Hello, how are you? I don’t really know where to begin. My last post was just as spring was going out with a fanfare, nature announcing itself everywhere into summer. I was in full flow using this as inspiration for a series of ink drawings for the Open Studios I exhibited at in June. I felt hopeful for a wonderful summer.
And then… I went into hibernation. I won’t go into it much more now, but dealing with the physical and emotional tolls of having a chronic condition meant I didn’t have the energy for writing, or much else. I disappeared into myself, not knowing how to cope with it all. Nature and art were still very much a part of my days, I just didn’t know what to share. It wasn’t just my substack that sat unloved but Instagram and Twitter (I refuse to call it x) and to some extent socialising in real life.
But, over the last few weeks, something has been shifting, sentences starting to form in my mind, then finally making their way into my notebooks. I’ve mentally picked myself up and set some intentions. I’m not necessarily any better physically but that emotional shift has led me back to opening a fresh page on here.
And how things have changed on Substack since I was last here. The list of wonderful newsletters I follow has grown as more people have joined this platform. Substack itself has added really useful and interesting functions for both writers and readers (if you haven’t already, do download the app - I find it much better for catching up).
And as the substack network has grown, I’ve gained subscribers, even when I wasn’t posting. So if this is the first post you’ve received from me - thank you! I’m so glad to have you here. And those who have stuck with me during the silence - thank you very much.
I have to give a shout-out here to
written by the founders of my wonderful sea swimming group, who recommended me on their substack, I know quite a few of you found me via them. If you are a water, sea, and swimming lover, do subscribe for excellent information and writing on the sea and swimming. You’ll be supporting a not-for-profit that provides resources and access to blue spaces to those who need it.And so, welcome to Autumn.
Noticing
This week was the Autumn Equinox, a point in the year when the whole planet pauses together with day and nighttime hours of equal length. However, it doesn’t feel like nature is being still. I was in France for the first part of September and while hints of autumn were creeping in the colours of the trees, the temperatures were very much high summer.
But we returned to autumn gales and misty dawns. My last post spoke of roadsides dusted in frothy blossom - they are now speckled with bright red bounty, advertising their wares to hungry birds. Last year was a mast (bumper) year for acorns and conkers here in the UK, this year it seems nature has her red paint out with rosehips, hawthorn, and blackthorn berries (sloe gin anyone?) practically dripping off the trees.
September also heralds spider season. I know some may not share my appreciation of these creatures, but I urge you to stop and notice the wonder of a cobweb and the magnificent creatures that build them. My exceedingly overgrown garden has become a spider metropolis, with many utilising the washing line as part of their designs for maximum exposure to passing unsuspecting prey. But it’s the one that has set up on the outside of the living room window that is providing the best entertainment. I have a front-row seat on my sofa and sit watching her while she repairs overnight damage. Much better than scrolling social media. I can see her there now, though I don’t think she’s moved for a good few hours - bit like Bridget the dog who’s gently snoring next to me. For more on autumn spider appreciation do read Josie George’s country diary entry on the Guardian.
I am a lover of autumn, to be honest - being a nature noticer means I love all seasons as there is always something to celebrate. But I’ve become even more heat intolerant since getting Long Covid, so I am happy with cooler temperatures. However, the one sad part of the sun shifting its position (ok - technically Earth shifts) means I can no longer have my morning cup of tea in my north-facing garden, bathed in the morning sun. Soon the sun will leave my garden entirely only to return next February. A south-facing garden is on the must-have list for my next home!
Creating
After the Open Studios, I didn’t have the energy to do much art at all. I’d had some lovely feedback during the weekend, especially from an artist friend who I admire, and initially, I was fired up to do more drawings and get them up on my Etsy page. Unfortunately that only lasted about a day before fatigue and brain fog took over, so they are still sat waiting.
I found my way back to the paper via a book (from the library) called Draw yourself Calm by Amy Maricle I’ve always doodled and done zentangle-like drawing as a gentle anxiety-relieving activity. But Amy’s book offered more than what I’d done with zentangle patterns as the patterns and ideas are so much more inspired by nature. I now have pages filled with dots, circles and dashes reminiscence of water, hills and flocks of birds.
Then, from gentle doodles on the sofa, my watercolours called. For quite a while I’ve wanted to do abstract landscape watercolours. I have a Pinterest board full of soft gentle, flowing representations of the mountains and seascapes I love being in. And so, this has been a summer of watching lots of YouTube videos and splashing a lot of paint about. I’ve not had any watercolour training so as well as trying to develop a style that matches what is in my head, I’m also having to learn what watercolours do (though I’m looking forward to doing a workshop with Emily Jolley in October - a birthday present from my StepMum - thank you! ) I’m learning that quality paints and paper is important, that I do need to work in sets of multiples otherwise I overwork the paint and just end up with a brown mush. I’m discovering gorgeous new colours such as Potter’s pink and Quinacridone Gold. A birthday trip to a French art shop brought me an ecoline watercolour ink which I’m loving! I’m also mixing my old favourite acrylic inks in to get the effects I’m aiming for.
It’s taking time, there have been many hours sat at the table and many pieces of paper have ended up in the recycling. At the moment I seem to work from producing a more representational landscape to abstracting it, but I’m getting there. I’m still really hesitant to share, as they still don’t match what is on my Pinterest board and in my mind, but there are small glimmers. And that’s what is keeping me going. So I’m going to be brave and show a couple that have given me a bit of satisfaction.
Reading
If I’m honest, I’ve read a lot of romantic fiction over the summer. I needed gentle, comforting, familiar reads so I’ve been rereading some favourites by authors such as Heidi Swain and Phillipa Ashley. Some may now look down on me for this, ‘chick lit’ is often seen as a lesser form of literature. But I absolutely do not agree, I enjoy them because they allow me to escape, I choose books set in the countryside, in lovely communities with nature and outdoor activities as an additional character or backdrop. To me, they fit perfectly with the non-fiction nature writing I also read. They lift me up as the characters overcome adversity that we can all relate to, with friends supporting them. I simply do not want to read about murders, violence and trauma It’s the same reason I watch nature and gardening programmes rather than crime dramas.
I do have a couple of recent nature writing purchases on my to-read list - Firstly ‘The Lost Rainforests of Britain’ by Guy Shrubsole, which recently won a Wainwright Prize for nature writing and also ‘I can hear the Cuckoo’ by Kiran Sidhu I’ll report back once I’ve read them!
And, on TV, in lieu of AutumnWatch this year, I have loved the repeats of Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin’s wild road trip on the BBC and the wonderful documentary by Hamza Yassin, in search of Britain’s amazing Birds of Prey, also on the BBC.
So, there we are. I had thought this would just be a quick catch-up, that my brain might not form the sentences, but once started, they flowed from my fingertips fairly easily.
Thank you for reading, please pass it on to others who might enjoy it. If that’s you - please subscribe to receive future posts directly to your inbox (or app). Hopefully this is me, back in action and out of hibernation with regular create with nature updates and adding to the Nudge from Nature series to help you be creative in and with nature.
Welcome back!
Lovely read
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