonly seen on the fells.   They were hot and some came down to the water to drink.  It seemed strange seeing so many sheep and people,   the swan didn't seem too happy either.  She was on the water and then settled on the bank digging at the grass.  She looked at me and clacked her beak, then got up and seemed annoyed at the line of sheep walking along her bank just above her.   Two ducks flew up from the water and two oyster catchers moved around together on the sand.   A large black rook scratched about in the grass.  I was thrilled to see two butterflies dancing along.  I came across them as they were sunning  themselves on the limestone boulders.  My hand was overflowing with the little bits and pieces I had gathered.  I carefully carried the little white crabs because they are so fragile and nestled together with some pretty feathers I managed to get them home in one piece. I noticed how the pools of water had all dried up and returned to grass,  how the sand in places has baked and crackled  like crazy paving with the heat of these hot days.   Some huge pieces of the banking had collapsed and caused more erosion.   It was a lovely walk,  a joy to feel the sun and a warm breeze and be able to see the blue sky and the views of pale blue hills, no wonder so many people chose to take a walk today.  I think I know what will be featuring in week 15,  next week    It is so nice  to read the comments and know people are enjoying the weekly pages of my shore finds.  Thank you for the comments, welcome to the new followers.    Millyx    

Week 13

It has been a busy week for me, lots of things achieved.   I had a late start on the seashore page and I still have some finishing I would like to do.  It is a mixture of the objects I found  last week.   The huge crabs claw was washed up on this shore,  we would never see anything that size here but they do exist in the sea.  We  do see hundreds of  the tiny white crabs  mostly  through the summer  in pools of water. You can see  just how tiny it is,   just as I found it clinging onto the huge oak leaf.   An equally tiny and delicate find was this little shrimp case or body,  another creature, yet so fragile in this vast sea.   All  no doubt food for the birds.  I have been meaning to draw the whelks egg case which are often washed up on to the shore,  it seems appropriate as it is springtime,  so like frogspawn only solid and not a jelly.  Whelks are snails, not sure which snail would hatch  from this,  but I found a snail shell that same day to put in the drawing.  The two grey and white feathers lost from a bird probably whilst looking for food on the ground.   And finally the seaweed,  twisted and dry and brittle as it ends its life on the shore completes the page.
It is strange how these objects come together on the page.  I love the grey faded colours and the shape of the oak leaf when I found it on the sand with the little crab like a brooch pinned to it.
They are painted with the acrylic inks,   I need to buy some new ones as they are nearly used up.  The real objects are there to see and a little surprise, as I was  photographing  the sunlight caught a mirror and cast the rainbow across the page.

I walked the shore yesterday to collect for week 14 and shivered with the cold westerly wind and realised why I had the place to myself.  I had been working on this painting  and it was well  after six and getting near sunset.  This week has been cold and windy and although  the tides were not huge they have been quite rough.  A new tideline was visible in places  and it was still wet and slippery.  I walked for over an hour and saw how the new blades of grass are appearing through the sand.  It is a grass covered shore, in the past  the fine sea-washed turf was cut for gardens and cricket pitches or the like.  It always seemed to me more like vandalism to see all the lines of dirt as the land was stripped bare of the green grass,  but it does grows back so quickly and it was someones business selling it.    I noticed the acid yellow lichen on the lime stone  boulders,  used as a sea defence to prevent erosion and flooding,  were glowing in their circular patterns.  Perhaps it was the sun light, or is too starting to grow and glow with the springtime.  I remember I read this lichen  grows in places where the air is oxygen rich,  that suits me to know this as I see it growing here on the rocks on our shores.
My lonely swan disappeared from my  sight, to be found cuddled up under the banking safe from the cruel wind. She had chosen her place protected from the cold as she settled in for the night.  I saw bird foot prints but not another bird.  Just as I left  three loud sea gulls flew over the railway lines and onto the shore.  The sun was fading, as I too hurried home to the warmth, my bag of finds to be revealed next week.
Thank you for the lovely comments, as always it is a pleasure to read every comment and I appreciate your time spent doing so.   Hope you like the  drawings.
 Millyx       

Week 12

                                        The tangle of seaweed and mermaids purse

                                             A goose feather and a tiny duck feather

As another week passes by we have enjoyed some beautiful sunny days.  I visited a nearby pebbled beach and we sat and watched as the tide went down and then listened to the calming sound of the waves lapping up and down the beach.  Of course I collected some little bits and pieces to examine.
My week 12 picture features the mermaids purses all tangled up with the sea weed.  I used the acrylic inks, then a black ink pen to stipple and to draw the egg cases and all the tangles.   I then  got a bit carried away and stippled with white ink on my paintbrush. The three colours are on the little tag, press picture to enlarge.   I had collected some lovely feathers so decided to add a goose feather and a tiny duck feather,  first in pencil, then inks.  
I had lots of visitors to my blog this week,  thanks to Pondside pointing them in my direction.  It is lovely to meet new people and discover new  blogs.   I guess it was a strange picture to find,  two pieces of seaweed and an old damaged oak leaf.   Not many people left a comment,  thank you to the ones that did.   It made me realise that this sea project is not always pretty,  but it is real.   I want to show real objects,  just as I find them,  a true record of my shore finds.   This is often earthy muddy colours,  torn and tangled objects and not really pretty things.    Of course objects are washed up and left on a muddy shore,  often  broken and battered by the sea,  they dry or rot,  can be wet and smelly.  It is a wet slippery muddy place at the moment.   Yes,  it looks and makes a pretty view but close up and amongst  it,  it  is often very different.  I do not want to hide that side of my shore line.
The days are  getting warmer,  the midges and flies are starting to wake up and spiders run between the debris of the tideline.   I saw several very large bees this week.   The oyster catchers are pairing,  each couple moving around looking for a nesting place.  My swan is still alone, elegantly swimming up and down the tidal river. The birds are competing to see who is the loudest,  the bird song can be heard everywhere.  I looked up to see a huge bird shape high up in the clouds, a glider twisting and silently flying in circles high above me.   This toy like plane reminded me of my childhood when my Dad would point to show me, eventually my eyes would focus and see it.    So as I looked up,  they looked down onto my shore seeing the whole picture,  and I am here seeing the details.   I  found only a few objects but enough for a new page.  Today we enjoy an extra hour of daylight,  the sun sets are so nice and so is the extra hour as the birds are still singing outside and it is well after seven.

Hope you like the page.  Please leave a comment and let me know you visited.   Thank you to the regulars,  welcome to my new followers.   After two weeks,  my laptop has returned, still some problems....three blue screens and windows shut down ...as I have been writing this!   Until next week.     Millyx

Week 11

                                           The finished page for week 11

                             I  keep my pizza bases, look how they come in handy!

I can hardly believe how quickly this week went by.   I had many interesting sea finds to choose from and then ended up with just three on my page.   I chose the fresh seaweed with shades of greens, the rusty brown bubbly piece and a matching rusty coloured oak leaf.    Oak leaves are one of my favourite subjects, this one  was so interesting with the holes and colouring which glowed when I found it.  It had survived since last year but is now showing real signs of damage and decay.  I also liked seeing how the brown piece of seaweed had also started to lose pieces and change colour.  When I  placed them on the pizza base after I washed them,  the colours looked so vibrant.  I felt  the three were enough for my page.    One week later they  have dried, shrunk and twisted,  and hardly resemble their original colours as they  have darkened to dull drab shades.   I used the acrylic inks and my fine number one sable brush, and used a little stippling on the green with a black ink pen.  The inks can be mixed to make shades and I use them just  the same as using paints.                    

Yesterday, Saturday, I could not go onto the shore at my usual time in the morning as it was a high tide.  I decided to give a couple of hours to the garden,  two hours soon turned into five hours!  So it was almost 5 o'clock before I ventured down on the still waterlogged shore.  It was soggy and slippery but after my gardening and feeling tired I was quite happy to go slow.  The sun was really low and as I walked I realised I had a long thin shadow by my side.   It was a little hazy looking out across the shore but I could see and hear many different birds, the sounds echoing across the estuary.   In the sand I saw bird prints,  the pretty patterns twisting and curling as they made their tracks along the waters edge.  It was a good day for feathers, as I collected an assortment of  different sizes, colours and patterns.   I found a few crab pieces but they always break when you handle the brittle pieces.  As I collected a mermaids purse it was all tangled with a second one and some seaweed,  maybe an interesting piece to draw.  During my walk I could feel the temperature drop as the sun faded.  The swan was settled on the opposite bank,   sat with her neck curled as she was raking through the grass.  We glanced at each other for awhile,  then I noticed she was all dirty on her front with the brown soil, maybe today we are similar...both been gardening and a little grubby after our digging .  The train broke the silence as it thundered past us both,   we both looked up at the track.   From the back of the carriage a fat red faced man poked his head out of the window with a cigarette in his mouth,  from the non smoking train!  As I made my way along to the station,  I could smell the smoke drifting in the air.  I stood on the railway bridge and just caught the last rays of the sun sinking behind the hills.  It was a lovely quiet calm time of the day to go and collect for week 12.  It is something I look forward to,  with the long summer evenings.
Time to sort out my finds and get started on a new page.   Thank you for the lovely comments,  it is always nice to read them all.   Still no news on my laptop!   Hope you like the picture.    
Millyx

Week 10

I told you last week I had collected some nice feathers.  My page is of some of my finds,  ten feathers, quite appropriate for week ten.  I love feathers and find it difficult not to stop and pick them up.   As the shore has a large bird population visiting, there are always lots blowing around or floating on the water.   The green jug houses many of my last years finds, over the years I have drawn many feathers. Three of my art cards feature feathers.
It was lovely to complete this page although at times I did wonder if it was a good decision doing white feathers on white paper, but I like a challenge,  and solving how I will succeed at making them appear against the background.  I gave the paintbrush a rest and used Derwent coloured pencils,  a good pencil sharpener and lots of time and patience.  You can see all the different shades used, browns, yellow, greys, white and blues  and a pencil for the initial drawings. I am happy with the finished page.
I went collecting yesterday, Saturday,  for week 11.  It has been a cold windy week with the tides getting higher and stronger.  A fresh tide line had delivered some nice finds for my next weeks picture. There was just me and the swan yesterday,  I walked back and forwards and the swan glided along beside me.  She looked so beautiful and elegant.  I looked like an old tramp with my hat and gloves and waterproof jacket and wearing my husbands warm lined walking pants, carrying a plastic carrier bag.  Out of that bag I always find something beautiful to go on my page.
My computer is being repaired, not had it all week, so I will keep this short I am using someone else's laptop.
As always thank you for the lovely comments, I really do enjoy reading them all, I will try to return the visit when I can.  Hope you like the picture,  press for close up,  the real feathers are placed on the ground for you to see.        Millyx
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