You're Beautiful - African sunrise

African sunrise, May 2012, Lesley Beeton

I woke early on the last morning of our holiday in South Africa, made myself a cup of tea and waited for this stunning sunrise to unfold. There's nothing quite like feeling the warm African sun on your face to make you feel beautiful.


So, I'm linking up with Jenny at Cheetahs In My Shoes and You're Beautiful. Pop over there to see what Jenny and the Cheetah Keeper have been up to this week. And have a look at the other blogs linked up too.

Follow @Shackleford_LB

Sunrise over rooftops

One of the things I love about working in watercolour is the delicate shading one can achieve. Sometimes it works out better than others, but that's the fun of working unfinished, untitled!

Rooftops over Farncombe,
watercolour, 2000, Lesley Beeton

My colour palette for the watercolour study

Tones and shades, watercolour, 2009, Lesley Beeton

Follow @Shackleford_LB

Back to normal

Well, it's taken two weeks and I finally feel ready for the new year. The dogs have been so badly behaved, they have missed their routine and have been playing up. But last week was a good week. Normal routines were restored and we got to grips with clearing up, packing away and being organised.

In the garden, the mild weather meant that we have been able to pick up the last of the oak tree leaves, and clear up the branches which came down in the New Year storms. I restored the dry stone wall and the bumble bee box, and the OH made a Boxer deterrent from some wooden stakes and a bit of garden wire. I have found a home for the small solitary bee tubes, re-packed the moss and lined the bumble bee box with dried leaves. We even noticed some blue tits investigating the nesting box. There has been no interest in that box since the woodpeckers drilled out the entrance two years ago. I have been keeping a close eye on the owl box but no takers there yet. 

The sunrise was beautiful again this morning. I had to leave before the sun was fully up but snapped this frosty scene on my way out. The dogs were so good while I was out. To be fair, they did go for their walk at 6am when the temperature was -2 degrees! 

But they aren't stupid; with under-paw heating in their day bed and a warm radiator in the conservatory, I know where they were while I was out. Their boredom busters didn't even get taken outside. Of course when I got home, they wanted to play, so we kept our games to the sunny part of the garden - it was still only about 2 degrees.

They had a busy weekend too, as we re-stocked the woodpile. The storms brought down a few large branches which we cut down to size for our wood-burning stove. So we are well prepared for any bad weather still to come. We'll be cosy.

Follow @Shackleford_LB