Sadly, due to the new GPSR regulations, I can no longer post items to Northern Ireland and the EU. Any orders from either destination will be cancelled with my deepest apologies. I am very sorry and am working to find solutions.
This year has not been the most fun so far. My Dad had a bad fall at Christmas and I became a full time carer for the first five months. Thankfully he's doing OK and things have quietened down so I have been able to get some new painting done.
Spring or summer wild flowers?
This spring has been another stunner. However what I have been noticing is that a lot of the flowers that would flower at the end of winter/early spring were flowering at the same time as the later ones. So the snowdrops were flowering at the same time as the daffodils, irises and crocuses. Even more strangely, the summer flowers flowered at the same time as the late spring flowers. The hawthorn blossom was flowering almost at the same time as the dog rose and the yarrow is just bursting forth now. Locally, over the last few years, the yarrow has been flowering later in the summer and into autumn.
Bees!
However, recent news reports have mentioned that the hawthorn blossom was late this spring. In turn that led to a large number of bee swarms up and down the UK, including here. I now have a very peaceful swarm of bees living in one of my unused chimneys. But the day they swarmed did panic some of my neighbours. Bees don't do any harm if they install themselves somewhere out of the way so I am quite happy to have them living alongside me. It has been fascinating to watch their behaviour. Check out the British Beekeepers Association for some interesting info about swarms.
New art prints
The result of a wonderful spring is that I started to paint some season inspired art to make into prints. So far I have Spring and Autumn done and Summer is underway. There is so much inspiration to illustrate so I hope to have Summer ready for release soon.
There are also some new prints of insects - bees, of course (although they are bumble bees and not honey bees), a selection of beetles and some tiger moths. They are great for the current 'cottage core' home decor theme or for mini beast lovers. All are available on my web site if you want to pop by and take a look.
