A Canterbury ‘Tail’

Recently we visited the City of Canterbury in Kent. We stayed in a nearby Caravan and Camping Club site and walked in to the City each day to explore the ancient streets with beautiful old buildings, including Canterbury Cathedral. However the Cathedral didn’t allow dog owners and was also being renovated so that’ll be for another day. I always do a sketchbook log of our motorhome trips but decided this time to make up a handmade sketchbook zine of our trip complete with collaged found objects made into little Canterbury houses and shops as bookmarks. A little different, I know!

The Canterbury Tail Sketchbook zine by Janet Peck

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Sketching in the garden: woodland in spring

The weather has been amazing the last couple of days, too hot for working in the Studio so I’ve been sitting outside at a little table sketching with watercolour was crayons, called I think Neocolour. They are quick to work with and I love blending the colours. I used the above reference from a walk in the countryside yesterday and imagined the feeling of walking into a magical Blue bell wood.

Early bluebells

It was so exciting to see these early Bluebells in an ancient woodland.

Usually my poetry tends to be freeverse however in one of my notebooks I came across an example of a ‘Rectum refrain and decided to write my Early Blue bell poem using the Rectum refrain style.

So basically a poem written in the above style should have 10 lines. The first line contains one syllable only, the second 2 syllables and so on. However line 10 should contain a combination of lines 1-4 thus making 10 syllables. No rhyming!

It was a challenge. I hope I got it right! However producing a poem about the experience I had of that walk, coming across the wood and Hawthorn blossom and using my senses and imagination, was far more important to me. I hope you enjoy it.

Early Bluebells

Blue,

Blue bells.

Blue bells shake.

Chilly winds wake,

Woodland creatures hide.

Twigs, new shoots lime green, fresh.

Blossom pure, delicate, intense

Hawthorn spike in dark hollows shine

Glassy eyed rabbits shy waiting. Still.

Blue blue bells blue bells shake chilly -winds wake

Cowslip bells

Mellow yellow

Cowslip ‘bells’

Jingling in scented meadows

And musty dells; amongst

Salty springy mosses.

A distant lark flutters;

The ethereal song mingling

With chimes from the sacred

Woodland.

Spring awakening

Spring awakening!

Fronds unfurl, yellow green

Freshly scented like peas just popped out of their shells.

Narcissi, ‘kissing’ in a sherbet breeze.

Forget-me-nots, sparkling like sapphires.

Precious wild violets ,

Petals like the palest early morning sky;

Perfumed magically sophoriphic when warmed by

The fairy moon.

Warm wishes to all

It’s been a very strange year of many ups and downs and I apologise to everyone who follows me, likes my blog and enjoys reading my posts. I promise to make 2019 the year when I pen my poetry and get painting again. After one of our beloved Border collies died suddenly last year, the arrival of our Slate merle pup in early spring and Skye, our surviving blue merle having a Stroke, I wondered whether life would ever become calm again.

However, Storm is a year old now, pictured above, and has a lovely nature; she gets on really well with Skye and has helped Skye get over her Stroke by assisting with her physio!

We’ve had lovely holidays in North Norfolk walking along the Coastal path, across the salt marshes and on Holkham beach and I have enjoyed a few hours here and there to paint.

I hope you like my photos and my watercolour painting of the cheeky robin who visits my bird table every morning. I have designed a Christmas card, so he can be enjoyed by friends and family.

I wish you all a warm, peaceful and jolly Christmas and the best of luck for 2019!

XxX

Raspberry tassles

Raspberry tassles, tantalize;

Dainty clematis dazzle;

Muscari like mini pyramids of lapis lazuli brighten shady corners

Whilst amethyst anemones smile

Even when their petals are tattered by windswept twigs.

Solitary Snowdrops

Solitary Snowdrops,

Snuggled in a sudden snowdrift,

As fine as sifted icing sugar.

Cople churchyard is beautiful at the moment with a smattering of celedines, voilets and tiny Blue star like flowers. However it is solitary huddles of snowdrops which inspire me the most because they appear in harsh weather and bring us hope of spring. We are about to get snow here in the UK at the weekend, I have to say it is very pretty but we need the warmth of the sunshine. For those of you deep in a cold winter, I hope you’re keeping cosy.

The snowdrop scribble was inspired by my walk in the churchyard, hopefully I’ll be able to get in the Studio soon to have a play with designs, do a watercolour or maybe a screenprint.

My creative time is very precious because I have an elderly dog recovering from a Stroke and a puppy who is delightful and full of fun, requiring lots of attention, training and walks. Life is full on!

Sunshine colours

Spring bulbs flourish;

Sunshine colours lift our spirits;

Delicate drifts of croci emerge as The mist dissolves behind the trees,

Birch branches shimmer in the breeze.

Hawthorn morning

Hawthorn petals

like a lace wedding veil,

torn in a March gale;

sailing on scented winds

like fairy wings-

bringing spring’s tingling feeling

of happy, lingering, sunny days.

 
This poem is dedicated to yesterday’s International Poetry Day and a celebration of spring.

I’m really enjoying our walks in the countryside around Cople. Each day I wonder how many more buds are out, what suprises are there under the hedgerows: daisies, celedine, anemonies and tiny violets. Skylarks serenade us along the paths at the edges of fields and red kites circle above. Our prize is watching the brown hares running along the furrows and sunning themselves. Such beauty is to be savoured every moment!