eleanor

In May 2019 a dear friend died of ovarian cancer. As the first anniversary approached I saw a call on Facebook to make an offering or gesture by water at 11am on the date of her death. 

I got to the river in good time and gathered a handful of wild garlic, cow parsley and jack by the hedge, twisting and weaving the stems into a circle. Hunkered down in my chosen spot I observed sunlight reflected from the waters surface flickering upon the pale undersides of overhanging leaves and dippers dart from bank to bank, weaving invisible threads of flight. At 11am I placed my offering into the river and watching it float away, felt connected to others making their gestures in still and following waters and seas. A small thing but one that bought Eleanore and her loved ones into my thoughts these past few weeks.         

common & midland

I'm currently reading Walking With Trees by Glennie Kindred and turned first to the chapter on hawthorn, my favourite tree. I learned there are two species native to Britain, the Common and Midland. Venturing to my local park I found beautiful specimens of both and studied their leaves to identify them. The Common variety having deeply lobed leaves, the Midland, shallower lobed.  

Hawthorn leaves were known as 'bread & cheese' to country people and travellers throughout the ages, nibbling on them is said to stave off hunger. When walking I often eat the leaves to take in the magic of these beautiful beings, thanking the trees always.    

 Common Hawthorn - note the deeply lobed leaves

 Midland Hawthorn - branches too high to get a leaf close up 

Midland Hawthorn & Common Hawthorn

significant hedgerow

The first photograph was taken on Christmas Day 2019, the second today. I wonder who is placing these artificial flowers here and why...

daily walk for exercise

Most days I get out for my allotted 'walk for exercise' during the Covid-19 lockdown. I feel very fortunate to live in Derbyshire, with its footpaths, fields, woods and hills on the doorstep. Before setting out I consider where the widest paths are with the best chance of remaining 2 meters away from other walkers. 

It's good to get out and breathe fresh air, most people nod, smile or say hello. We need to be responsive and aware of each others bodies, how to negotiate a crossing space, a narrowing of the path. I've become focused on edges as I walk upon fresh growth at the paths fuzzy boundary.

Watching spring bloom I spend much of my walk with eyes pointed at the ground. Spotting plants that sprout from pavement and wall, plants stunted and flattened amongst the grass in the park or growing verdant along pathways. Millefleur is brought to mind as it's still possible to study the variety of young plants, within weeks the hedgerow will be high and plants entwined. 

I'm always delighted by plants that grow in unpromising locations, from pavement crack and stone wall, as well as in the hedgerows - little warriors working with what's available and thriving. This week I photographed, then painted in watercolour Dandelion, Cleavers, Wild garlic, Nettle and Plantain - edible wild plants with medicinal qualities. 

 Dandelion

 Cleavers

 Cleavers

 Wild garlic

 Nettle

Nettle

 Plantain

Dandelion

nettle & potato soup

A couple of weeks ago I made the Friday Soup at Haarlem Artspace where I have a studio. We take turns providing a nourishing lunch for one another in our communal kitchen. I've long held the ambition to cook with the seasons, or at least understand what food the hedgerow can provide throughout the year. So in early March, with the nettles beginning to show their faces I made this soup.

Today, I gathered nettles in an altogether different world. I walked past a couple wearing face masks and felt wary, a heightened need for distance and also to smile, to reassure. It felt good to stride out above the town and quietly sing to the nettles, wild garlic and cleavers as I picked them. The wind cold, the sun warm, an abundance of young plants doing their thing, COVID-19 forgotten for a moment.

Nettle and Potato Soup

Two handfuls of nettle tops, rinsed

One large onion, chopped

Two medium potatoes, peeled and diced

One garlic clove, crushed. I also added wild garlic.

1.5 pints veg stock

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Fry onion and garlic in olive oil until soft. Add nettles, potato and stock, simmer until potatoes are cooked, blend and season.

Cleaver Tea

Pick a generous handful of cleavers, rinse, place in a teapot, pour over boiling water and allow to infuse for five minutes. A friend who drank this said it reminded her of childhood.

Cleavers

Wild garlic

Nettle tops

  Nettles, cleavers & wild garlic

middleport

Inspired by The Great Pottery Throw Down and Keith's tears my sister and I drove to Middleport Pottery for my birthday earlier this month.

The pottery was built in 1888 and is remarkable in being the first to use a production line system, with clay delivered by barge at one end of the factory and ceramics shipped out by barge at the other. 

Middleport pottery has been the Home of Burleigh since 1889, Burleigh is the only remaining UK pottery continuing to use traditional methods from the Victorian era. The factory tour was fascinating - viewing the whole production line, the specialist skills of the craftspeople and how each stage of the process fitted together - a very well oiled 'machine'. Got a birthday kiss from a kind woman who was cleaning up saucers! Have deep respect for the ingenuity that goes into creating the ceramics. 

 Ware boards

 Ready for first firing

Discarded clay

first walk of the year

The new year is long gone and I'm only just posting this image from my first walk of 2020. 

Walking with my sister (the day after her birthday in early January) we were rewarded with this view towards Chatsworth. A sheet of light beams lit the winter fields and revealed the kind of green that makes a heart soar.