Time flies by ...

.... I cannot believe it's over 2 months since I've updated my blog. I upload everything to Instagram at the moment so if you click the link at the side, you can find me there. But here are some of the photos from my Autumn walks and things I've collected plus of course Finn doing what he does best!

Blues

There's been a last minute burst of Summer which is fantastic and it's rumoured to last into October - I hope so. I thought I should do a post before September is over - I've been busy with lots of work - making the most of the lovely evenings - and my continuing obsession with instagram. When the nights draw in - which they are doing rapidly  - I will have more time to spend on my blog - well that's the plan anyway...

Here are photos of things I've seen on my walks, an old chest I finally painted, a beautiful bag which is made from the ring pulls on cans - an amazing birthday surprise. 

Still hanging on to Summer

Although there has been some rain, the lovely weather is still here amongst the odd shower. We've been on some beautiful walks along the coast, seen fields of sunflowers and wild flowers, spent time with a friend's new dog and visited the burial mounds at Kingley Vale on a beautiful evening - there was a scary atmosphere in the woods though!

Passing weeks

More weeks pass. June has been lovely: reflections, evening walks by the coast, collections, Alf - he loves posing, blue skies, an evening out by bus and my first new potatoes of the year.

I've been swimming in the sea twice, it's lovely and warm, more walks, my olive tree about to blossom and I've actually started a painting - first one on canvas for years!

Evening walk

How lucky am I to live in such a beautiful part of the world.

Update

I've been very absent from here recently, helping my lovely mum celebrate her 80th birthday! As you can see from the recent pic in the middle she doesn't look anything like 80 years old - she is amazing. 
I won't say any more or she'll kill me. I made the cake - which was fun but I'm not a good cake maker and it was very dry! There were a series of parties because 2 of my friends had 'significant' birthdays that week too (frankly I'm exhausted). 

So I spent this weekend relaxing. I hadn't been to the Bishops Palace Gardens for ages so it was lovely to wander round, also did some early morning walks to see the English countryside at it's best.

sea defences

How beautiful are these? They didn't work though and are being replaced further up the coast by a lot of concrete for £1.8m. Mind you I would be glad it was happening if I lived yards from the water, the sea is changing the landscape and will soon be taking the houses with it.
PS You can click on pics to see them more clearly.

Grass

There are some beautiful colours in the grasses this year, probably because of the rain. Of course my faithful companion has to get his face in the picture!

king of the castle

It will be a few days before he'll forgive me for this!

Spent

I went walking at the weekend and spent a lot of time watching the trees. I had the feeling they were watching me too.
© 2010 nicky linzey for illustration friday

I was wrong ...

. . . Summer's not really over

Thank you all for your get well wishes to Bill (MJR). Glad to report he's back to his old self now and has ripped up his T Shirt.
Good news too, we got the work we pitched for! Children's fun/educational packs for an airline company.

Autumn . . .

... came early this year.

Patterns and textures

On my walks recently I've been noticing pattern and texture everywhere, so today I photographed some of them.

Nature Table 3

------------------------- © Nicky Linzey 2007

It's a weird thing - since the age of six (which is a long time ago now) I have been regularly finding these Jay's feathers on my walks in the woods. I think they're beautiful. I don't look for them but just before I find one, a thought enters my mind which is 'I'll see a Jay's feather in a minute,' and I walk a little further and there it is, on the pathway. They've all been found in different places and I've never even seen a Jay! I looked up the symbolism on the Eurasian Jay and found that it can mean good luck. I'm hoping I find many more.

Nature table 1

Gull's feathers collected at Pagham Harbour © 2007 Nicky Linzey

Do you remember nature tables at Primary school where you could bring in things of interest that you had collected over the weekend? Well my conservatory is resembling this at the moment. It seems I cannot stop collecting things when I'm out walking. I've got stones, shells, a bird's nest, wire, rope, sea urchins, plastic insects, leaves, feathers - I could go on. I draw them and then I cannot bear to throw them away, sometimes they get moved outside to let nature take it's course. I can be ruthless but only when someone's coming for dinner & I need the space.