Last and current glaze-firings

We have had some sunny bright days, but with a chilly wind! This is ideal  weather to use solar power for firing the kiln. Another glaze firing was done today. Luckily the last glaze-firing was successful, so I had only a few to be re-fired, which is nice for a change!

All whippets came out lovely! They are beautiful!

Bronze-gold glaze whippets

The first time in a year or so, I have made these beautiful crackle whippets. This time, I used semi-porcelain clay. They are large for my whippets.

Clear crackle whippets - large

I hope you can see beautiful crackles. 

This one was a surprise. I was aiming at dark blond or very light brown hair. The other boy's hair also became dark brown, not patchy, though!  

I am planning to do another glaze-fire in a week time or so. There are lots of things to do in the studio as well as running my little shop, which takes about three hours every day.

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Last weekend, I took a rest from ceramics. I did a big tidy up in my office. I have loads of boxes and packing materials. I did some clearing out and made space for them. A tidy up always makes me feel good! I should do it more often!

We also went to the Blean woods with our dogs, Topaz and Pearl.

Is somebody in this?

After this, it's another world. 

Old rotten stump

Our garden is full of flowers. 

Cherry and apple

Oriental poppy

Mike's Easter holiday has begun today. We are planning to visit the zoo again.  If today's firing has gone well, we might pop out soon! (We will only know the result tomorrow morning.)

The lower shelf

Top shelf with the head! 

Walk in the Blean woods and Mike's peas

Hello everyone. How was your weekend? We had a hot one! Yesterday morning, I popped in the studio with Mike. He moved the second chicken sculpture into a kiln for me. After tweaking the back, I became a bit cautious. After that I had stayed at home, and kept myself cool, but Mike was busy doing errands.

In the afternoon, we took our dogs to Blean woods. I thought it would be cooler. It was in the shade. I was looking for the beach tree. We couldn't find it. Next time, I will re-trail the route we took last November.

a rotten tree

'Not only my ears are long, but my tongue, too!'

Our garden is full of wild birds. Amelanchier has lots of ripe berries. It attracts various birds, such as black birds, green finches and wood pigeons. Fruit trees attract blue tits, a flock of longtail tits and so on. There are of course, regulars, like sparrows, dunnocks and robins. We saw more birds in the garden than in Blean woods yesterday.

Young Black bird

Garden flowers are also in bloom. Silver flowers stand out under the apple trees. 

 Mike's veg are doing very well, too. We have harvested our first peas yesterday.

I popped peas out of the pods. Pearl stayed with me,  just in case I might drop some. Yes, I did! She loves peas. They are very sweet!

Mike's peas

 Mike cooked pasta with peas, spring onion and pancetta. The recipe is from the River cafe book. He only cooks this dish when our peas are in season. This year, we grew spring onions, too. So both are in this dish! Very delicious and quick to cook!  It goes well with Australian white wine.

Mike's pasta with pancetta, peas, and spring onion

Into the woods.

Hello everyone. I had a relaxing day today. I took a day off from ceramics, and walked in the woods, and listed my work on Etsy. Listing used to be somewhat stressful, but now I can just do it with BGM.

I wanted to see the beech tree that I saw last weekend. I also wanted to feel the air and the smell in the woods. I chose Mike and Topaz as companions again. He was worried that the woods would be very muddy after last night's rain. But off we went.

Rare blue sky in England in November

 We went about noon. We hoped that there would be fewer people, so we could park. We were right.

Coppiced area

 I love this silvery tree barks.

Ferns

This beech tree is large. It is bigger than it looks. So to get a scale, I asked Mike to stand nearby. He decided to hug it. Three men would be able to hold the tree.

An old beech tree, a man and his dog

 What makes my heart trill is a fallen rotten tree like this.

I couldn't find the path we took last week, so I couldn't see the beech tree. This oak tree looked to me pointing the direction I should take. But we became hungry, so we walked back towards the direction we thought we parked.

Oak tree is expanding its arm

You must go between the 'U'.

Topaz couldn't find any squirrels today. They were having naps after lunch, I guess. She is a good dog. She runs around, but she will come back to check on us when she hears my command. She also understands another command, which means I am changing directions, so she will come back.

'I ran a lot today'

This particular tree looks like a somebody's house. Look, there is a little chimney on top of it. I remember those houses where Peter Pan and children live in Neverland.

Who lives here?

 The public side of woods has evergreen trees, too.

Blean woods

 We came out of the woods near the parking area. It was full by then, and the path to the entrance was muddy.

Mike and Topaz

We much prefer to walking in a private land. It is so quiet and we meet nobody else.

An Aftertnon Walk in the Blean Woods

Hi everyone. Today I am going to share the photos of the walk in the Blean woods we had in yesterday afternoon, with you.

'Lying between the cathedral city of Canterbury and the towns of Faversham, Whitstable and Herne Bay, The Blean is one of the largest areas of ancient woodland in England – over 11 square miles.' (Source: http://www.theblean.co.uk/)

I used to take Topaz twice a day to the woods some years ago. But when she started to enjoy herself too much, and forgot to follow me, I had to stop visiting this ancient woods. I saw crow chicks perching on a low brach so that I could touch them if I wanted to, foxes, wood peckers and all sorts of birds.   

Topaz in the Blean woods

We went into the privately owned part of the woods. In UK, there is a strange law; public can roam anywhere if there are footpaths. And believe me, there are loads of ancient footpaths in this country! So I was told to go anywhere I fancy. In Japan, this will be illegal and I would be accused as transgress.   

I love unpaved paths.

Topaz had enjoyed her a free run. She loves chasing squirrels, and quite often disappeared into the woods. But she always comes back.

We could tell how tired she is by the length of her tongue hanging!

We had walked about 30 minutes. Topaz was very tired by then. I felt so good to walk on the soil. We didn't meet anyone.

Mike spotted Nightingale 's song. Our first of the year. We will come back to hear them singing before too long. 

A fern

RSPB Blean wood page

The Blean

Walking in the woods with Topaz and inspiration

A tree in The University where I walked Pearl yesterday.

A bit of sunshine.

Dog walking is my exercise cum a bit of socialisation cum inspiration cum a sheer joy to be part of the nature. We live close to the University ground where I often take our dogs to. There are several familiar dogs and their walkers, and I know them by the dogs' name not by owner's names. We also live near to the Blean woods where I could walk a couple of hours without seeing anybody even in the height of summer. It is very mysterious and magical in the woods. I used to take Topaz twice a day by a car. When you hear nothing but birds' calls, and your own steps, I started feeling if there were any goblins, they must live here. Once I saw a large crow chick on a low branch of chestnut tree, just above my head. He looked clumsy and a bit helpless, still magnificent. I saw a fox in the middle of foot path. She was on a higher ground than I was. So, I could see her, but she didn't see Topaz and me.

Topaz now

While walking in the deep woods, my mind becomes very full with all things I see and hear. I feel some kinds of quiet excitement from very deep in my body. Very often these feeling is the source of my inspiration when I make DoGoo. This only comes to me when I was walking without any human companion. When I am with somebody, my mind doesn't submerge under my consciousness, I think.

Puppy Topaz, Mike and I used to argue who's turn to hold her.

If I walk without Topaz, I could see more birds, as I walk very quietly. But I feel unsafe without her although I have not heard any crimes in the woods. We call her whippet+ (plus). Her grandparents are whippet, greyhound, border collie and bedlington terrier. Although her size and shape is almost whippet, but apparently her colour comes from border collies. So when she was tiny, some people asked us if she were Doberman puppy.

My imaginary animal living in the Blean woods