KEEPING MY HAND IN

I have been unwell since  Xmas. These are a couple of sketches I have amused myself with.

WINTER SUNRISE

This beautiful scene greeted me when I awoke a couple of days ago. There is a waning crescent moon on the right, bottom edge of the photo. (compare with my post Oct.11th 2011)

GARDEN SPIDER

This beautiful spider has been with us for over a month now, and has become almost a pet. It maintains  it's web just outside the window where we eat our meals.

GARDEN FLOWERS 2012

These lovely flowers bloom in my garden every year, with very little attention.

 February

 May

 July

 August

 August

August

The Rutting Season

Walking in Bushy Park the other morning we came across this magnificent Red Stag gathering his "wives." He was crossing our path and having a good roar. Normally we would have walked through them, but one or two people were attacked during the rutting season last year, so we found an alternative path.

Orange Tip Butterfly (Bushy Park)

Walking in the rain yesterday we came upon this beautiful butterfly resting on the tip of a sprouting blackberry. It is a male Orange Tip butterfly. I assume it was newly hatched.

The Pastel Society Annual Exhibition, 2012

We had a very enjoyable visit to the Pastel exhibition at the Mall Galleries, last Thursday. It was a beautiful day. We walked from Waterloo across Hungerford Bridge, and the views were magnificent. The river was full of boats, mostly passenger craft with a few commercial barges. We walked on the east side to Charing Cross station then bordered the south side of Trafalgar Square to the Mall. ( On our return we walked down Northumberland Avenue and back on the west side of the bridge. It seemed a lot shorter and was certainly a lot less crowded.)