1 Nov 2009 10:09 PM

My wife and I have been taking a keen interest on what the weather was going to be like for I felt like a walk to see if I could see my first Fieldfare of the year.

My wife's ankle is not good enough to go out walking, we hope it will be better soon, so I said nothing to her about wishing to wanting to put on my outdoor gear to go for a 'battery charge' in the fresh air. 

Instead of going for a walk, I drove her to the shops and when we came home, now with a change in the weather from beautiful clear azure skies to thick cloud build up, she told me that I need not stay indoors just because she could not go out for a walk.  I did not want her to think that I was teetering, almost ready to go out, so I waited for a while before I made my decision.  By the time I was ready to go, the weather had changed and thicker clouds were on the horizon.  Keeping an eye on the weather I 'fished out' another layer of clothing and set off to a reserve I knew I would feel safe.

As soon as I disembarked from the car, I took out a note pad and I had not been walking for long, about two or three minutes, when I saw, without the aid of my trusted binoculars, a beautiful male Bullfinch. The bird stayed, as if posing for me, for about a minute and I kicked myself for not taking my camera with me. 

There were lots of Crows flying around and they were making lots of noises but the calls soon faded away when I walked towards a large lake.  This walk was done easily, for footpaths had been put in, and there were lots of people out walking in front and behind me.

Many of the walkers had dogs with them but some of the exercising people were simply meandering around enjoying the fresh air.

By now, there were more leaves on the ground than there were on the trees but the remaining foliage, shimmering in the light breeze, had beautiful colours of yellow, light ochre and bronze.

On the lake, Black Headed Gulls were diving and mobbing one another and making noisy calls resembling the sounds associated with the seaside.   

The edges of the lake were like a 'millpond' yet the central body of the lake had shallow wave forms of its own and the casual observer could have been forgiven for thinking that there was a 'boom rope' partitioning the water off into two sections. 

Today, there were several ducks on the water that had been absent while they were away breeding.  Widgeon, making a diagnostic one note whistle like call, were there in their hundreds.  Male and female Goosanders were plentiful, and Pochards, Lapwings and Coot were 'cheek by jowl' on the fringes of the lake.  Many of the water fowl were at the far side of the lake and I was unsure if I would be able to get to see any of them due to the weather deteriorating.    I looked round the lake and noted that today, for the first time since the breeding season began, there were so many ducks it was going to be difficult to make an informed estimation of their numbers.  For a while, taking in the scene, I sat on a wooden bench and noted down a few birds.  Cormorants, Great Crested Grebes and Canada Geese seemed to be in every location I looked at. 

On the next seat, close to where I was sitting, a mature couple sat down.  I looked their way but they were too busy setting up their tripod and camera to notice me.  They had not been sitting long when the lady, of the duo, began to cough and the man started to blow his nose.  The couple sounded as though they should have been in bed.  Has it turned out, the birdwatchers only sat for a few minutes and then moved on in the direction of the car park. 

Eventually, I moved on for it was starting to get busy and there seemed to be large groups of people milling round where I was sitting.  I passed a tree lined area and although there were not as many leaves on the trees as there were a couple of weeks ago, I could not see the Blue Tits, Chaffinches and Bullfinches that could be heard.  On the ground, there were still lots of Clovers in flower and there was also the singular yellow flower but, because of the poor condition the flower was in, I could not tell what it was. 

While I had my head down, making a few notes, two birdwatchers passed me, one on either side of me.  One of the men, the smaller of the two, stocky and with his arms at an angle and elbows out,to take up as much room as he could, almost bumped into me as though he thought he had more right to be there than I did. It was obvious to me that he was trying to intimidate me but I had no idea why.  I was not phased by the duo for I have, over many years, met lots of new birdwatchers who think that their new found knowledge makes them feel superior to others.  My set answer to any birder, who thinks like that, is to tell them that the knowledge they have gained, over a couple of years, is simply knowledge that has been forgotten.  I remind them of the times when there was no vehicular transport, when people lived in villages, and when everybody travelled on foot. 

In those days, without an overnight stay, the average person would only usually manage to walk about a 20 mile round trip and they would, through being familiar with everything that was round them and from information handed down from 'father to son', know all the birds, plants and what could be eaten while they were walking. 

This information never goes down well with such types but I would hope the illustration may affect their judgement on what they see rather than what they think they see.  In other words, they may have made a judgement, about me, without knowing anything about me and those thought patterns may cloud their judgement when trying to decide what they had seen when they were out on a field trip.

So that I could make a few more notes, in relative comfort, I walked to the nearest wooden bird watching hide and had the place to myself.  Looking out over the water, I noticed that there were lots of male and female Mallards and Gadwall with their heads tucked under their wings fast asleep.  Dabbling Teal were back on site and Pied Wagtails were in good numbers.  Some Widgeon were in moth eaten plumage and, as they preened, they comically beat the water with their wings as if trying to beat out parasites.  The slapping sound, as they raised and lowered their wings, sounded like humans applauding.  There were a couple of Swans on site, which were still in brown pigments and this suggested to me that they were this year's brood.  The Swans kept well away from human activity and I assumed that they had been reared where humans were absent.  While I was looking at the Swans, a Goldeneye duck swam into my binocular range of view.  Goldeneyes  leave this site, in the breading season, because they nest in holes of mature trees; it is my guess that this site does not have enough mature trees for the Goldeneye duck  hence it moves to another site to breed.  Seeing Goldeneye  ducklings, fall out of a hole in a tree, before finding their way to water for the first time, is a frightening experience to someone who has not seen it happen before.  The young chicks, still in downy feathers, jump out of the tree hole, plummet to the ground, sometimes many feet, with a bump and appear to be dazed by the whole experience but, within no time at all, they pull themselves up and waddle forward to the nearest stretch of water. 

Shovelers were back and held, steadfast, at the side of a new gull roost that already boasted 100s of gulls but, as winter draws on, the roost will multiply 10 fold at least.  At the moment, the gulls are Black Headed and Lesser Black Back. 

While sitting in the hide, the light began to deteriorate and it always looks darker through binoculars no matter how good the quality of the lens is. Two visitors came into the hide but, because all the ducks on the water were spread out, instead of being clumped together, it was difficult for the novice birdwatchers to know what they were trying to look at and the birders soon left the hide. 

Before leaving the hide, now standing, I made a note of the Pied Wagtails nest that was built inside the hide during the breeding season.  Parts of the nest were still intact and I marvelled at the construction from a small bird that is constantly on the move.  Before leaving the hide, with the door ajar, I read the chalked marked notice board to read what other birders had seen that day.  While I was reading, a lone young woman walked into the hide.  At first sight, I was concerned that the young woman would be sitting in the hide on her own but, on second thoughts, I assumed she may have been entering the hide to get the 'all clear' before her partner came along. No matter, I said my salutations and bid her farewell. 

Female birders, when I first began to bird watch, over 30 years ago, were a rare breed for there were not many women prepared to sit, for hours on end, in clothing that was not as warm and waterproof as the gear we wear today, sometimes fighting bracing winds before the advent of hides.  It pleases me now to note that birding is much easier and also, to some extent, safer too. 

It was now getting to the time of day when the sun would drop below the cloud line and this would, if the sun did come out, give me a boost of light that would allow me to stay out a little bit longer.  I walked back, to where I had left the car, and, from bushes close to where I was walking, Robins trilled their winter song notes. 

I moved on, for a quick visit, to another lake but when I heard a 'bull horn,' I instantly knew there would be no birds on this lake due to the Yachting fraternity being out on the water.  Instead, I move on toward a long wide open field that supported a herd of cattle.  I was hoping to see Fieldfare and Redwing hopping around by the feet of the cattle but, no matter how hard I tried, I could only see Magpies.  At the side of this field, there was a wooden style and I proceeded to walk over it but, as I straddled the style-for I was now in a higher plain of view-I stopped in my tracks as I could see 100s of Canada Geese and also some Pink Footed Geese feeding on short grass.  Carefully, and slowly, I put my other foot over the style and crouched, to make myself small, close to a Silver Birch tree.  The heads of the geese went up and I feared they were all going to be spooked by my presence in their feeding area.  I relaxed and found an area, in my body, which gave me freedom of movement yet giving me the quietest way of going about my business. 

I made a few notes and, while I was doing this, a couple of walkers, ignoring the fact that the geese may take to the air when they entered the field the birds were in, they went lunging off up the footpath that was at the side of the field.  To my surprise, the geese lifted their heads and simply waddled away from the walkers; the birds must not have thought there was no threat to them.  Later, while I was still watching the geese, for there were Woodpigeons and male Pheasants along side of the grazing birds, and I could not see why, the whole flock of geese took to the air and did not return. 

I decided it was time to go back to the car for the shadows, in the fields, from a sun that was now very low in the sky, were getting longer and I instantly new that the cold air would soon be too cold for the type of clothing I was wearing. 

On my way back to the car, I noticed, with three other birders, the two men that had tried, unsuccessfully, to intimidate me.  One member, of the party, even though I had my car window closed, made a remark which I construed to be about me.  I suppose, had I been younger, I would have wound the window down and asked if there was a problem but my age told me that it is best to wakl away from  situations that may escalate.

Once driving, I took note of the condition of the leaves, now falling off the trees at a fair pace and piled up at the side of the road's surface, and steered a line so that I did not get too close to the edge of the narrow lane.  The falling leaves were fairly dry and not as slippery as they would have been had they been wet but I needed to give myself a little bit of 'lee way' in case another vehicle came towards me in.  Passing this particular area, without the leaves, is often a cautious drive, and today could, to the inexperienced, have been hazardous. 

Once off the narrow lanes, and onto the open road, I turned the car radio on and learned that tomorrow's weather was going to be in complete contrast to today�s weather and, has it turned out, the weather men had got the forecast 'spot on,' for they said a severe weather warning would be in place and the weather, with lashing rain, strong winds and cold temperatures,  on Sunday, proved too bad to go down the garden let alone go out for a walk with nature in mind.

By for now,

John.
                     

   

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30 Oct 2009 12:07 AM

I am sorry, on this occasion, but I will have to be brief; my son is asking me to come off the computer so that he can get on with his lesson plans.

Having said that, I would like to thank you all for your kind comments.

Since I last wrote a blog, I have been to see too more artists at work.  The first, a man working in oils, who did not use any brushes and the end product was wonderful.

The second artist, used various colour mediums and his work was also good.  The two men, tacking the same subject, in their own way, were both fantastic.

Seeing these men work, in the way they did, has prompted me to have another look at their techniques and see if I can use them in my work. 

It is unfortunate that I cannot use acrylics, the drying agents affect my breathing, but I am now looking at a new paint baised agent and I may have better luck with this paint.

By for now and all my fondest wishes to you all.

John. 

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27 Oct 2009 3:25 AM

In today's art apreciation class, and I hope you will forgive any spelling errors, we were given a lecture about Lutchens the designer of wonderful buildings.

Like many men of his kind, to me a brilliant designer, he did not have the life you and I may call normal.

He was always uneasy about coming from a poor backgound. Never the less, he was aways working on something and loved to draw. Some of his line drawings, of people, are trully wonderful. 

He seemed to get on well with the ladies and one of his friends was Jeekle the plants women.  He knew her well enough to be able to call her 'Bumps but did not marry her.'

When he did marry, I have forgotten who he was married to, his marriage, from the day that he had his honeymoom, did not go well and the couple spent lots of time apart but their letters, and there were lots of them, were intimate and friendly. 

Having said that, Edwin did travel to far flung places when traveling was not an easy thing to do.  He went to India, for 23 years, one year at a time, while helping to design New Delie (I belive the old Delie was eventually pulled down)  and he visited places like Australia. 

For his work on New Delie, he received a knight hood.   

I am reminded, when I learn about such people, that there are some very clever people out there and for us to expect them to live what we would call normal lives is asking too much of them. 

On this occasion, in class, I was unable to take the usual note paper and pencil so I have lost out on much of the wonderful information inparted onto us.

Our speaker, who once taught in universities, always makes his classes very interesting for us.

Next month, and I cannot wait, it is going to be Mackintosh.  You will probably know that this man was a designer of wonderful furniture and building interiors. 

Mackintosh was not an easy man to work with, for he liked all his own way, but, when he went off to form his own company, I am afraid he priced himself out of the market he was keen to get into. 

Isn't it wonderful what you get to know at the U3A  meetings?

You may remember, I know my friend Deva does, about the man who takes us for drawing and he told me, when I was not doing exactly what he had been telling me to do, to 'stick to singing,' well, in the art apreciation class interval when we were learning about Lutchens, several ladies came to have a chat with me.  One lady, who could not draw when she first went to the U3A meetings, said that the same man, who had insulted me, insulted her.  Two more ladies said they had stopped going to his class for they felt intimidated by him.

The thing is, if  he could only understand that what works for one person may not always work for another person, then that  would be fine but, I am afraid to say, if you do not do it his way then it is the wrong way.

Up until I had had my ego dented by the drawing  instructor, I used to draw every day.  Sad to say, it has been a couple of weeks now since I have felt the need to put pencil to paper but I will get back to it soon.

Art, in my view, is a progressive thing that does not stop for there is always something new to learn.  At the moment, for it is a weak spot of mine, I am reading and trying to act upon the "Paint Mixers Bible."  I can do a reasonable drawing and, when I come to try and paint it, I often make an ash of the painting.
Tomorrow, if all goes well, I am going to a demonstration to watch a man paint in oils. 

If there was a medium out there, that did not effect my breathing, when it was being used, then I would use it instead of using water colour. 

For those of you that do not know, water colour painting presents all sorts of problems that acrylic and oils do not.  Water colour paints go on the canvas or 'support' light to dark and it is often thought best not to put more than three coats on top of each other.  I have to say that I have seen many coats of paint applied and the end results still looked good.

Acrylics and oils do not matter so much for darks are usually painted first. 

If you are thinking of doing some drawing, try using a 2b pencil and a 'putty' rubber.  An ordinery rubber often scuffs the surface of the paper you want to use. 

What I have to say to you now may seem crazy but it works.  Before putting your pencil on the paper, try using the hand that you normally do not use.  I am left handed so I would use my right hand.  When you come to use the correct hand, the one you usually use, you will note how freely you pencil strokes are.  This is exactly what you are looking for.

There is, in my view, no right or wrong way to draw but you really do need to learn how to make the pencil strokes fluid isnstead of laboured. 

One method I use, depending on how I feel at the time, is to draw as lightly as is possible, so that I can see my lines, and, when I have finished honing in on the finished work, I can begin to darken the lines with stronger strokes and shading.

Some people swear by cross hatching /// \\\\, you could say it is a way of putting the two lines, I have shown here, on top of each other.

You will find, on some occasions, that your drawing skills are far better one day than they are the next, it is just how it goes. 

Last year, just for the experience, I decided to take my drawing pad down into the woods.  I was early and expected having the wood to myself.

There was still dew in the air, the pine trees let off a wonderful sticky sweet smell, the sun had still to get up out of the sky and there were shadows everywhere. 

There was a slight breeze and I soon learned that elastic bands would always have to be carried, to keep my pages in place. On this occasion, I had taken several pencils with me and a good job too for I had forgotten to take a pencil sharpener. 

I used the trees as supports and I also tried sitting on old logs.  The peace, quiet and tranquility of the wood was wonderful and, for the first time, I gained lots of inspiration from the feeling I received in the wood.

To my surprise, when I had been drawing for some time, and out of know where, a young women came through one of the darkest parts of he wood.  She was using a mobile phone and had two wonderful dogs with her.  When she reached the spot where I was standing, she stopped talking, on the mobile, and passed the time of day with me as though she had known me for years.

Later, that same morning, a young man, walking his dog, again coming from know where, came to have a chat with me about my drawings. 

Looking back to those times, for it was a summer's morning when I went to the woods to draw, it seems a long time away for autumnal days are here and they are unpredictable. 

I suppose I aught to go down in the woods now that the leaves are falling.

By for now,

John.               

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23 Oct 2009 2:02 AM

On Wednesday, I was able to visit another art class and the man running it was one of those rare people that went out of his way to make the class room experience as jovial as he could.  Not only did he make the subject matter easy to understand but he also showed us techniques to get us started as quickly as possible.

Of course, due to being the nervouse type, I always find it easier to go along with the mood of the day and it was not long before I too was trying to crack one or two jokes.  Once the ball was rolling, the quietest of mature studnets found it easy to get involved and, before we knew it, it was time to end the lesson.

One student remarked on the larger number of students attending the class and, for a joke, I said it was always the case, when I went anywhere, that class numbers increase.  I will not tell you what the reply was.

I attended one art group, in another part of the area I live, and when the lady, who ran the group, commented on the ammount of people that were now going to her meetings, I told her it was because I was attending.  This lady called me a 'male shovenist pig.'

I just smiled.

The one thing that I have learned, while visiting all these art groups, for some of them only have demonstrations, is that each artist may do one thing differently to everybody else.

That is the thing about art, there is no substitue for being time served.  You have, as an artist, to find your own way of doing things and that cannot be achieved over night.

I am trying to visit as many demonstrations as I can, if only to get one extra piece of information, and, of course, read as much as I can without taking up too much time from my actual hands on work.

Until recently, for you might say I have had 'the wind knocked out of my sails' by an ungarded remark from a friend, I have been drawing or painting everyday but, since my altication, I have not been as active of late.

For some reason, my mood has been altered by my friend's remark.  I know I should not let people get to me, in this way, but the truth is I am working so hard, to try and perfect my craft, I now feel that it is all in vein. 

I feel I will eventually get over my dented pride and start up my art again but that may take longer than I had thought. 

Over the past few years, while I have been trying to make my art work better, there have been many times when I have said that I will pack it all in, out of frustration from not being able to achieve what I want to do, but, so far, I have heald steadfast and, when I look back at my earlier work, I am pleased that I have continued.

Of course, there are all kinds of artists and I suppose I have 'to find myself' yet but I do reap great satisfaction from trying to draw and paint flowers and anything to do with nature.

By for now,

John. 

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18 Oct 2009 9:40 PM

Yesterday, on Saturday afternoon when everybody was shopping, I went out for my first walk since feeling poorly a couple of weeks ago.  It is surprising how the old leg muscles get out of being used and because I knew that it would not be a good idea to go far, I walked down to the canal.  Some of you will know that I have been to this site several times. 

The site, now a disused canal, has areas where the canal is much higher than the fields that surround it.  Once on the canal, it is surprising how much of the countryside can be seen.  To my left, there were fields as far as the eye could see, and to my right, there were more fields, a roadway, some houses, yet more fields and a view that lead the eye, in the far distance, to woodland and to a high spot that, once you were able to get there, gave marvellous views over a valley. 

This particular valley, as the sun set, was a place frequented use by courting couples that could not find privacy, to talk and make plans for the future, in a house full of well wishing parents and family.  I was once one of the people who went to the site to watch the sun go down and find piece from the incessant enquiries as to when I was going to 'tie the knot.'

I digress, once on the canal toe path, where older people can still remember ‘bargees’ walking at the side of barges (that were once their  homes and places of work ,) I noticed there were lots of red berries on the hawthorns and thought that Fieldfares, from Scandinavian ‘ climbs,’ would soon be here to peck them off the trees.  Their familiar call would soon be there for me to listen to. 

I passed an area, on the canal, that was chocked with 'duck weed' and noted that a pair of Swans were mopping the food up in much the same way as we would vacuum a carpet.  Coots and Moorhens called out, as I passed by, but it was to be a return journey before I was able to get good views of the birds. 

Men were fishing the site but I knew, for there was now a cold feel in the air, they would not be on site for long. 

Once in an area, on the canal, where I was on my own, I took particular note to see if there were any water voles on site but, I am sorry to say, earth moving disturbance, from landscaping, had made the voles move on.  It is not as bad as it sounds for there have been vole sightings seen on a local nature reserve; I helped develop when I was a young man.  The reserve is only about a 20 minute walk from the canal I was now standing on and could be reached by the voles.

Some time ago, before moving on to do other things, I became involved with the re development of the canal and I am pleased to say, when it happens, that the whole of the canal stretch, for a good few miles, will, eventually, be re instated to its former glory. 

Today, there were several ‘dog walkers’ on site and one of the walkers was a local man that grew up in the same area as my wife.  This man went on to say that he could remember barges on the stretch of water we were walking on. 

At one point, on the canal, there is a bridge and I was about to cross the bridge when someone called out my name.  The man and woman walkers were dressed well for the quickly cooling down air.  These people, more friends of my wife and I hope they are friends of mine too; have been looking after puppies, for the blind dog society, for many years.  They do ‘sterling work’ and not only do they look after the puppies; they also collect money for the charity. 

Today, the ‘couple’ were walking a beautiful black Labrador.  They began training the dog, when it was a puppy, but the blind dog society rejected it saying that it was not suitable.  My friends decided to keep the dog and what a beautiful, kind, gentle and fussy animal it was. 

I did not touch the pet for there were signs of the dog having its fur coat shaved off, on its back, and there were signs of the animal having been put to the knife.  In fact, my friends had had the dog to see a ‘vet’ where it was discovered that the poor animal had a tumour on its back.  My friends were distraught, for they had become so attached to their pet, and decided that the only thing was to allow the dog to be operated on.

The operation took place not long ago and to say that the animal had been under the anaesthetic a short while ago, the animal looked fine but, at the moment, only short walks are advisable.

While we were talking and the loving animal responded to their voice patterns, I pointed out that Bullfinch were calling close by and my friends said they had been watching Long Tailed Tits.  I had been listening to Long Tailed Tits but could not see them.

After a time, the dog needed to go back into the warmth and comfort of my friends’ home and I walked on. 
The last time I was on the canal, at the far end of the section I was standing on, landscaping was taking place and, today, the land had all been levelled and on top of the landscaping, in anticipation of the new playing fields being seeded, it looked as though a thin layer of sand had been put down.

Light was now starting to fade so I decided to turn back and head for home and when a reached the area I had earlier met my friends, on the bridge over the canal, a well dressed young lady crossed the path and I stood back so she could walk on, in piece, with her very well behaved German Sheppard dog.  Normally, I would have smiled back at the  young lady, in acknowledgement of her realising that I had stood back to let her get through but, today, I did not think that it was appropriate and let her get well ahead of me before I walked back up and off the canal.

Throughout, the walk was dull and gloomy but the falling leave, all the wonderful bronzed and red leaves, the sights and sounds of the birds and animals and the people I met made my walk very pleasurable.

By for now,

John.   

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