Here are some pretty treasures from the local area. Some weeks ago we went to an auction to raise funds for the church roof as the lead had been stolen. Martin bid for a wildlife day with naturalist Nick Acheson (Nick Acheson (@themarshtit) | Twitterhttps://twitter.com › themarshtit ) and this weekend Lucy, Flora, and Pen went out with him for a day looking at wildlife.
I am writing about it vicariously ( maybe when I get new lungs I will be able to go out out on marshes myself!) but I managed to keep some of the finds they brought back as a consolation prize. The day was lovely and sunny and meant they were lucky to see hundreds of bearded tits which apparently only come out on still, sunny days.
Those were included in the thirty five different types of birds they saw in the three habitats they visited: the salt marsh, shingle beach, and reed bed. Nick was able to point out things most people don’t notice like the fox and hare poo on the shingle beach, as well as wild carrots. The salt marsh has some interesting plants which like different levels of salinity ie salt loving reeds.
They saw 3 different grasshoppers including a short winged cone headed grasshopper and a Roesel's bush cricket. Flora heard the cricket which has very high voice that only children can hear.
So although I can't go out on that sort of expedition I enjoyed it second hand. Turning to thoughts of the art group, my artist of the week is Robert Motherwell, another abstract expressionist. I love this picture:
.....which is huge at 122.0 x 238.8 cm, at least compared to my small paintings. I have started to try out oils and it is very different to using water colour so I'm experimenting with it. It seems a more 'grown up' medium somehow, so I mustn't intimidate myself with it.
I haven't had any news re my lungs this week; still waiting to hear from Papworth. It is dragging on. I have plenty of things to distract myself with though, including my latest malady, a nice ear infection.
And on the positive side, apart from wildlife and painting I've started a couple of new things on telly. Killing Eve is promising; a bit late to start it but with Martin away working in the week I wait until he's back so we can watch something together (that has the advantage of me being able to watch things he hates on my own). I also started the Spanish drama The Plague on bbc 4 and have had awful scenes of pagans being burnt at the stake replaying in my head, although I'm compelled to watch the rest of it. I've just finished season 2 of the crime drama Ozark on Netflix which is worth watching. I liked watching Laura Linney who has a great face. She's 54 and there's something about the way she's ageing that somehow makes her more attractive; here she is....
