On sunday I went to my local cemetery to gather ivy berries for dyeing with. The morning had been bright and clear but by mid afternoon the light had started to close in and it was a little creepy. In the older part there were many new or newly marked graves which made death a presence more keenly felt than was comfortable. 
However there were flowers, aconites, snowdrops and crocus. And this pretty garland hung about a tree by a grave for an old lady called Blyth.

 

And today whilst gardening I found snowdrops in bud. My photographs of snowdrops rarely do them justice and the thrill of that first glimpse is very hard to capture so I haven't tried. However, although it is still chilly my heart is looking towards spring whilst still revelling in the glorious wide open skies that winter gives us.   

I've a taken a few months leave from my blog, the summer had been good for me but I felt a need to retreat into silence and solitude for a while, and then that while turned into a longer while and so three months have passed. I have doodled a little, but mainly been in deep thought, resting and recharging my creative spirit and doing practical things like painting and decorating and gardening. Sometimes I blog about my garden but even that felt secret this autumn. 
However, here to kick off the new year is a photo of a winter heliotrope which is in bloom at the moment. It's a slightly strange plant, not really pretty but it has a sweet scent and is one of only a few plants currently in flower. I would say that if I moved I would keep it contained in a new garden as it is  invasive, and not quite lovely enough to get away with it's spreading habit. All the same a flower is a flower and it's hard not like a plant that is brave enough to bloom in winter. 

A wonderful day out at Strumpshaw Fen, Norfolk with my old friend Sally. 

It was a busy summer, well busy enough. And although I have indigo, cyanotype and rust experiments that I want to document on my blog I've been in easy space after the frenzy of preparation for the Blue Jacket Textile fair and just needed to revel in the late summer sunshine, to enjoy my garden and to begin to prep it for winter which is not so far around the corner. I've been sifting my compost heap which is always satisfying, and I've had one small bonfire.
Today, however, the weather broke which has given me a little time to read. That's the reason why I'm blogging today because sometimes I read a book and I just want to make a note of the title and author so I don't forget. This book is From A to X - A Story in Letters by John Berger. It's another library pick up and is a slow read for me as it has a quality that is akin to poetry, every word is potent and so it is difficult to absorb, but every word is potent and I am enjoying every word, and also the form. 
A part of me longs to write and another part struggles with that longing because when I do put down words they sound clunky and ugly. Maybe one day I will break through that vanity and let myself be. I know that I often encounter this block in art and the knack is to just do it and if it isn't good it's o.k. In a way it's a rule for life, better to take the risk than spend a lifetime wondering.
Anyway From A to X is giving me pleasure at the moment so expect a few little snippets over the next few days/entries.