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2008
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May 8th
Starting a new portrait of a bear for a conservation group. Have not drawn a bear before and am looking forward to it.

May 4th
Very unsettled day weather-wise. A number of visitors to the gardens and Tearooms but Larmer Tree Gallery was quiet. Lit the fire and curled up.

May 1st
Have almost finished my pastel drawing. New paper works a treat.

April 27th
Went to see the Dutch band, Focus, tonight. Bought their album 'Hamburger Concerto' many moons ago. Great to see them after all these years - they are just as good as ever..

April 16th
Went to see Jethro Tull tonight. Brilliant. Have waited aprox. 30 years for an opportunity to see them and they were worth every minute.  Very good indeedy.

Also received a call re: an injured Brown Long-Eared Bat. It was found in a garden two days ago but sadly passed away this a.m. As the weather is warming-up bats can now be seen flying around during the evenings. If a young or injured bat is found please contact The Bat Conservation Trust Helpline on 0845 1300 228 for contact details of your nearest bat carer.

April 15th
This morning received my first call this year, re: an injured bat. Swallows flying above Larmer Tree. Lovely sunny day and am enjoying portraying in pastels again.

April 14th
Started a new wolf artwork this afternoon. There are numerous types of paper available to artists and over the past weeks have been experimenting. Success!!!!!! I think I may have found a new surface for my pastels.

April 6th
Two photo's of our garden; it is difficult to believe that it was the same day. 
10 a.m

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3 p.m
Wings up and sunbathing for the first time ever, Rosie and Ruby, the ex. battery girls, with Dottie Wyandotte and Lucy Orpington. Bliss!

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March 31st
Madam Xiong of the Sichuan Forestry Department has kept her promise of closing a bear farm before the end of March. Three trucks carrying 28 terrified, emaciated, but soon-to-be-free Moon Bears drove to the sanctuary in Chengdu. It is estimated there are 7,000-plus farmed bears still being farmed for their bile. To read more about the plight of the Moon Bear Farms in China, please click on Animals Asia Foundation or visit my Events Page.

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March 21st
We now have a Lucy, a Black Orpington hen. She is a beauty and really calm; a lovely addition to our chicken family. Given time I think she will become a tame and friendly chicken. When we collected her we noticed she had quite a mucky backside which was a little disconcerting but hopefully, with a little TLC, we can sort the problem. Even though she is not bushy-tailed, she is bright eyed and looks in good condition. The only downside is that Ruby, one of the battery girls, has ganged up with Dottie and the pair of them are sorting out the pecking order. Rosie our other battery chicken prefers to eat and is not interested in the hierarchy game.

Larmer Tree opens for the season on Sunday so have also been printing and trying to get everything sorted. Have also been busy delivering Easter pressies and getting together with the family. It's all go!

March 19th
Over the past few days our new girls have been slowly and very warily checking out their new surroundings. The little door to their run has been open during the day and Dottie has toodled in and out, but they have not dared to or even shown any interest in venturing outside. Until Today!!!!!!

It was absolutely super to see them in the run attempting to scratch around as chickens do so naturally, when allowed to, under normal circumstances. Sadly, battery chickens having never had the opportunity to experience this natural instinct or practise this manoeuvre; are unable to master the movements without iniatially wobbling about a bit. It is lovely to think that soon they will be scratching around to their hearts content searching for worms, insects and seeds in our garden. They have also been very generous and laid eggs for us every other day. A great Easter surprise and pressie. Must think of some names for them now.

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March 15th
Successful day today as we collected 2 new chickens. The poor little things have a number of bald patches and are quite dishevelled.  They were also extremely hungry and even though it was quite late in the day, ate all the layers mash and corn we put down for them.  The normal roosting perch that our girls use is aprox. 24 inches from the ground.   As these chickens have never been allowed to roost and have only ever slept and sat on the same spot 'day and night' for 2 years; we placed a perch 8 inches off the ground for them to sit on.  When it came to bedtime though they didn't know what to do, so we picked them up and put them onto it.  The larger of the two doesn't seem able to nestle down as hens normally do.  In fact her legs seem very stiff; am hoping that this will improve with time.  Other than that they have settled in extremely well. Dottie has been a treasure and seems quite happy to have them around.

March 13th
Sweet Pea, one of our girls, passed away last night. Dottie is now on her own and we need to find her a chicken companion as soon as posible. We have decided to give a home to a couple of battery farm chickens. The Battery Hen Welfare Trust are rescuing three hundred chickens from a Battery Chicken Farm on Saturday morning. We are going to collect two of the rescued girls later on in the afternoon. Please support the BHWT who are "Working to inspire a free range future".

March 11th
Final four wolf drawings for the book completed.

March 8th
Male and female Bramblings in our garden. They are really colourful birdies.

International Womens Day today, for further info. please see my Events page.

March 6th
Saw my first Brambling today; it perched on the little pitched roof that protects our bird table.

February 27th
We finally have frog spawn in our pond, three days later than last years recording. Also the Mallard ducks returned to the pond this morning and spent a couple of hours dabbling. It will be interesting to see if the female nests in the Walnut Tree again this year.

February 25th
Larmer Tree Visitor Map completed. Wolf artwork almost completed.

February 24th
Working inside and out, at Larmer, in preparation for the Larmer Tree Gardens opening on Easter Sunday, March 23rd.

February 22nd
Lots of activity in the pond: Frogs and Toads are in our garden during the evenings. Last year the frogs were active much earlier in the month. During the daytime Bullfinch, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch, Collard Dove, Goldfinch, Robins, Great Tits and Blue Tits and lots of Blackbirds; all behaving territorially and singing their hearts out. Beautiful! It must be nearly Springtime!

February 18th
Getting Larmer Studio ship-shape for new season.

January 25th
More artwork required for the book. It is all go!

January 16th
Dian Fossey's birthday. Dian was an incredible woman who, ultimately, gave her life whilst working to protect our precious Mountain Gorillas. Dian would have been 76 years old today.

The Snowdrops are in flower at Larmer Tree. Also saw my first Bumble Bee of the year, today.

January 15th
Greenpeace is in the news......

The Great Whale Trail is a collaboration between Greenpeace and scientists working on humpback whales in the South Pacific. With financial support from Greenpeace, humpback whales have been tagged by the Cook Islands Whale Research and Opération Cétacés (New Caledonia). 

The whales are now being tracked via satellite as they migrate from breeding and calving areas in the tropical South Pacific to the feeding grounds of the Southern Ocean.

This project will produce important information on the movements and migratory destinations of humpback whales from small, unrecovered populations off Rarotonga (Cook Islands) and New Caledonia.

Greenpeace is communicating this critical non-lethal scientific research to the wider public as part of their campaign against Japan's unnecessary lethal "research" in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

Join the Great Whale Trail Expedition to the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.





January 14th
Primroses are in flower in Church Way Wood. Seems early.....

January 6th
Back into the swing of things after the holiday. Printing cards and prints, one more wolf artwork to completed for 'The World of Wolves' book - publication in Spring 2008. Also re:designing the Visitor's map for the Larmer Tree Gardens leaflet.


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January 2nd
*Ancient trees are living relics of incredible age, worthy of as much protection as any other ancient monument or historic building, not least because they provide homes for a host of wildlife, including many rare and threatened species. However, in order to protect them, we need to know where they all are.  This is a photo of one of our favourite old Oaks - girth of tree aprox. 18ft. This particular Oak tree is in Rushmore Park, Tollard Royal.

If you would like to join in please see the Ancient Tree Hunt website for further information.

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January 1st
Happy New Year!

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* Quote from Woodland Trust newsletter