By the Sea

I was visiting my aunt one day this week. After the horrendous traffic last time, I elected to get a train this week, though I think the timetabling was still suffering the after-effects of Ophelia.

I got a train before the one I normally get, so that I could post the sweater off to my niece. Although it was quite windy it was pleasantly mild and I had a lovely walk along the seafront.

We have - a young cormorant. two crows (there's also a photo of them looking at each other) and then what at first I took from the colouring to be a juvenile gull - but on closer inspection it wasn't, and was also too large. I think it must be a diver (loon). I've never seen one in Greystones before.  There was a gaggle of little plovers scurrying around the rocks and bathing in one of the pools, and once the beak emerged, I realised the next bird was an oyster-catcher. At first he was resting with his beak tucked under his wing, and I wasn't sure what it was. And finally some sort of little pipit.

Country harvest

Last weekend we went on a local blackberry-picking outing and came back with a small amount of sloes - but enough for C to decide that he'd take his last day of annual leave (which had to be taken by the end of the month) and take a day trip to the Burren yesterday and see if we could get more sloes in either of the places we've had good pickings before.

It wasn't the sunniest of days, so not good for photos but we had a lovely day out and did get a good harvest of sloes, and enough blackberries for one more batch of jam. As an extra bonus, it felt like Saturday so we have the Saturday feeling all over again today.

September Favourites...

We marked the last day of the month by going out and picking blackberries yesterday, and even a few sloes for some sloe gin. It was a lovely sunny morning, but the harvest wasn't great. Enough to freeze two 2lb bags for jam, and some for a crumble, with some kept out for a crumble today.

Here are my favourite cards for this month - including, as we're now into the last quarter of the year, the odd Christmas card.

inside of previous card

On second thoughts, that's enough cards for one post, so maybe I'll post a few Christmas cards later on in the week.

Autumn in a frame....

I was a little later than usual in getting a sampler made to switch out my summer-themed one...

A Miscellany

The Art Neko blog and website are still down for a revamp, so instead of posting on the blog, I thought I'd add another card here this week, although I can't provide any links.  The metallic tissue background was created for this week's TLC challenge on Splitcoast.  I used two different stamps from Art Neko, the still life with grapes and wine, and I stamped and cut a couple more leaves from the grapes and leaves with tendrils stamp.

A long-empty site near the bus stop has been opened up for work, and in the process has acquired a new hoarding.

And another utility box - very suitable for our climate, this one.

Utility Box Art

This barrister dog appeared outside the Law Society some day last week, unless I have been very unobservant.

The Viking invasion has taken place at the corner of Ellis Quay, but it's not an easy place to take photos with all the traffic.

And a couple of matchbox projects which I didn't include with my favourite cards last week. The Sizzix matchbox die creates a box about 3 1/2" by 2 1/2" by 3/4".  I'd like to try making a suitcase again with a couple of modifications to this prototype, but it was fun to make.

Birds and a Birdhouse

I took a few photos of a heron on the way to work the other morning. It was low tide, and the particular place the heron was standing meant that I could take photos where it didn't look as much as if I was in the centre of the city.

And here is my card for this week using images (and paper) from Art Neko.  It's a shaker card, using what I imagine to be a birdhouse from the Flowers and Whimsy sheet, along with butterflies from the same sheet, a vertical birthday sentiment and some ATC collage paper.  The base has some coarse mesh stitched to it, and I added some leaf ribbon trim with lots of Liquid Pearls to suggest flowers. I can't remember what die I was using, but the shaker element was all the little pieces popped out from it, they've been sitting in a little pot on my desk ever since.

August Favourites...

August appears to have been a creative month even though it didn't feel like it, lots of cards I was very happy with...

This next one was for the mixed media challenge on SCS; we were to be inspired by the artwork on the cover of a favourite book. That required some thought - not all my favourite books have very inspiring covers (To Kill a Mockingbird, for example). And while I love Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, the covers are a mile away from my own style. As I thought about books, my mind went back to Paul Gallico's The Man who was Magic, one of my favourite of his books. My copy has long ago lost its dust-jacket, but I had memories of it, and was able to confirm them by checking the book out online.

Juvenile goldfinches

I always think they look so different before that vivid red comes in. We seem to have several young ones around this summer.