Out and about

Greetings friends. I hope you've all had an enjoyable Easter. I'm just popping in to let you know that I'll be busy for the next few months so you won't be seeing me on Flutterby Patch quite as much. I'm now responsible for a new Facebook page belonging to my local red squirrel society so please pop in and find out what's happening if you're passing.

Westmorland Red Squirrel Society on Facebook

On Sunday we walked to Orrest Head above Windermere.

 

It's uphill all the way and soon we were able to look down on the town of Windermere.

The path to the top passed through woodland.

In days gone by you would have been taken to the top of the hill in a horse drawn carriage.

The carriage would have stopped near the top and the passengers would have alighted and walked the last few yards to the summit.

And here is the view that would have greeted them. Little has changed over the centuries.

Windermere lake with the Lakeland fells (mountains) in the distance.

There are plenty of fast flowing streams tumbling through the Lakeland landscape.

Primroses bloom among the rocks.

These pretty blooms were once so plentiful they were picked by the basketful. These days the picking of wild flowers is discouraged.

The fast flowing stream eventually reaches Windermere lake.

Hopefully we will soon see the return of a lot more red squirrels like this cute little character.

 

WRSS Facebook page

Westmorland Red Squirrel Society on Facebook

Another wet day

Greeting friends, from a totally rain-soaked Britain. No need to bore you all further by describing the weather we've endured over the past few weeks. It's been too dark and dismal to photograph inside or out so I'm showing you a couple of postcards of our area which seem appropriate.

 

Here in the mountainous Lake District a few hardy souls have ventured onto high ground. A punishing pursuit as they've been lashed by storm force winds and driving rain.

Many water-logged footpaths are now unstable and of course the mountain rescue service has been kept very busy.

 

But compared to coastal and low-lying areas elsewhere in Britain we've been fortunate as storm water rushes straight down the rocky hillsides and into the lakes.

My thoughts are very much with those whose homes and local areas have been damaged by hurricane force winds and flooding.

Stay safe
Eli x

A Fine Romance by Susan Branch

Greetings friends. This week I've been reading 'A Fine Romance' by Susan Branch. My American friends will of course be well acquainted with Susan's many books which are all beautifully hand written and illustrated in her own joyously inimitable style.

As soon as I jumped into the pages of a 'A Fine Romance' I was whisked away with Susan and her husband Joe on the trip they made in 2012 across the Atlantic on board the magnificent liner Queen Mary 2. Once in England I met their friends, stayed with them in some wonderful cottages and ventured along country highways and byways on a journey of enchanting discovery.

Susan's love and admiration for all things Beatrix Potter inevitably meant a trip to Beatrix's Lake District home. Hill Top cottage is world famous and open to the public and needless to say the cottage and it's garden were explored in intimate detail!

Below is a picture from the book showing Castle Cottage where Beatrix Potter lived after she married William Heelis. This was the final view Susan had of the area and she said her tearful 'goodbye' as rain fell from leaden skies.

Castle Cottage isn't too far from my own home so it was fascinating to read Susan's journal and I have to confess when she said goodbye to Beatrix Potter's world I shared her sadness with a tear in my eye. I was certain Beatrix would love reading the book.

As I reached the last page I was truly sorry the journey was over as it had been such fun. It has rained here in the Lake District all week but as I closed the book I noticed the sun had popped out and so I hatched a plan. . . . . . We ate a hasty supper and at 7 o'clock jumped into the car and sped off to join the queue waiting for the arrival of the small ferry that transports people across Windermere lake. And here comes the ferry; we'd better get ready to drive on board.

Whether you speak the English language or not I think this sign would leave you in no doubt about the danger of driving too close to the water before the ferry has properly docked!

We buy a ticket. . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . and we are on our way. The late August sun will soon have disappeared behind the hills so I hope I can reach my intended destination before it does.

It's a lovely evening to cross the lake but the clouds are gathering and it looks as if rain could return tomorrow.

A few minutes later we drive off the ferry and head for a small village. And here it is. A sleepy little collection of old cottages enjoying the last of the evening sun. The village is Near Sawrey.

It is the picture below of Beatrix Potter's old home, Castle Cottage, that I have come to capture by way of a thank you to Susan whose fascinating journey I have been allowed to share. . . . .

Apart from their supreme talent, Susan and Beatrix have many things in common and I know if Miss Potter happened to see me pop the book on her old stone wall she would have loved to take a peek and be full of admiration for the detailed work she found inside. As Susan lives too far away to take a quick after-supper trip to the village I decided her book should make the trip in her place.

During her visit last year Susan noticed lots of Beatrix Potter figurines for sale in local shops but no sheep and so I thought I'd bring along my own little flock to say 'Hello!' I'm sure several of you will recognise them (see free knitting pattern in the sidebar).

Time to leave. Pick up the book and tuck it safely into my bag. Remove the sheep before they tumble off the wall and then say 'goodbye' to Castle Cottage.

Finally, let me show you one more thing. Beatrix Potter painted the picture below over 100 years ago and it can be found in the Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck. The building in the background is in the village and in Beatrix's day was known as the Tower Bank Arms (you can see the name on the front). Below the name is a clock. And guess what ? . . . . . .

The Tower Bank Arms is still open for business and the clock still tells the correct time.

If you haven't already discovered Susan's blog then do pay her visit, but I warn you, you won't want leave. Enjoy your weekends everyone.

Susan Branch Blog

Sunny summer illustrations

I love this book by John Burningham. It was first published in 1969 and the illustrations are typical of the time. Plenty of vivid colour washes and textural effects created from thick paint, ink and crayon.

 

I thought I'd show you the summer pictures as they perfectly depict the weather we've been having here in the Lake District during July.

 

Peaceful countryside and a pink holiday cottage. What could be nicer!

Love the misty heat haze over the water.

I can empathise with the poor fellow below! Flying insects of the bite or sting variety always seem to head in my direction.

Taking time off for some light refreshment. Much the best occupation for hot days.

And this is exactly how our spell of intense summer heat ended.

Quick, run for cover! But remember not to shelter under a tree!

And that takes me nicely to my new blog Sheltered by Trees (but not in a thunderstorm). This week I announce the winner of last week's giveaway. I'm also taking you to Wray Castle where Beatrix Potter spent a holiday in 1882. It was much too sunny to look inside the castle so we spend a little time walking to the lake shore.

Wray Castle in the Lake District

Enjoy your weekend everyone.

Midsummer

Here in England's north country, fine June evenings remain light until at least 11pm. Can there be a nicer way to end a perfect day than sitting on a warm terrace with the heady scents of summer flowers filling the air.

This picture depicting midsummer hangs in my kitchen. It is by one of my favourite artists, Meg Falconer. The inscription is taken from Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. I expect you'll recognise the verse below.

 

 I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,

Quite overcanopied with luscious woodbine,

With sweet musk roses and with eglantine.

Meg Falconer is a local artist and her prints have been sold for many years from a lovely gallery overlooking Lake Coniston. Last week we decided to drive the few short miles to the lake and take another look at Meg's inspiring work. Sadly the clouds looked rather menacing but thankfully the rain stayed away.

After several miles negotiating narrow country lanes we arrived at our destination. This is Brantwood, the former home of John Ruskin. He was a leading English art critic of the Victorian era. Also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and a philanthropist. His house containing much of his original work is open to the public.

Ruskin's coach and boat are on display in the coach house and above this is the art gallery we had come to visit. But sadly things didn't turn out as we'd planned. The gallery was closed and the contents had been removed. I was so disappointed.

I know of no other galleries that display Meg Falconer's work and so I think my collection is unlikely to grow.

Whilst I'm content to enjoy midsummer in my garden (when fine) many thousands of people flock to Stonehenge, the world famous Bronze Age standing stones situated on Salisbury Plain. Visitors have to arrive before 4.52am in order to witness the sun appearing over the horizon and aligning perfectly with two of the largest stones.

Apparently today this event was masked by dense cloud and the sun was nowhere to be seen which must have been a huge disappointment for the many who had made the trip.

For folk like me living in a Lakeland valley the midsummer sun isn't visible until it has risen above the hills. Of course you can get out of bed early and climb up a mountain for a better view or maybe pitch a tent and stay on the mountain all night. From the mountain peak you will get a spectacular view of the midsummer sunrise (as long as the sun isn't masked by cloud as so often happens in our country).

Not being someone who scales mountains or pitches tents I am content to spend midsummer at home. And of course my midsummer night's dream will be filled with pictures like this!

 

 Enjoy your weekend everyone

Eli x

Gone forever?

Greetings Friends. Here in the English Lake District we have seen many visitors this week as schools have had their half-term holiday. Beatrix Potter, who lived and worked in this area, is lovingly remembered and her little books and associated memorabilia fill many of our local shops.

The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin is about a rascally little red squirrel who upset Old Mr Brown the owl by singing silly rhymes whilst his sensible cousins brought gifts to exchange for nuts.

 

The good squirrels caught fish for the owl but Nutkin gathered pine needles and made a pin cushion and Mr Brown was not pleased.

 

It was the woodlands of the Lake District that were home to Old Mr Brown and the red squirrels and at this time of year these woods are carpeted with bluebells and the air is filled with perfume and birdsong. The wood below adjoins our garden (picture taken yesterday).

Beatrix Potter I'm sure would be delighted to find that much has remained unchanged in the Lake District since she lived here but she would be broken-hearted to know that her beloved red squirrels have almost disappeared. Why? . . . In the late 1800s it was fashionable to bring wild animals from other countries back to Britain and this is when American grey squirrels were introduced to our countryside. It seemed a harmless thing to do at the time but the larger, hungrier grey squirrels carried a deadly disease which quickly spread amongst the red population with the result that red squirrels have been almost eradicated from much of England.

The English Lake District (marked with a red square on the map) has until fairly recently remained a relatively safe haven for red squirrels but we always knew their days were numbered as populations of greys quickly spread northward. I used to watch reds playing in our garden then one fateful day in 1997 I spotted a grey squirrel and knew I'd never see another red.

 

I find the sweet picture below rather poignant as these days it is only off-shore islands that have remained relatively safe places for red squirrels to live. Most people have assumed they would soon be gone forever but now there is a growing body of people who are no longer prepared to accept this defeatist attitude. Around the country small groups of red squirrel lovers are joining forces with the aim of reintroducing the native reds back into safe areas of woodland.

Needless to say I support this worthy cause and am a member of our local Westmorland Red Squirrel Society which is run by a band of dedicated volunteers and relies almost entirely on charitable donations. The process of re-establishing grey-free areas for the little reds to inhabit is a slow process but progress is gradually being made.

  

In order to raise much needed funds I am designing a knitting pattern for a new dolly. 100% of all profit made from the sale of this pattern will go to the Westmorland Red Squirrel Society. By next weekend I hope to have something more colourful to show you. Meanwhile if you would like to visit the Westmorland Red Squirrel Society website please CLICK HERE.

 

Today is a sunny Saturday and I'm now off to our local garden centre to buy some bedding plants to pop into my pots on the patio. I just hope we don't get any more snow before next winter!

Hope you are all enjoying your weekends.

Eli x