Emy Jane

Not gone nor forgotten...

2010-05-31T01:28:00.002+01:00

Just to say at 1:30am drunk on whiskey, I am here & will post when sober lol

The Rain & Sun Which Formed a Coloured Bow

2009-11-04T23:31:00.000Z

I was very lucky today to see three perfect rainbows. I went out with my stills camera & movie camera to film & photo the huge finch flocks & golden plover flocks which are currently in the daytime taking advantage of the barren fields, as they do every winter. Luckily there was a break in the clouds & taking these photos I managed to stay dry, but no more then a mile away from me some we're getting extremely wet!

The white building is the cottage, now sadly empty, hoping to rent it out as holiday lets

I've never seen a rainbow fall straight down over the cottage roof!

And with a bit of editing trickery to bring out the second rainbow on the right of the first:

See the wet weather is not all that bad........ Oooo did I type that out loud? ;-)

Fly with me to the moon

2009-11-02T23:10:00.001Z

Or when you can see it, as Devon is just a tad cloudy, windy & wet, but last night the moon said hello & I replied back with the click of my camera:

Totally Confused

2009-11-01T17:35:00.000Z

I've gone green! Plus just updated the new edit feature. Where am I? Who am I? Why am I back to blogger? Good question. I've been forced here, forced away from a place I love by dictatorship, I hope that ship sinks in a rough tide!

But am I happy to be back? I'll tell you later.

Am I happy anyway? I'll tell you later.

Do I want to be happy? Of course, everyone wants to be happy.

Instead of the usual blah blah news, here's an interview I've just conducted with myself:

Hello & welcome back to blogger Miss Clark, tell me, why did you decide to stop posting here?

Life just got in the way, moving house was one of them, it was a hard road & blogger & me just didn't find the time for each other.

Then why do you suddenly have more time for blogger now?

It's got to the point where I need to type out my rants, something I can't seem to do without being told off elsewhere, I have a role to play elsewhere where I cannot be human, I'm conditioned to rule & govern like a robot, not as a human being with feelings & emotions.

Could you tell us what this place is?

No I'm afraid not, would dearly love to though, but you never know 'who' would be reading this!

Quite so

Yep

How's the artist life?

Oh you know, doesn't move very quickly, especially now I'm favouring oil paint over the rest, takes so long to dry, then I run out of drying space & have to sit idle. I've had a few exhibitions, sold a few from there & my website, haven't broken into main stream yet though, still lack the confidence even though I receive raving reviews from strangers - one day!

And I see from your date of birth you recently turned 30, how does that feel?

I'm not 30, how dare you say such a thing! I didn't have a Birthday this year! ;0) I feel no different!

Are you missing London?

Yes & no, I worry that if I were to think about it in great detail then yes, I would miss it terribly, so I stop myself from remembering places, remembering people & just remembering memories. Devon is a very beautiful part of the world, & I think I'm very lucky to have experienced city life & now to be experiencing country life, it gives one a lot more wisdom!

Are you still taking lots oh photographs?

Oh yes, still clicker happy, I shall post some later on. I still have plans to sell prints, again, one day!

Finally, are you now here to stay on blogger?

For the moment, yes I am, even if people don't read what I say, I find it very helpful & relaxing to get my jumbled feelings down into this little white box, once they've left my fingers, I feel a great weight has left me, it's hard to explain, it's great therapy!

One small thing, are you going to continue at the other place?

The jury is out on that one.

Thank you for your time & honest replies.

My pleasure, what's the time? Almost time for drink o'clock!

Swoon

2009-11-01T16:57:00.003Z

To be overwhelmed by ecstatic joy.

There's not enough of that in life. And to me that is the word which should be used more often.

Recently I started a campaign to get this word 'used' & I channeled my first efforts direct to Chris Packham who is currently presenting AutumnWatch on BBC2, Friday nights at 8:30pm. I follow him on Twitter, just like 1,896 other people & a few of us on there asked him direct to use the word *Swoon* on Autumnwatch * he did - THREE times, there was almost a 4th. Behold the power of the *Swoon*.

Note: Hello again, it's been a while, Feb 09, oh deary me! I'm very impressed with myself that I've been able to remember how to do links!

SNOW!!!!!!

2009-02-02T21:46:00.008Z

Blackbird in the snow!

Yes that's right - that white stuff that Devon never gets - as in ever! At first it was a dusting & I was jumping up & down saying it was no fair but then come midday there was a blizzard! LOL And the snow is still there!

So many finches today - all starving!

Had to get a Robin in the snow!

It's been very busy today!

Song thrush - rather tame!

Little & large - Goldfinch & Robin

My snow cat, but it's ear melted!

Cottage around 3pm

Cottage around 5pm!

Amazing skies against the snow!

The Old Smithy - the house we 'should' have moved into by now!

Beech trees in the snow - lovely!

My beloved Scots Pine!

Me!

My friend's farm

My dad!

Sorry I haven't been posting much - so busy elsewhere all the time - but had to post these photos! :)

Hot & Cold & Good News

2008-12-04T18:27:00.006Z

Hot - hmmm - sunset hot!!!!

Cold - hmmm -frost cold! The lovely intricate patterns on my car yesterday morning:

Good news? I'll be 'Home' for Christmas!

Emy xxx

Being Overtaken . . .

2008-12-01T11:50:00.003Z

By rats & starlings!

Can you count the rats in the feeder?

Starling in full voice!

Wet weather!

Male pheasant sunning himself in the hedge

Goldfinches still holding their own against the starlings!

And a moth - I seem to have mislaid my moth book so have no idea!

What a Difference a Day Makes!

2008-11-26T20:46:00.009Z

Full sun & blue sky yesterday - after days upon days of heavy unrelenting cloud & drizzle, we get a glorious November sunny day! (ok today was back to the drizzle - but least us folk in Devon have seen the beauty of blue sky & bright sunshine!)

Blue skies galore!

See my shadow?

Ok we have a REALLY serious rat problem now - they're all over the garden & all over & under the bird feeders - they're such rascals too & are getting away with blue murder!

Though Mummy blackbird didn't seem too fussed about it!

Sparrow - unfortunately in shadow - but love how his underside lit up in the sun!

Glowing feet & look at those claws! Was he a cat in his previous life? lol

Sparrow camera shy - but lovely against the vivid blue sky

Buzzard - so hard to photograph - he/she was far away so not a very clear shot! :(

Blue tit enjoying the last rays of the golden sunshine of the day

Fieldfare from a great distance, they're very timid birds, so quite hard to get close to

Golden plovers demonstrating why they've been given that name! Catching the sunlight

Lovely golden sunshine which ran shadows across the land towards a glowing yellow field:

Some colour in the hedgerows - rose hips

Gorse - remember, when the gorse is in season, so is kissing!

Dock leaves in the evening sunshine & oak leaves lit up too

On my walk in the field where I saw a big flock of fieldfares & redwings, plus golden plovers

The last leaves on the oak trees in the woods - amazing how they've disappeared so fast!

Beginnings of yesterdays sunset

Same sunset - taken in dusk!

End to a perfect day really! :) x

The Sky was on Fire!

2008-11-25T11:03:00.006Z

Sunset from last night:

Lovely blue skied day today but very very cold - I can't enjoy is it as I need to get back to work in the studio - oh oh oh woe is me . . . :( x

Pressure, pressure, under so much pressure

2008-11-24T22:14:00.002Z

I have 2 exhibition deadlines looming!

One is looming closer then the other - as in this coming Saturday. It's some Open North Devon Art event where 10 artists influenced by North Devon are chosen out of a panel of art type people for an exhibition at the Barnstable museum & they're looking for new artists, right up my street or down my lane, BUT oh it's so hard - I need 4 cracking paintings - just isn't happening!

The second is the New Work New Year show at Broomhill - where my North Devon Arts experience all started & really hasn't got me very far, but I'll keep plodding along & that's slightly better, the deadline for that is 6th December - I need 8 paintings for both shows combined - God 8, you know I hadn't counted them, god, that's worse - 8 cracking paintings!

So today I discovered I actually have no room, I have the total of around 15 canvases on the go - some I start then put away & come back to, others I acrylic over first & then wait until they've dried, others I give a thin layer of oil & let that dry over night so I can apply a second. Yes, all organised, all thought out. Hmmm - ME ORGANISED? You have the wrong person surely!!!!

I have actually run out of room! I lean finished paintings against everything - one I leaned against the wall & the second one I started off then I splattered paint over the first finished one *rolls eyes* I had nowhere to stand my jar of white spirit so I placed it on top of the third step of my small ladder, yep, I spilled it, it went up the wall & over a painting & to top it up I tripped over my floor covering & one of my paintings now as a print of my hand right in the middle! I get totally covered in paint usually, it's over my face, it's in my hair, over my hands & I wipe off the residue of oil paint on my brush on my trousered thigh (yep painting clothes) & when I come to take them off after a day of studio I find the paint has gone right through onto my legs & I look like I have a huge bruises - which I do ironically anyway as I'm so clumsy!

So I'm annoyed, frustrated, agitated, resemble a paint pot, stressed, under pressure, stiff, achy & now ranting on my blog!!!

Och well as Tucker would say, least there was a stunning red sunset tonight - red sky at night, shepherds delight???? PLEASE!!!!!! As the weather has been appalling!!!!

Emy x

Autumn Sunsets

2008-11-23T11:47:00.006Z

one cold sunset during the week - there was no colour - just gold & bleakness!

This was on the same night I went deer stalking! The sky turned pink!

This was Friday nights sunset - rather sublime & again everything glowed pink

Incredibly windy today & a bit of sun here & there between the hail storms, so there might be a chance of a sunset tonight who knows - I'm just off out to take a few more photos of Ratty & family! x

Deer Stalking & Ratty & Friends

2008-11-22T21:18:00.006Z

Deer stalking? No no THAT deer stalking - deer stalking of a non death kind! Although I blew my cover from having a serious coughing fit! lol She saw me, the Roe knows! Or knew let's say! I haven't seen her since, not surprising, as I was a mere 300 yards from her & making this terrible choking noise!!!!

Cough cough, hack hack, choke, choke

Oh **** rumbled!

This little lady has a passion for standing on hedges - ok it gives her a better look out - but she sticks out like a sore thumb!

So to show you our 'ratty' slight problem - here are the rats I took photos of this morning who have a system of small tunnels & homes underneath both bird tables - I wasn't standing very far away but they knew I was there as they kept sniffing the air - that's Stella McCartney perfume you can smell I said to them! lol

Rat burrows in the hedge - I don't mind them in the hedge - rats LIVE in the hedge - if they stayed there I wouldn't have a problem, but they live under the bird table & yep live & let live & it's my fault they're here (well my dad who feeds the birds on the ground) but the sad fact of life, if they were wood mice or the enchanting bank voles I'd have no problem, but as they're rats I do - such a shame - it's just rats spread disease & hate myself for even admitting it as actually in truth they are totally adorable!!!!

Last week I saw my first moth since the end of Summer & no idea what it was - but it was lovely & I gave it a stroke & wished it the very best of luck!

Size matters! The moth alongside the daddy long leg or Crane fly!

And to end this first post (second for the day - wow - I'm flying! *wink*) let me leave you with our 'only' pets at the cottage - we used to have 30 plus but Mr Heron flew in & gobbled them all up - but 3 babies were left & my they've grown & this was a rare sighting to see all 3 together in the pond - no they have no names - would anyone like to name them? GH, B, A & C? I read your comments & send you hugs & kisses back every time xxxxx

xxxxxx

Rattus norvegicus - HELP!

2008-11-22T11:00:00.003Z

We're being taken over.

Oh yes.

Oh no! As in omg oh no!

Brown rat or common rat or wharf rat - they're everywhere - in the sheds chewing through the box where we keep the bird food, they've been at it for years & one day they'll succeed. They're in the wood shed - yep - there IS something nasty in the woodshed & they're grazing on the lawn like a flock of sheep - I counted 7 this morning - only because we throw out food for the birds on the grass.

Now really they're not a nuisance yet & they've never got into the cottage & I like rats, but this is just silly, they're taking advantage of us now, I don't mind just one or 2 but these guys multiply - a female can have up to 5 litters a year & can produce 14 offspring each time but the usual number is 7 & rats are survivors - they SURVIVE to adulthood - they're not like cod fish eggs that get eaten as soon as they're hatched - these guys are clever at the age of one day!

I've just been watching some now on the steps outside - they've devised this fun game - see who can jump the most steps up & the most steps down - it's hilarious to watch - they're actually enjoying themselves! These are adult rats - comfortable, secure in the knowledge that there are not many predators to hunt them (the stoats have moved off & the other creatures stay away from humans) & they know they're going to be fed every morning without fail!

Life is a rat!

Tap dancing along the Tamar

2008-11-17T19:47:00.006Z

Well walking across a wind swept bridge over looking Tamar lakes & the dam - rather impressive for Cornwall, yeah, Cornwall - though the county of Devon a stones throw from the entrance. There's higher Tamar lakes & lower, but the lower road was flooded, so we took the high road & not the low! (there's a song in there somewhere!) Very freezing cold, windswept day but will definitely be back when the sun shines!

Holmleigh garden centre on the Devon/Cornwall border - 2 miles from Cornwall's first big town Launceston - the word bleak springs to mind, I don't think I've ever seen Launceston in the sunshine! It's a rather large garden centre & it now has highland cattle!

These were taken the weekend before last - still stunning Autumnal colour, even on a dull day! The wind has all but blown the last of the leaves away - it stays green for so long & even through October it's green & then suddenly the leaves change & they're gone! I find this time of year very sad myself - after a Summer of colour & then sudden rust & decay, then all gone, the trees are naked against the cold frost air of Winter - I actually feel sorry for them!

And our dear Roe, still here, even after the pheasant shooters & fox hunters of last weekend. I saw her again today standing on the hedge under the ash tree, I did take some photos, will post them here when they're off the camera! x

love La Lune

2008-11-16T22:12:00.003Z

Oh yes & it was full the night of Bude:

Not much else to report only saw the darn pheasant shooters AND the fox hunt yesterday - if I could shoot people of my choice, I'd shoot them gladly!

More photos tomorrow x

Sunset over the Atlantic

2008-11-15T22:18:00.008Z

Let the photos speak for themselves:

Let the photos speak for themselves:

Wild at Sea

2008-11-15T21:50:00.005Z

Black Headed Gull - but now white with his/her winter plumage:

If you're a seagull - but a carrion crow?

Taken at Crookhaven Beach, Bude:

And the Rocks on the beach were pretty impressive, wish I knew the names for the stones:

The next post will be the sunset & what a stunner it was!

Why I love the Sea

2008-11-15T19:40:00.009Z

Oh yes!

5 reasons - though come to think of it there should be 5 more!

Reason number 1:

It's mans last great wilderness, we can pollute it & kill the life yes - but not all of it - it cannot be managed however hard we try & we can't control it!

Reason number 2:

It's the colour blue - my favourite colour - ok the colour is reflected from the sky, but still!

Reason number 3:

Every part of the sea is special, every cliff face, every wave is unique, so every photo I take is different - you can't get the same photo - the light is different, the wind blows in different directions - basically the sea in any which way is an individual so kind of links up with reason number 1 there lol

Reason number 4:

It's my one subject I love out of ALL to paint - I use the sand mixed with paint from the very beaches I walk across to view the sea - it has my usual straight horizon line that are depicted in my paintings so often - although the photos below are not straight only because the wind was so strong, could not keep the camera straight!

Reason number 5:

Living in London, all I had was the Channel or the North Sea further up - but here in Devon I have the rolling waves of the Atlantic, I have the gliding Gannets over the waves & the crying kittiwakes - the sea wildlife is so important & the coast of North Devon is incredibly important place, rich in it's life & diversity of all things wild!

This is Crookhaven beach in Bude, Cornwall - clean? Well no not really - but still beautiful!

Dear Roe . . .

2008-11-09T12:10:00.009Z

Yesterday I tried my hardest to get out for a walk before it clouded over, but I was not successful! I couldn't get the Autumnal colours as even they looked dull in the gloom.

I wanted to see if I could see the Roe deer, but I got distracted by the 100 plus strong flock of finches & forgot all about the Roe. I continued my walk past the trees when I looked back to see the finches, so walked back the way I came to the side hedge & then remembered the deer & so peeped over the hedge & there she stood grazing at the opposite hedge! Now I know why I wanted this new camera so badly, the 18x zoom came into it's own - not the clearest of pictures but then I was hiding behind the hedge, no tripod & the light was dreadful!

She knew there was someone there

Yeah a pheasant!

And then Oooooo there is someone watching me!

The cottage in the background, the Roe bottom centre - literally wildlife on our doorstep!

What she looking at all the time???

Oh there are two!!!!

So after my chance encounter, after they had ran off across the fields & into the woods again I continued with my walk:

Still Red Campion blooming in the hedgerows

Male pheasant auditioning for Strictly Come Dancing - didn't he do well???

Bramble leaves turning in the hedgerows

A hole in the bark - woodpecker perhaps???

Lichen on the gate - clean air here in Devon!

Coat tit in the trees - very hard to photograph any bird!

Then I came home & within 30 minutes the heavens opened & it's been on & off raining ever since!

My mum over the last few weekends has been making puddings - pavlovas & this was her latest one last night - it was fantastic!

This was it rising in the oven!

To how it looked loaded with fruit & cream - mmmmm yum!

There's still lots left - so more tonight & then tomorrow I reckon a diet!!!!!

Emy xxxxx

November Sunset

2008-11-08T12:02:00.002Z

Ok so maybe zoomed in a bit close, but it was worth it! Taken from the new house, the Old Smithy:

Because I was taking it through the window I got a reflective glare so ended up with 2 suns!

A weeks worth of photographs

2008-11-08T11:45:00.006Z

Oh yes, well, few days perhaps - I usually take around 240 but this week last was only 144, I'm slipping! But then it takes me less to sort through!

Soon I'll be organised again - will take me a while, but I'll get there & I have already received an email from a friend who's over the moon that I've started my blog & left that other place behind! Onwards & upwards that's what he always says - backwards I said to him, back to my blog - but then he said yeah but you have to go backwards a little in order to move forward! I asked him have you been drinking? lol I got a ha ha ha reply, "naturally darling!"

Roe deer this morning taken from the bathroom window

She was a long way off to full zoom on this one - hence the poor quality

Robin - very territorial this time of year!

Pied Wagtail on his usual perch catching insects

Carrion Crow

Crows in Torrington car park on the grassy verge - these are Carrion Crows

Buzzard on the hedge - so far away - so annoying - looks like an osprey here!

Who's been eating all my pond fish? Mr heron!

A buttercup still growing in November in the garden!

Taken from Great Torrington car park - very wintry scene!

I also took photos of the sunsets we've been having over the last week or so & will upload them in a different post in a second!

Winter Skies - Brrrrr get the wood burner lit!

2008-11-06T21:14:00.004Z

Wow 3 posts in one day - this is getting obsessive ;-)

The last two are a reflection of the setting sun against the window pane - made a rather interesting abstract image I thought! :)

The Stoats Have It All!

2008-11-06T11:55:00.001Z

Well they did this Summer in the garden!

Enjoy & have a good chuckle! :-)

Emy goes Birding

2008-11-06T11:12:00.005Z

Well I don't have to go very far, this out into my garden, surrounded by fields, with my camera & hey presto birds on my doorstep!

It's been a good turn out so far, finches by the hundred - Greenfinches, Chaffinches, Goldfinches, the odd chirp of a Bullfinch & plenty of Yellow hammers! We have a resident Kestrel, a pair of buzzards & I've just seen a large heron sitting on the pine tree!

Yellow Hammer on the Lilac tree

Yellow hammer on the kitchen roof

I have never got to close to a Yellow hammer before!

Starling - the first one seen this Autumn on the nuts!

Kestrel in flight!

Kestrel on the telegraph pole

Chaffinch on the kitchen roof

Blue tit looking ever so cute

A banana shaped House Sparrow!

Blue tit on the nuts

I'm going to use this blog now for the wildlife in my garden & the clouds, sunsets & beautiful scenery of Devon through the seasons. I take so many photos of everything, this little blog will be bombarded soon!

As for my other blogs, I'll keep the Animals are our Equals going & my painting blog will have to wait in the wings - I've done a whole set of new paintings but alas I haven't photographed them yet!

So I am back here now & back to stay for good!

Emy xxxxx

Forgotten but not Gone

2008-10-12T21:46:00.002+01:00

It's so very true - so busy elsewhere, I forget about this blog here & I'm tired of promising I will keep this up to date FROM NOW ON - as it's lies, all lies! lol

I'm ok, busy busy busy as always - still doing up our house, hopefully in by Xmas, still painting away merrily (most of the time) & still taking many photos!

BACK!!!!!!

2008-05-05T18:36:00.004+01:00

Ok so have been crap. Haven't posted for ages. But I am certainly back this time. One reason because I have so many photos to post all of a sudden as I'm in the process of leaving that wildlife forum, it didn't work out, didn't even last a year!

Anyway, quick recap & then the photos.

House is going well but a but slow. But then ripping everything out & replacing everything is time consuming anyway. The garden looks great & we've, or I've, made a new best friend with next doors cat called Charlie!

I have a job! Only 2 days a week at the mo, waitressing in a very lovely hotel just outside Barnstable called Broomhill - it's a sculpture gardens & has a gallery too & 6 of my paintings are there hanging for sale - so not only am I waitressing there, I'm also one of the 'exhibits' LOL.

Apart from that all is good - Spring has sprung here in Devon!

More photos soon - well when firefox starts working!

Emy xxxx

I'm Here - Kind Of

2008-03-29T18:07:00.003Z

I thought better get March in quickly! As I've disappeared again *rolls eyes* & will probs disappear again *rolls eyes again*

It's just been too busy, the weather has been depressing & I've had flu.

But apart from that, just a note to anyone who reads this - I'm ok! Plus didn't even realise that I've been 'kind of' blogging for 2 years . . . .

Love to all xxxxxxxxxx

Spring is Here & So Am I!!!!

2008-02-25T18:53:00.003Z

And just to make sure you all know that I'm really back, here are some Spring flowers:

Long Time No See

2008-02-25T16:48:00.003Z

Well, yes, where have I been for months & months? Hard to answer really.

Quick update:

Bought a lovely house called The Old Smithy - 3 miles from cottage & been doing it up since New year - hoping to have it all completed by May finger's crossed.

It's now been 6 months in Devon - & I really feel like a local now, although have hardly been anywhere or done anything, but now HOPEFULLY the weather will be getting better (some hopes) want to tour Devon a bit more & discover new places.

Art wise - joined North Devon Arts - have already had an exhibition & a few more to come, plus I have my own profile page.

As for general life & goings on - apart from my second life at FON - nowt much else!!!!!

So here are some fun links for you all - to ease myself slowly back into the blogger life!

Escapa - RAF pilots are trained via this - 18 seconds your doing brilliantly apparently - I did 77.68 seconds after 20 minutes! how does everyone else fair? - right can't find the 'scuiggle line' on my keyboard, so it'll have to be this & for you all to copy & paste it in your browser:
http://members.iinet.net.au/~pontipak/redsquare.html

Shoot some frogs - seriously - well, no, it's a game - 'Damn Hippies'

Bumble Lion please - if anyone wants to buy me a present!!!!! I'm in love with all of these, I have a few already, deff something worth collecting!

Amy MacDonald - Love her, a friend sent me her album!

Satellite sightings over Exeter - these things happen!

Emyjane x

The Killing Fields of the West

2007-11-23T23:01:00.000Z

It's too cold. My car his covered in sparkling frost. I've just been out admiring it when I heard a blood curdling animal scream in the field - something has caught something - I hate that sound, poor beast whatever it was. I heard the same thing in my garden last night in bed, lots of screeching owls & then a high pitched terrorised scream, a little unnerving in the dead of night! But then that's living in the countryside for you.

Last weekend the pheasant shooters were abroad.

I hate them.

6 of them strode into the pasture field like they owned the bloody field (yes, it was bloody by the time they had finished), with their dogs & guns. 3 went off into the woods with the dogs to scare the pheasants out, while the other 3 stood in different positions facing the woods. I have to watch, terrible I know, but I shout at the pheasants to get away - fly towards the cottage as they're not allowed (with good reason) to shoot towards buildings. Some birds took my advice & flew high & towards me, while other's in their panic where shot in mid air to only fall head first onto the wet grass, with feathers flying everywhere. One wasn't totally dead & flapped around for a few minutes, until one of the men stamped on it's head.

It's sick.

And not many end up in the pot. All mostly shot for fun.

Why do you think that birds of prey in this country are trapped & poisoned? Because they kill the game birds & game shooting is big business, millions generated every year. So I say, less game hunting, less birds of prey slaughtered.

There's a pheasant farm just over the road from here. A whole field lined with pens packed with silly, dopey, fat pheasants, who can hardly run or fly. So what kind of sport is that? How easy is it to shoot these birds? As they don't have a fighting chance - they can't get away. It's disgusting. Least with fox hunting the fox had a good chance of getting away, out witting the huntsmen & their hounds. Game birds on the other hand have so brains anyway - so unless they fly high & towards buildings they're finished.

Hmmmm I didn't mean to type about this - not sure where all that came from on this frosty night. Maybe it's because it was last saturday they came & tomorrow is saturday, so will they be back? If they do I'll shout them all to hell, yet again!

Emy x x x

It's just not a good look . . .

2007-11-22T23:15:00.000Z

No it isn't - it isn't indeed.

First of all the UK government should be sacked - losing seven & half million people's names, addresses & bank details is a serious business - what the **** is wrong with this stupid, incompetent country?????? Things just go from bad to worse.

Secondly what is with Exeter town centre? They've recently just opened a new shopping centre & it's a piece of piss - they must be having a laugh? When you live in the countryside you only ever go to a big town every so often & so when you start shopping for Christmas you expect to see nice, lovely things in the shop to buy - but today it was all rubbish, everything, even the Christmas decorations - all a waste of time - I've never seen such useless, ugly, expensive stuff in all my life & some people in these various shops were actually saying how great it all was - are they blind?

Thirdly - what the hell is wrong with me? I've been on a detox diet now for almost 5 weeks - no meat, no dairy, no wheat, no alcohol & I still can't get into the clothes I want . . . & walking around in jeans that are now a few sizes too big for is just not a good look! So I have lost a lot - I've actually lost 15 pounds - but it hasn't had any effect on my trousers size!

Fourthly - again what the hell is wrong with me? I lie in my bed at nights restless thinking of London, thinking of the old house & wandering around it's rooms. I think of drives out into Kent & shopping trips to Bluewater. I think of Canterbury & my MA & where did all that time go to? And where are all my friend's now? Some I've heard from, some have disappeared off the map. I'm beginning to feel too nostalgic for my own good - so much so that I wonder if I did really want to leave London . . . was that really the right thing to do? But then someone did tell me recently that they couldn't imagine me being a city girl, as I'm so at home in the countryside - 'at one' with my surroundings. I don't know if I want to laugh hysterically or cry my eyes out! lol

I can't think of a five - though I should as five is my lucky number (& 9) but then maybe that's why I can't think of a 5.

Oh you know what, I'm going to take up tarot card reading again - used to love doing that years ago - whether it meant anything or not or whether my life has been very different without them I have no idea!

Ok rant over - I think - I keep forgetting about this blog - this is the place to voice my frustrations!!!!!!

Emy x x x

Friends of Nature

2007-11-20T15:52:00.000Z

Ok massive plug here - if anyone reading this loves wildlife in any shape or form, whether you live in th UK or anywhere else in the world, if you want to find the nicest people to talk to, to get to know & generally have a lot of fun - although there are serious aspects as well - then come & join Friend's of Nature - FoN for short - it's all free & registration takes a few minutes. I've been on this forum now since July & my friend's Christmas card list has drastically increased in number!!!! Plus I'm a super moderator! LOL

Ok, more pictures from Scotland - just a few! The trees of Dunkeld.

I've had a bit of a winter clean on this blog - gone are quite a few little applications that were driving me mad - I have enough apps on Facebook! So I thought I'd keep my blog App free - perhaps a few - but keep it simple as I've ignored this blog now for too long! Time for a change!

All is good - I'm on a detox diet & have just about lost a stone. For once I'm looking forward to Christmas - as usually I don't like it at all, it's always so stressful, but whenever we spent it in Devon it was always so peaceful. So I'm hoping for a relaxing time!

Emy x

I'm Back!!!!

2007-11-03T22:19:00.000Z

Hello all, wow, it's been so long! Ok, so, I've been to Scotland, revisiting all my old haunts from last time when I was filming my pines:

Elgin - the Black Cuillins

The Black Cuillins

And again!

Vapour trails over Skye

The Old Man of Stor, Skye

My first mountain - I couldn't see it!!!!

Scots Pine in the Black Wood of Rannoch

Autumn at Blair Castle, Perthshire

On a boat sailing over the Sound of Sleet, in between Skye & the mainland

Looking towards Skye from our own private beech at Lockalsh

Sunset at the Queen's View

Clouds over Loch Garry

Sunset over Loch Rannoch

Clouds over Schiehallion mountain

Autumn trees over the bank of the River Tay

Glen Lyon

Dunalistor Water

Montrose Basin

Easthaven beach near Montrose

Rainbow over Kyle of Lockalsh

More pictures in next few days - I took thousands!

I'm ok, I think, been too busy to do anything recently. Devon life is good & we may have found a home - finger's crossed.

I hope everyone is well,

Emy xxx

Retarded & Stupid . . .

2007-09-18T11:42:00.000+01:00

Almost a month. I'm sorry. I've just about recovered from the move - it was a nightmare - it all went wrong - so stressful - but we've done it! I will not go into details as it'll just depress me again.

I've come to the conclusion that I have to rethink this blog. I never look forward to typing this anymore as it usually turns into waffle - which I'm very good at. Plus I've had a few anonymous comments from people calling me a retard lol & a stupid person. Oh well - it had to happen. I do realise that you're not going to feel any better from reading this, you will not have learnt anything new or interesting - so when ever I type this now - I need a subject!

So random: Why is it that women's thermals from M&S are so uncomfortable & itchy, while the men's are warm, soft & a pleasure to wear? Answer me this. I ask as I'm off to Scotland on 28th of this month for 3 weeks - someone told me to wash them in fairy flakes!

Yes Scotland & Cornwall for a few days tomorrow for my Birthday.

This is such a stilted blog - it's been so long.

Plus I'm so obsessed with Facebook & the Forum right now that coming back here again feels odd. I spend half my life talking about wildlife & the other half sending fish & flowers to friends.

I hope everyone is well - whoever sits down & reads this, that is - I expect more nasty comments heading my way - I'm ready for you!!!!!

Emy x x x

Lat Night Living in London (actually sleeping)

2007-08-22T20:17:00.000+01:00

99% of me is dead. The remaining 1% has decided to type this blog tonight - as it IS the last night living in London, & this has to be recorded as a moment for me in history! My legs are gone, every muscle & bone in my body is aching. My arms don't move & my fingers feel so floppy that spelling mistakes are bound to happen. My brain is swimming, but my eyes are alert from all the Adrenalin - & this is even before the big day of moving which is tomorrow. Today we were told that 3 packers were coming to pack up the house contents - only 1 showed up at 9:30am. By 10:45am he was picked up & didn't return until over an hour. By 4pm he, single handily, was still packing the kitchen contents. 23 boxes later, he finally made it upstairs & packed 3 boxes of studio items until he was picked up around 6:30pm - none of these people drive!!!

All today I've been constantly busy & have come to the decision that I am NEVER EVER going to wrap ANY paintings up in bubble wrap EVER again - difficult coming from a painter - but my descion is final! I must have packed over 40 paintings today, amazing how the work on the wall clocks up. I'm shattered.

Tomorrow they come with the lorry at 9:30am - they still have the 1001 books to pack up in the study - but we're doing nothing - they can do it all! All we have to do is pack the car with our personal items & that's it. I will walk into the village for the last time to pick up some bits & bobs from various shops - things I know I won't be able to buy in Devon - things I've earmarked for this very occasion. They hope to be packed, loaded & finished mid afternoon - completion is hopefully happening just before 2pm as the phone line & broadband line will be cut then. We leave after the lorry & make our exhausted leisurely way to the cottage in Devon. The removal people are staying over night somewhere in Devon & then we'll meet them at a reasonable hour in the morning of Friday at the container.

Phew. That's sorted.

I've just had my last shower in the en-suite. I've just pulled down the blinds for an evening for the last time. I have just sat & had my dinner in front of the small tv in the kitchen for the last time. Tomorrow I'll smoke my cigarette for the last time on the garden bench in the garden. Tonight I will hear the last planes, trains, sirens while living in London. All these things have flown through my head these last few days/hours. After 10 years of discussion, 10 years of deciding what was best & where was best to live, we finally made the decision to move & not only to move, but to leave London & live in Devon. There you have it! It's done.

Do I feel sad? Well over the last few weeks I haven't had a chance to think about it. Exhausted every night or talking to my friends online - it hasn't bothered me in the slightest. Even now sitting here, typing all of this, I'm not emotional in any way. Of course I've loved living here in this house but I won't miss it. Of course I have loved living in London all my life, but whenever I'm in Devon I never miss it & I have plenty of friends to stay with to come back & visit. I'm actually hoping to come back & do my Xmas shopping sometime in early December!

So there!!!!!!! LOL

Lots of love to one & all who have sent me some lovely supportive wishes for the big move - I am very grateful & of course I'll call you all ASAP - well - as soon as I've slept for at least a week!

EmyJane xxxxxxx

Last Saturday in London

2007-08-18T12:37:00.000+01:00

Yes, this is it, there's no turning back now.

The whole house is FULL of boxes & I've tripped over ALL of them in the past week. It's all a little hectic - my folks 2 beautiful wooden chests of drawers are leaving us (sniff) today as my cousin & her hubby are having them - coming today with hired van to collect them. The sofa, kitchen table, big table & my bed is being taken away on Tuesday - sofa worries me somewhat as it took 4 hefty removal men 3 times to get it up the stairs last time, so it's going to be amusing to say the least.

Oh I can't go on with all that - I'm excited as well as a little bit emotional.

So, yeah, that's all.

Emy xxx

Here I Am - Just About!

2007-08-04T11:55:00.000+01:00

It's been so long yet again! Everything is pretty mad right now.

First of all the weather has been appalling - only now the sun is back & Summer is beginning to feel like Summer. I've never seen rain quite like it. During the 3 weeks in Devon all it did was rain - not helpful if you have a jungle of a garden & you really have to cut it all back & the grass on the lawn was knee high!

Secondly I have been busy with various wildlife forums, since Springwatch, I haven't been off my laptop, it has to put it in a nutshell, taken over my life! The first forum closed down after a horrific massive argument in which I witnessed & don't want to get into. I have made so many good friends & my MSN list has increased quite rapidly! So now we've all gone to a second forum entitled Friend's of Nature - all FON for short, where I have been made a moderator as I was one in the previous set up & haven't looked back since.

Thirdly the house. We exchanged contracts last week & will be moving on 23rd of this month. So there's no turning back. Plus we may have found a house in Devon but I won't go into detail just in case it doesn't happen. Typical as the weather has got so nice & I'm stuck sorting out & packing!

This morning I woke up to the news that Foot & Mouth has been discovered on a farm in Guildford, Surrey. Oh my God - here we go again. 60 animals have been tested positive for the disease & so will have to be destroyed. All movements have been restricted. I really hope that they catch it now & don't let it spread. Some hopes. Here's a real test for Gordon Brown who hasn't had a good time of it since becoming PM.

Tonight I'm off to an 'almost 10 year school reunion' it's because of Facebook, so many people came out of the woodwork from school that a friend of mine decided to organise a reunion, even though it will be 10 years next year. I'm kind of glad it's happening as I won't be around next year to go.

So that's the news so far. Apart from all of that I've been trying to spend a few days visiting places in the South before I move permanently to the West, but time is running out fast. Oh well, I'm sure I'll have plenty of opportunity to come back as I have received many invites from various friends to come & stay with them & that's what I'll do.

Emy xxx - photos to come as there's been a distinct lack of them, which is a record for me!

Back to the Good Old Waffle

2007-07-13T10:31:00.000+01:00

Last updated June 24? Well, where have I been all this time?

In Devon.

And then a week ago back to London. Not particularly happy about that one. Hopefully the next time we go to Devon a removal van will be following in our wake. Yes, that's right, just to clarify things we have sold the house & are awaiting upon exchange. The plan is to leave London put everything into storage & then live in the cottage until we find somewhere bigger to buy . . . but things never go to plan, do they?

Over the next few weeks I've decided to become a tourist in my own city. Ok not one to visit Buckingham Palace or Madame Tussuad's - I'd rather stay in bed - I just feel like wandering the streets of town, window shopping, soaking in the atmosphere & taking loads of photos of things that I wouldn't usually take a picture of - like shop fronts, architecture, rubbish bins, pigeons . . . you get my idea? And then I want to have some days out in Kent & Sussex - I want to go to Canterbury & say goodbye properly but then I will be back one day.

We went to Bluewater a few days back. I was just about to buy a green t-shirt in Dorothy Perkins for a fiver when the fire alarms went off & an announcement came over 'Attention Attention, could you please evacuate the building immediately' there was a bit of panic as everyone rushed to various exits - my dad was already outside by the lakes so I didn't need to worry about him - my mum on the other hand was somewhere in the centre -bluewater is the largest shopping centre in Europe, when you approach it it looks like the Emerald city but in silver & if you were to walk the entire upper & lower mall you would clock up a 2 mile distance! So finding anyone is like looking for a needle in a haystack so thank god for mobile phones! So I called my Mum who wasn't far away & she said she smelt burning, so there was a fire. At last when all 3 of us had reunited I heard the sirens of the fire engines. They only cordoned off a small area & people where still shopping in John Lewis oblivious of the drama unfolding a few hundred yards away. We left then, we were going to have some food there, but we decided against it. Bluewater unfortunately, like most places in Britain, is a sitting duck for Terrorist attacks & after the recent affairs in London & Glasgow that's what everyone thought when we were all evacuated. I hate this world.

Smoking ban - yep - here we go - although since the ban I've made a lot of friends outside pubs, people I wouldn't normally chat to inside - & it's alright now as it's warm but when Winter comes & it's cold, windy & wet I'm hoping to have given up by then. Some hopes.

I've really missed this, just waffling on about nothing for 10 minutes. I shall waffle on some more perhaps later as off up to town in 20 mins to go to a Mass at Westminster (haven't been to a Mass in yonks) & then go to the recently revamped Royal Festival Hall & hope to catch some live after noon jazz. :)

Em xxx

Part 2 Springwatch & Wildlife-mania

2007-06-24T17:40:00.000+01:00

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

Part 1 Major Catch Up!!!!!!!!

2007-06-23T20:28:00.000+01:00

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:

My first meeting

I soon tamed them!!!!

Rye & Sandaig

Holiday, Betty Beige, Rose & the back of Dunkeld

Betty Beige, Sandaig & Rye

Ruby & Flavia

Rye

Rye & Daphne

Side on Rye

They all decided to sit down in front of me . . .

I saw them in the evening too

Gave them fresh grass - as they were running out

Holiday (after Billie)

Rose who became my best friend out of all of them - there's always one

Rose & Rye wanting more grass

Feeding Hazel to Dunkeld

LOL

Rose!

L O L !!!!!!

Typical gate pose

I ran out of memory on my camera after all this!

Flavia & Rose

Close up Rye

Cow Love

Daphne

bye, bye . . .

Part 2 coming tomorrow . . .

Emy xxxxxxxx

Birds Galore!!!!

2007-06-04T21:45:00.000+01:00

I'm so obsessed with that darn Springwatch message board that I'm not getting any sleep. On week days it's open to 2am and then there's the addictive webcams - I'm in love with the farm barn owls, the jackdaws and the robin nest. I cannot get enough of it! Plus I've even got my beautiful Nikon D70 out with the telescopic lense to take pictures of the birds in my garden JUST to post up on the msg board - under my own thread 'Wildlife Photography' already got 124 posts from people and their photos! So here are my pictures I've taken today:

Blackbird

Male Chaffinch

Male Greenfinch

Nuthatch - a rarity!

2 male House Sparrows on what was the yellow oilseed rape

Male Swallow

Great Spotted Woodpecker

And Again!

Female Chaffinch

Goldfinch - a very shy bird

Great Tit - not so shy!

Male Greenfinch - the biggest I have ever seen!

Same big guy!

Male Chaffinch & Blue tit

Blue Tit

Male Chaffinch

Male Chaffinch in flight

Female Chaffinch

House Sparrow - living up to it's name, perched on roof

My Dad and I wrote out a list of every bird over the year that comes into our garden and it came to 53 species! Not bad for a little garden in Devon!

Now back to the msg board - and now suddenly 133 photos on my thread!!!!!

Night all,

Emy xxxxxxxx

Italics Are A' Go - And An Another Annoyance

2007-05-27T20:19:00.000+01:00

Hello all, sorry for my non existent posts. I've just been getting ready for my exhibition in June. I have to deliver my paintings to Exeter this coming Friday. They all now have D-rings attached to them and are all wrapped up - grease proof paper and bubble wrap - and are all ready to go, I hope I can fit them all in the car! It was very difficult to make a selection, as I had done so many, they want 12 - 14, I've narrowed it down to 16, as some are diptychs and other triptychs.

Something has been annoying me.

And I stress, like I do every year for all of you in the UK or those living in America to watch Springwatch which is starting tomorrow (28th) at 8pm on BBC2 - I'm not sure how BBC America works - if it starts here in the UK at 8pm, will it come to you at 1pm? Or later and not live? Or will you get it at all? If you don't then please visit the website as they have live webcams around the clocks, from barn owls to badgers to jackdaws to swallows, all live action.

This is what has been annoying me.

The Springwatch message boards - you may find me under my nickname 'Emyjane' (well, naturally) the same people have been sending messages on it now for 3 years and all know each other, I suppose I would be called an 'interloper' and am trying my hardest to join in with discussions and visit 'The Falling Weasel" a fictional pub. Ok, it sounds sad and it is pretty, but it's fun though, sharing an imaginary drink among keen wildlife enthusiasts. Thing is, I've been given the cold shoulder because I got involved in an argument over 'Magpies, love them or loathe them' - someone saying about the death and destruction they cause to songbirds nests. Well I put in that Magpies were bad but the Sparrowhawks were the real villains. I called them evil - well, they are to a certain degree as they take countless birds every day - and this is the reply I got:

'Emyjane - Sparrowhawks are merely feeding their own young. Ecosystems work in a balance, and top predators have their own place in that balance. Would you want to shoot songbirds for mercilessly slaughtering caterpillars for their young? Songbirds have large clutches, and often more than one clutch in order to make up for the young ones lost to predators etc.

Yes, none of us like to see a young bird taken by a predator, but would we like to see a day in which there were no more birds of prey swooping in our skies? They really are magnificent birds.

PS - Absolutely it is against the law to shoot them!'

And I replied:

'Wildwytch - Look there is no way on this earth that I'd ever harm any creature, sparrowhawk or no sparrowhawk - I was just merely pointing out that magpies are evil but shouldn't really get all the blame for desecration of the songbirds - hawks have a lot to answer for as well. And there was no need to be unkind and point out about birds eating caterpillars - I know it's a fact of life, the food chain, it's just a pity nothing eats the sparrowhawk!'

Followed by (I can't get out of Italics!):

'Emyjane - I was not being unkind. But you don't seem to have grasped how nature works. Magpies aren't evil - they are simply predators that need to eat. The same goes for sparrowhawks - you talk about them 'getting away with it', but if they never ate any songbirds then soon there would be no sparrowhawks left.

I'm sorry you seem to feel that I was being unkind, it was not intentional.'

And me:

'See you've done it again - of course I grasp how nature works Wildwytch it's just so unfair but then it's life I know. And magpies - either love them or hate them, that was the first thread, I was just giving my opinion - don't make out that I'm stupid please!'

And then someone else:

'But Emyjane, you're the one using emotive phrases like 'evil' and 'getting away with it'. You can't really use those phrases when talking about predators. Those are human constructs and they don't apply.'

And then me:

'Look stop ganging up on me - I was only offering an opinion - and here's another 'human construct' I think magpies are beautiful and Sparrowhawks handsome birds - anyone have a problem with those? ;-)'

And then Wildwytch:

'An animal is never evil, it is just an animal.'

And then some saviour of my plight:

'But humans are animals. So that would really only leave the word applying to mythical supernatural beings. '

You see - today has been cruel. These damn italics - how the hell do I get out of this?

But wouldn't you call humans 'evil' right now on the subject of Madeline? That's pissing me off right now too - the incompetence of the Portuguese police who set up these pointless press conferences only to tell us all nothing as it's against 'their' law and after three weeks to FINALLY release a suspect identification who looks similar already to their main suspect! And now the pope meeting the parents - where is this all going to lead? Are we ever going to see the end of this? And if so, I doubt it'll be happy - humans ARE evil, well, some of them.

Ok to end on a nice note - meet Rose, my new best friend! Plus more pictures to come over the following days:

My lovely 'White Rose' and myself!

At the moment 'my girls' or 'gals' - all 12 of them - are dripping wet as the rain hasn't stopped. Tomorrow hopefully we'll see the sun again and the Italics will be NO MORE!

Emy xxxxxxxxx

Cutty Sark is Torched

2007-05-21T13:28:00.000+01:00

This is devastating - the only tea clipper surviving and it's just about been destroyed - although they say there's enough left to rebuild - thing is, she'll never be the same again. And I'll never look at her the same again. Already she was a shadow of her former self as she was going through a major restoration project and thank god 50% of her was dismantled otherwise it would have been a greater tragedy then it already is. I'm still in shock, watching the 20 ft flames engulf her on some one's amateur video, it feels like that 'my' friend was burning and I feel I've lost a part of myself because of it. Childhood memories of walking through her decks, looking up at the mighty masts and feeling her history swamp over me. She is (was) a marvel, a sight to behold, a definite symbol of Greenwich's Maritime past and now she's a sight for sore eyes. I loved her and now I mourn her pain & misery.

E xxx

The Torrington Carnival

2007-05-11T20:07:00.000+01:00

Ok - again I'm far behind in this - the carnival was actually 2 weeks ago. I'll be back to normal again soon, I promise. I'm just so busy right now and now my folks are here with me again it's made my life even more packed and hectic. Plus the weather is so ghastly. No fair. Please, I want the sun back and how is that going to be possible?

The first carnival attraction - a police car lol

An Araappaloosa horse

Of course it's just an excuse to dress up like a tit - all for charity of course

Speaking of tits . . .

I don't think so

Alan from the green grocers 'Xanadu'

Torrington forever living in the past - well, 1646 the civil war

Thunderbirds are definitely 'A GO!'

Note the gorilla in the passenger seat - a little disturbing to say the least!

This was the best 'Float' 'Soul Train' excellent

Too many jokes - can't take it!!!!!!!

Rod getting close . . .

some people really made an effort!

The last of the sunshine a few weeks back & last of the yellow fields

And then it was gone . . .

And the corn is coming along nicely . . .

As you can see

The pasture is green & lush and now some sweet young heifers are in the field

Germainder Speedwell

My first Tortis shell butterfly

It smells lovely but the rain and the wind has blown it apart

The mighty buzzard

The beautiful glowing Yellow Hammer

Emy xxx

Torrington Mayfair

2007-05-11T19:46:00.000+01:00

Ok, I'm seriously trying to catch up here! Sorry folks for being so 'pants' with this recently.

For the last 2 weeks I've been spending half my time by myself, living independently at the cottage and the other half with Sue - so have been MEGA busy, what with paintings, daily chores, food shopping, bird feeding & then helping Sue out on the farm - cows, ducks, cats plus sheep & rams with maggots (yep, if I had had a scientific mind, I would have been the GREATEST vet, as I'm not squeamish at all) it's left me very little time to do this & when I did get the time recently my laptop suddenly stopped, as in it got stuck and wouldn't do anything! So I lost my post!!!!

Ok, so relentless rain/wind/cold. A few cows have turned up in the field but they're a little scarred of the outside world - as in me - but I'm here for a while so they'll have to get used to me and I'll make them tame, I usually succeed!!!

So photos of Torrington's May Fair and it's crowning of the 'May Queen' and other lovely photos of this beautiful place:

First of all a visitor - a Roe Deer

Who came into the garden

But then walked back onto the lane

Showed me his behind

And disappeared up the lane - this same roe deer walked past the kitchen window the other day when I was doing the washing up - just every day experiences in the West Country lol!

Rooney looking spiffing in the sun!!!!

Full moon last week - yes, I'm behind, I know!

The May Fair - last Thursday (8 days ago!)

I'm assuming the Mayor of Torrington as no-one told me otherwise

'Big Al' a local character of Torrington town

The Mayfair Queen

On her thrown to the sound of the brass band - you have to imagine it!

The crowning . . .

A very pretty Queen - love the hair

Smile to the camera although I'm sure she's a brat!!!!!

The pattern after one of the Mayfair pole rope dances

The Maypole

Torrington Bowling Green - lovely, I didn't know they had one!

My first lamb's tail!

Days On My Own & Happy May Day!

2007-05-01T21:23:00.000+01:00

Yes folks! I'm finally living my dream - being at the cottage on my own with my little car and am loving every minute of it!!! I can get up when I want (lol), paint when I want and go out when I want - and as always I'm 'one' with nature - having never been here at this particular time of year - I'm seeing things I don't usually see, there are too many to name - but there's a BIG abundance of wildlife, right on my doorstep! Plus I had a very special visitor in my garden today - 3 to be precise - a frog in the pond, the first one I've ever seen in these 15 years, my first sighting of a Humming Bird Hawkmoth and a Roe Deer this evening - oh not to mention the wood mouse!
Everything looks splendid and brand new, plus the Ash trees are finally flowering as they have been so late this year.

First of all the oilseed rape is stunning - if a little hard to walk past as it's so high!

Those little black blobs on the photo are not from a dirty lense but mayflies and there are HUNDREDS! Every photo you'll notice them, somewhere!

People complain about the smell of oil seed but I quite like it

And and the hedgerows are awash with colour this time of year

What is called 'Wildlife corridors' in between field and hedgerow

Oilseed close up - rather beautiful

Rooney the pheasant & his Mrs

Red-legged Partridge opposite kitchen window - what my mum would call a 'designer bird'

Brimstone moth - which comes to the light every night

A female orange tip butterfly

It was quite overcast for a number of days now it's sunny & blue

Oak tree

I think these are wood violets but not too sure

a few nights ago

again a few nights ago

Last night - ash tree on right notice how late it is, it still looks like winter!

Tulip shadows

It's now full - pictures soon

I've managed to start and finish a few paintings - but the weather has been so glorious I wanted to be outside - and I have been and definitely tomorrow too. Oh this is the life - bliss!

Emy xxxxxxxxxxx

Coffee Shock!!!!

2007-04-28T14:39:00.000+01:00

Hello all - now I have so many photos to upload that I really can't be bothered.

Good start Em . . . sorry.

And coffee seems to be having the reverse effect on me. I'm a new coffee drinker - having been so long without it you'd think it'll keep me awake indefinitely. But somehow it's making me feel so tired and this is your pucka (pucker?) real Colombian coffee none of the decaffeinated rubbish that certain members of my family drink - so I'm not sure where I'm going wrong and I point blankly refuse to drink Red Bull after my 26 hour coma when I was doing my MA show in Canterbury in 2005 - ok, I had around 7 cans a day! Self inflicted. Anyone else have reverse effects from coffee? I've had 3 cups so far and all I want to do is curl up and go to sleep!

The weather is poor. Well, it's warm but there's a cold breeze blowing off the North Sea (er, not anywhere near the North Sea) but that's where it's supposedly coming from. It's a shame as I brought so many skirts with me this time after the heat of London - I want to wear more skirts! But obviously not with a breeze.

I'm currently residing by myself in the cottage as folks have gone back to London. The last few nights I've been by myself for the first time EVER in the cottage liking it, yes, but my voice keeps packing up as I have no-one to talk to - well, apart from the tame pheasant Rooney and the odd red legged partridge - not to mention the trees, but then they will put me away (but hey! Remember me folks? The crazy Scots Pine fancier, least I have an excuse, right?!). But tonight I'm off to stay at the farm with Sue and also tomorrow night - Monday night not because of The Sopranos!!!!

Ok, enough about me - actually - one more thing - I'm on the Exeter Phoenix website - scroll down to the bottom where you'll come across 'News' & 'Exeter Phoenix too' and I'm the last name (naturally - oh hum).

A few links - well probably only a couple as I need to go and wake myself up with a shower:

'Japanese conned into buying what they think are poodles but are actually sheep' I first heard about this last night on the BBC TV programme 'Have I Got News For You' - always a side splitter and couldn't stop laughing (by myself with no voice) - only now they're saying it was all a hoax - well, they would say that, wouldn't they?!

Speaking of Have I Got News For You, here is a clip from the series - guest host Boris Johnson, a Conservative MP - well, a bumbling old fool:

Now good old Boris is a person of/to ridicule and he never gets away with anything - as in, the butt of every ones jokes and the audience and the viewers at home love it - even me!

Ok, end of links and now long shower. Back soon with those never ending photos.

Emy xxx

Devon Is GLORIOUS

2007-04-24T20:55:00.000+01:00

Ok folks, it is. It's full of nature - as in packed full. As you can see:

First of all, the whole garden is humming - as the oil seed rape is full of honey bees, flies & hover flies - amazing - never heard the likes!

But it's AMAZING! Even on a cloudy day - it's beautiful

There are violets in the hedgerow and:

Speedwell

Greater Stitchwort

Buttercups

Red Campion

Bluebells

Bluebells - but white

The apple blossom about to bloom

Marsh Marigolds in the pond

Forget-me-not's in the pot

Tulip's in the barrel

A very tame pheasant called 'Rooney'

Who stands by my feet wanting seed, more seed!

An Orange tip Butterfly - side on - I'll try and capture one with it's wings open

If it ever stays still for long enough

Yellow cottage

Bodmin moor the other day

I saw no 'Beast of Bodmin' or 'Bob' as he's called!

Although I did hear my first 'Cuckoo' haven't heard once since Scotland in June, 2 years ago

A field somewhere near Exeter - went to look at a property

A quiet Devon country lane near Bondleigh

And finally the first in my series - Julia in Bodmin

Yes, Julia will feature in a new series named 'Julia in . . .' as Julia is living the life she always wanted - she has now motored over 500 miles since we came on Saturday - probably a sixth of her life in 4 days! She has been reborn!

Got to go - have fun, one and all

Em xxx

And Back to Devon Again . . .

2007-04-20T20:25:00.001+01:00

Yes, early tomorrow, with a friend and a van full of stuff, my Dad, me & my little car Julia. Then Dad will leave me on Thursday and I will be working hard on my own for a good fortnight. One small problem. I still have this darn cold - which I haven't been able to shake off for 3 weeks. Oh bugger.

Ok, here are some pictures from my past - all taken last weekend, but from a place I grew up in - our old road, old haunts & old Victorian house - just the outside mind. When we left that place, that was when we left London, not now, now I can handle - but I couldn't back then.

Blackheath Village

Greenwich Park on Sunday - it was packed!!!

Vanbrugh Castle - opposite the park gates - designed & lived in by John Vanbrugh himself - he designed Castle Howard, used for the Granada production of 'Brideshead Revisited'

Walking up Westcombe Park - getting near now

Same road - note the beautiful/sublime Victorian houses

Here we are - my lovely old road in the sun

Apparently everyone wants to live here now :(

The view of houses I knew so well

And my house - 'Prospects' is it's name - can you guess which one it is?

Did you guess right?!

Looking from what was one our parking spaces down the other end of the road

The view from my friend Shirley's back garden

Greenwich Power Station

Shirley's famous Flag Irises

Bluebell proper - none of your Belgium rubbish!

A lovely furry branch! lol

Almond Blossom - but I still reckon it's Cherry!

Camilla? I'm not good with flowering bushes

Ok, things to do, more packing to be done - I seem to live my whole life now in and out of bags, boxes & suitcases. One day I'll NEVER EVER have to do this again!

Emy xxxxxxxx

Life is Good

2007-04-14T18:40:00.000+01:00

Oh my God - what lovely, LOVELY weather! So hot and blue and sunny that I even bought two pairs of sandals today! hahahaha. . . . And more lovely weather for tomorrow and Monday although I haven't seen a weather forecast for the rest.

Just a small, quick catch up of photos from the South East:

Daffodils at Greenwich park - this is the first time they've done this - or perhaps the first time I've been here to see it, as we're usually in Devon this time of year. It was stunning. All gone now though - that's the problem with Spring, the Daffodils don't stay as long as you want them

My good friend Mary & I went to Chartwell in Kent - the home of Winston Churchill - definitely my favourite house - a few days before Easter and it was empty! The WHOLE garden to ourselves - bliss

I think I'll definitely miss driving out to Kent when I leave the South - but I have a good feeling that I will be back to visit

A Chartwell Pheasant- of course we have PLENTY of these in Devon!

Me & my car Julia taken by Mary - Julia is now going to Devon on Saturday for good

Easter day - did those planes cross over deliberately or was it a fluke?

Whatever it was - it made the day!!!!!!

Ok, a big week planned next week: seeing friends, going up to town. Bluewater - and then my beloved Devon on Saturday!

Lots of love to everyone and have a great weekend - or what's left of it! xxxxx

Warm Spring Sunshine - YOU BET!!!!

2007-04-12T20:39:00.000+01:00

Just noticed this for the rest of this week and beginning of next:

I really am going to miss those hot, sweltering summers in London - not so much the pollution though. Least in Devon you get that nice Summer breeze!

It's time to dig out the t shirts, skirts and sandals lol

E x

Warm Spring Sunshine

2007-04-12T19:10:00.000+01:00

Well, I'm a little behind right now with items in the news - items in the news which disgust me that is, but then the news always disgusts. Glad I cleared that up. Over the last few days, these are the items which have caught my attention:

Hot cross banned: Councils decree buns could be 'offensive' to non-Christians. If it's not one thing it's another. Every Christian holiday fulls victim to one of these pointless criticisms. I've really had enough. Note: I can't actually find the recent article - as this article above is a few years old - although I'm sure they copy and paste in into newspapers every year around this time.

Now 2 news items surrounding the Olympics - one I actually felt physically sick while watching footage of an eight year old Chinese girl training with her dad every evening in Beijing, while he spouting Hitler quotations to her and she singing nursery rhymes to herself - it was pitiful. She runs a marathon every day - her Dad pushing her so she can win gold medals and even her, herself wanting to do it. Beginning at 3am every morning. Read the article here.

This one is funny - WW11 bomb risk to Olympic site - there maybe a risk as 1,500 bombs were dropped in east London and 200 failed to detonate and unfortunately most of them are in the 500 acre site. So if we all hear a few large explosions over the next few days least we know where they're coming from!

Anyway the trees are coming out, the cherry blossom is blooming and the sun is warm. Devon soon, actually Devon up and down for a long time - but I don't mind that. The wheels are definitely in motion - all is well (so far).

These were some of the last pictures I took in Devon - only 2 and a half weeks ago - although it feels like months. Devon is always behind London (the South) so hopefully when I'm there I'll be seeing and appreciating the trees & flowers more so then here - as I've missed most of it here with my ever lingering cold.

Lungwort in the garden

Ivy berries

Hedge Woundwort

Tomorrow I'll post photos from London - the days when I have managed to go out, take pics, see friends and more of that next week.

Emy xxx

Deleted

2007-04-09T21:09:00.000+01:00

Sorry folks - I've been told to keep off personal stuff off this blog now - like the subject of things to do with houses - never mind. One day I'll write an anonymous blog.

Hope all is well - I still have a nasty cold which I think doesn't help my judgement of things. Such is life. Here 's a nice pictures of that wonderful place in Devon - a perfect sunset:

Emy xxx

Boom . . . Boom . . . Boom . . . Boom . . .

2007-03-28T21:16:00.000+01:00

in Boom . . . Boom . . . Boom . . . Boom . . . Every morning . . . Boom . . . Boom . . . Boom . . . I'm woken up by large Booms coming from neighbours across from us - actually 2 houses next to each other - who are having an extension out the back and the builders have started piling - as in laying the foundations . . . Boom . . . Boom . . . Boom . . . continuously. The whole house vibrates - my bed vibrates. Although all is not going to plan, one got stuck and would go no further, so there's a delay. As I'm sure I've said before that St Joe's was built on a rubbish tip, well, not really rubbish, more WW2 debris, as in unexploded bombs (no, not really), air raid shelters, rubble, mortar etc and the place is full of air pockets and holes appear regularly in the middle of gardens and the houses subside too, so who knows what they've encountered over the way underneath the gardens!

Apart from that. London is much the same. Planes, train and automobiles. My little car Julia is now finally out of the garage as we need to store stuff in there and she's finally being driven. Her battery went flat over the time we weren't here, so she now has a brand new battery and a brand new leash of life! As for me, well, us, busily cleaning as the estate agents are coming to measure up and take photos on Friday for our big move! So, it's finally happening. Plus the weather is fab right now! 18C today, although rain is expected tomorrow and probably typically on , Friday when the pictures are being taken! So I'm trying to see as many people as possible as I'm back by myself to Devon with Julia (my car . . . keep up) on the 15th April, I have no idea how long for, but Julia will stay there now indefinitely.

Hope everyone is well anyway and please, if some of you haven't seen the last video of Thomas, then please watch it, as upsetting as it is, Thomas is treated like a King!

Emy xxx

Last Night in Devon . . . I'm TOO Sad!

2007-03-24T19:52:00.000Z

Hey everyone, well, here we go, the last day & night in Devon and the weather all today was perfect - in fact the best sunny, blue day in the 7 weeks we've been here. Typical. Pictures to follow when I get back to London (ah). Ok, look, let me level with you, I do love London, in fact I'm proud to have been born in London (perhaps not Lewisham, but then beggars can't be choosers) and I know every single corner of South East London and it really excites me - that and getting on a train to Charing X and having the whole city at my finger tips. But frankly, I've grown bored of it and need a drastic change, I'm so much happier in the countryside. Although I'm really going to miss Kent - the North coast & the Weald, not to mention East & West Sussex, Surrey I can do without lol! But London won't be completely wiped from my life, I still have great, good friends there and plenty of them have offered to put me up if I crave for city life or Kent countryside & beyond. Plus there's shopping to take into consideration - I must go back here and there to go to Bluewater or up into town and walk amongst those in the Kings Road (ok, I can't afford anything, but Peter Jones in Sloane Square is always worth a window shop!) So London we'll become an excitement once again - when I was small I loved it, it was so exciting and so, er, . . . OUT THERE! All my friends lived in Bromley, Kent (that's where my school was), while I had Blackheath, London on my home address! Anyway, London will always be in my blood and I'll always love it, so in all truth I will ALWAYS regard myself as a Londoner!

Ok, final film of Devon. Or as Tuckmac likes to call it, 'rural' film. Thomas, the South Down ram, one of the eccentric characters of Dunsbeare Farm. Back in November he picked up some kind of illness out in the fields and collapsed. The vet gave him a course of antibiotics and said if he didn't get better afterwards then he should be put to sleep. Well that was back then, this film was shot a few days ago, and he's still alive . . . though not particularly kicking. Basically he can't get up, for some reason he can't do it. Maybe there's a bit of brain damage there. But he's bright and lovely although a nuisance for Sue as he rolls off his straw in the shed and can't get back again and Sue has to move him back - and as you'll see - it takes some doing! (ok, I could have helped, but I was filming at the time lol!). Sue is getting worried now, as the warmer weather is approaching and that will bring flies by their hundreds - on the straw he'll be ok - but off the straw the maggots will get to him. So a big decision will have to be made soon, to keep going or to put him down? Anyway, have a look at the film and tell me what you think - is Sue mad? Or is she right in keeping him? I think he's lovely and maybe she should keep him a little longer, but then you may argue that that's just prolonging it.

Lots of love to all and see you all in London!

Emy xxxxx xxxx xxx xx x

The Last Few Days

2007-03-23T19:02:00.000Z

Hey everyone! I can't believe we've been here now for almost 7 weeks - where has all the time gone? So back home to London on Sunday and by the end of the following week the London house will be put on the market & once sold we're coming down here to live in the cottage and figure out what to do. It's the only way. Of course we've got so much stuff, some need to be stored here in the cottage and the other stuff perhaps in storage somewhere else. It's all really exciting, but I can predict much stress and unhappiness too.

So back to happier times with the sun out in these following pictured, although 2 pictures here are heartbreaking, and one HUGE mystery:

Soon the fields on the right will be a mass of yellow - Oil seed rape

Where did that cloud come from?!

After all the rain, the land is SO green!

That view!

Dartmoor in distance and Scots Pine - which has lost yet another branch (now in my garden!)

There she blows - Dartmoor I mean

Walking down the side of field - lane on other side

Incredible Pine shadows

Dartmoor

If you didn't know where you were it could definitely be mountain range

Golden light on the moor

My darling pine - Grace

How they survive the winds, I do not know

Looking out opposite to cottage & chapel

And now the heart breaking mystery - in recent times, around the last 5 years - we've had a good number of Hares living in our fields. They are absolutely fantastic creatures to watch and to film and to have. I came across this - a whole stripped hare skin - no blood, bones or flesh. Who or more importantly, who the HELL would do that? Human? Animal? I've never seen the likes of this before. At first I thought it was a dead, shot fox as the farmers/gamekeepers usually shoot foxes and leave them to rot in the fields. I'm stumped. Anyone got any clues?

I turned it round with my boot - it's so neatly done and reminds me so much of a fur coat/scarf - now a dog would rip the creature up, a buzzard pick out the remain, but to strip it so perfectly takes skill & who the hell would do that, take the flesh and leave the fur in the middle of a field

So after that sadness, I moved on, troubled & upset

Back to the fantastic sheep & lambs, I was watching a lamb play tag with a pheasant!

Sun rays

Golden light - my favourite!

Then a cloud - is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's a cloud shaped as a bird & a plane!

Spectacular sunset that night

Something out of Turner or even Constable or me . . . lol!

Taken from the bathroom window - too cold out!

Beautiful - dramatic!

La Lune

Then the wood came on Thursday, Dad & I stacked them in the shed - bit of a job!

Tomorrow, one last film of Devon, of a very special ram called Thomas. More on him then.

Emy xxx

The Secret Life of Bullocks

2007-03-22T12:58:00.000Z

Ok everyone, here is another video blog but the stars being the bullocks having a little bit of a play in their shed. It was a little unnerving as they were very big and all of them together running around an enclosed space, even if I was on the other side of the wall, was a little frightening. But they were so funny, especially as they kept coming up to me looking for my approval or coming to see if I was still filming! It's a little long this film but it has a pattern, mad jumping and galloping about and then calm, then face rubbing and then mad jumping and galloping about and then calm and face rubbing and so on. You can tell a lot about a cows mood by their ears! They have very expressive ears!

We're off out tonight for dinner and I'm about to go into the studio in the next hour as I've turned the heating on and it takes at least an hour to warm up - well - after Neighbours anyway! lol

Emy xxx

Lovely Little Lambs

2007-03-21T20:28:00.000Z

Hey everyone, here is my second video blog - actually one of three, but I think one at a time will do! Over the weekend I went to see the new lambs at my friend's farm. They are so adorable, well as you can see and very vocal!

Since I last blogged I've been painting hard and trying to catch an hour or so every day in the sunshine (or what sunshine we've had) for a few walks across the fields and far away. Well - the same fields as usual! One day I'll pluck up the courage and go further! Photos to follow in a few days time.

Hope everyone is well.

Emy xxx

Happy St Patrick's Day Everybody!!!!

2007-03-17T18:57:00.000Z

Your Leprechaun Name Is:

Twindle Forrekettle

What's Your Leprechaun Name?

E xxx