Emy Jane: June 2007

As I'm sure you all noticed that darn SpringWatch message boards & Webcams took over my life & I loved every minute of it - of course I had a few disagreements with people (see Sparrowhawk argument) but that's part & parcel of life. When it finished the msg boards closed down, the webcams were turned off & all of us (I met some cool people on there) had nowhere to go. Then along came 'Bird-Mania' or 'Wildlife-Mania' as it's just been renamed. Another wildlife forum & so I joined that & haven't been off it since, plus I've just been made a moderator so I have an excuse to be on there! Not only is it a forum but a website too with a gallery, articles on wildlife, news, blogs (yep, now my 4th blog), Travel, ecards & a shop - wildlife books, seed, dvds etc. Plus at the online SpringWatch party (yes, we had one of those, aren't we all sad?) I made a bit of a fool of myself as I was drinking in 'real life' & got a little worse for ware & apparently married Steve the creator of Wildlife-Mania & did the dance of the 7 voles!!! LOL Please, please, I'm not serious, it's all a joke, don't worry I'm not mixing reality with real life I promise, the marriage thing is just an online joke. So with my new job & my nickname 'Skylark' I'm very busy!!!!!!! ;):

Blue Tit

Then I took a lot more pictures for the message boards - least I got to know my Nikon D70

Greenfinch

Nuthatch - I was lucky to get this close

Great Spotted Woodpecker (female)

A baby cricket

A Speckled Yellow Moth

A Mottled Beauty Moth

A Buff Ermine Moth (male)

A Peach Blossom Moth

A Bloodvein Moth

A Privet Hawkmoth - 55mm & I aint joking! HUGE

A very drunk bee on a poppy

An empty dragonfly larva

A Damsel Fly

Our Ox Eye Daisies at the end of the garden, going off a bit now

Field opposite the cottage with Foxgloves

But now it's raining & it hasn't stopped

When the sun DOES come out it looks so green!

Flaming June? More like Flooding June!!!!!

Head for cover!!!!

& when there is a sunset it looks more like winter then summer!

I do feel sorry for the poor saps at Glastonbury - you'd never catch me there!
So back to Wildlife-Mania for me which when I last checked were having technical difficulties, let's hope it's been sorted out otherwise what do I do now? LOL

Emy xxx

Oh dear

Sorry

I haven't blogged in a long time.

The time has just slipped away.

Sorry folks.

I'm still in Devon - although back to London next Wednesday for the big move. Haven't exchanged contracts yet but I'm sure the date will come pretty soon.

What have I been doing since?

Well, let's do this methodically . . .

7th June - the opening of my exhibition at the Red House in Exeter. Quite a poor turn out but the people I met were probably the most important people to meet if you're an artist in the SW. I had a great time & drank loads of wine to cover my nerves. It worked. 19 pieces of my work on the walls shared with 3 other artists - all 3 I didn't like one bit!!!!:

The sign outside - only noticed it having a smoke later on in the evening LOL

Wow my name up on print!!! How exciting . . .

At first I started to panic about the colour of the walls - then it looked fine

There are the only pictures I took - unlike me I know - but I was so overwhelmed with it all & with the wine that I forgot. It was such a relief too as I dropped the paintings off a few days before & left them & so had no involvement with the hanging & didn't know which one's were going to be used & which one's not. The two they left out I actually quite liked, but no matter. I'll post them on here soon. I think what was the most wonderful thing was that I didn't have to go through the stress of hanging them myself as it was all done for me - in fact the lot, the hanging, the publicity, the food, the drink . . . all I had to do was turn up & look pretty :)

8th June

Slight hangover - but off to the Royal Cornwall Show with the same friend I went with last year but also with her daughter Katie & Katie's cousin Joanna. Lovely hot day, we all got sunburnt. In my tired self I actually caused all three of them to giggle on the floor uncontrollably twice.
Once walking past an optician tent with a woman saying out to the crowds, free eye tests & free hearing tests & me asking innocently, 'What did she say?' As I REALLY didn't hear her! And secondly finishing a cig & not wanting to put it out on the path we were walking on with hundreds of people, so put it out on the grass unaware that that was in front of the Fire brigade stand! Oh it was so funny!!!!
Wonderful animals as usual, I didn't get to see the pigs, chickens, nor the goats this time as there was SO much - 90 acres worth:

First the humans, Sue & Myself

Katie, Joanna & Myself on the Big Wheel

Aberdeen Angus

I think a South Devon - but my cow breed knowledge is a little shady these days . . .

Belted Galloway

Belgium Blue - & they don't get any bigger then that!!!

British Charolais

Heroford - my favourite!

Simmental Bull

OH YES!!!!

Devon Ruby Red

'Lean on' Ayrshire!

She KNEW I was taking a picture of her - look at her eye!!!!

Holstein

Dexter

Not sure - I always get the channel islands breeds mixed up . . .

Back in the sheds it all got too hot & too much

And not only for the animals!!!!

Simmential Calf

Charolais Calf - aww sweetie!

Charolais Bull with his eyes on the dog that was behind me

Belgium Blue - they're ALWAYS friendly

Had to take that picture!!!!

Sheep - no idea what sort but lovely

Rabbit caught in headlights!!!!

Scottish Blackface

Attack of the evil looking sheep . . .

Of course that WOULD come in handy if . . .

Then there were 'My Girls' who were put in the field opposite the cottage a few days after I came here first - & only taken out just over a week ago. Of course I got very close to them & gave all 12 of them names: