My Sunday Photo... Look out!

It's pretty nippy here just now with another forecast of snow to arrive overnight.

The birds are all feeling the urgency of a good meal to see them through.

Here's one of our resident buzzards perched up high on his lookout tower.

He doesn't get much peace as the local jackdaws and crows become very nervous if he's spotted in their territory. They dive bomb him constantly and give quite an aerial display.

I'll leave you with a more peaceful photo of our girls... keep your heads down ladies!

I'm linking up as usual with Photalife.com

Thanks for popping by my place and I hope you'll be back soon

Chief Chook and a Sprout Loving Bambi... PPF

Happy New Year Everyone.

I hope all your wishes come true in 2018.

I didn't realise that I was going to have a blog break, but that appears to have happened.

So my apologies for not making any announcement before my disappearance.

I hope you'll forgive me.

As I type here this morning, I can't help but feel grateful that I can touch type. 

It is so dark, as the heavy clouds burst and send copious amounts of rain down upon us, but that doesn't stop my happy mood. 

Yes it's January and some say the most depressing time of year, but 

I thought I'd tell you about my enrolment into an online art course. 

It starts on Monday and is a Bootcamp with Lilla Rogers from Make Art That Sells

I thought as I'm nipping into the Paint Party Friday link today, fellow PPF's might be interested in hearing or reading all about it. Lilla is fantastic and such an inspiration... so friendly and encouraging too. There are live video links and discussions every week and assignments every Monday, plus access to a special Facebook meeting place for all fellow classmates.

I seriously lost my mojo last year and just couldn't find it... but Lilla has a way of making you think anything is possible.

So with that in mind here's my first piece of artwork for 2018.

I hope to improve and fly with my art as the year progresses.

Obviously, this first one had to include a chook (chicken).

Just a fun piece to hopefully give me a kick start!

Now that I'm back to blogging, I'd also like to share my sprout loving visitors.

I personally don't mind having them eat all the sprouts from our veg plot, as I've never eaten them nor do I intend to. But I do fear that our new seedlings and plants this coming spring might be on their menu!

But seriously how cute are these Roe Deer?

 The numbers have expanded this year from the odd one or two to five.

 Is that a guilty face or what???

So there's plenty for my first post of the year.

I hope to keep the momentum going.

Wish me luck!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you soon.

The Chicken or Egg...PPF

So which came first...the chicken or the egg?

I've been having a little more fun with my art this week.

Although I haven't had much time, I did manage to try out something new.

I started with a water blob on my paper...then blended a few colours and finally I tried blowing the paint outwards with a straw. It was more difficult than I thought and I was quite out of puff when I'd finished.

When I looked at the results I saw a little chicklet!
(Maybe with the worst bad hair day or been caught in an electrical storm)

I know we're getting 'cluckling mad' around here.

I promise I'll try to bring you nothing referring to chickens/hens next week!

Talking of being mad... we had a rainy few days and worryingly hubby was online.

I'm always nervous when he spends time browsing the internet because I never know what's coming next. Quite literally... and here's what arrived in a huge truck yesterday! 

To give you some idea of their size I am 5'.4" and they are shoulder height to me! 

My son thought that the driver had possibly had a wee tipple which concerned him, being a driver, but he didn't know that the barrels had previously contained whisky! 

Our garage now smells like a distillery!
I'll be revealing more details as this next crazy antic gets underway.
Retirement has a lot to answer for!

And finally because this has to be a quick post today, as my daughter arrives for the weekend in a few hours. I thought that I'd show just how cute my little wee Muffin figurine is that +Nic McLean created for me. Some have asked what size it is...so here's an indication.

If you'd like to see more of this figurine then click here or visit Nic here

❤ I adore it ❤

Have a great weekend peeps...whatever you have planned. 

Have fun!

I'm linking into the Paint Party Friday as usual.

Please pop along if you'd like to see lots more art from all over the globe.

Happy Friday Everyone 

😊

My Sunday Photo...Hen Night

Our girls have everything they could possibly need...(and more) and they are certainly happy chooks, but I still wouldn't want to be one. 

This week we've had Mr Fox come snooping around the garden...in daylight!!! 

So hubby has had to add a few armaments to their accommodation.

The old ruined barn that houses their coup now has barbed wire above the high walls. 

It also has a cobbled floor so no fox could possibly dig under to get in.

The barn is not quite the 'Folly' as we used to call it... it's now more 'Fort Knox'!

(Annie does not look happy at someone switching the light on does she?)

The girls move out of the folly into the garden during the day. 

They have a large secure pen that we move around under the trees, so no worries there about Mr Fox paying a visit.

We also set up the night vision camera last night, to see if the fox returned under the cover of darkness...but all was clear. Phew!

I've just been out now to check that the girls are okay...and here's the photograph. 

They'd all put themselves to bed and I just couldn't resist snapping them all sitting on one perch. 

They actually have three to choose from, but obviously they like to snuggle up at night. 

How they sleep balanced up there is beyond me. 

I have trouble in a 6ft x 6.6ft bed! 

Thanks for stopping by my place.

I'm linking up with My Sunday Photo as usual. 

Thanks Darren for hosting once again.

Please feel free to pop across to see lots more photographs by clicking here

My Menagerie... PPF

No surprises today in guessing what I might have drawn for this weeks Paint Party Friday link up.

Of course it had to be chook related at some stage.

We have two breeds of chicken living here with us... Maran and Bluebell.

My painting is a little mix of both of them.

Definitely free range with my painting...haha! 

(Sorry I couldn't resist that)

This painting could be 'Flo' the soft sister of 'Big Bertha' (Maran) and 'Canny Annie' (Bluebell) 

(nee Anxious Annie... I've changed her name, because I think she's actually really switched on. 

She works the system and gets just what she wants/needs!)

The bowl of eggs show our morning collection of fresh eggs. 

All four girls are firing on all cylinders and we have four beautiful eggs daily.

Happy Chooks indeed.

I couldn't resist popping them into this bowl with the rooster on it.

It's a really old cereal bowl, that we got when my children were very small and we lived in Brunei.

As you can probably guess...it came with a famous cereal.

So this portrait is called AnnieFlo' 

Now who remembers 'Hetty'?

NO! Before you mention it...we haven't got a Highland Cow now!

I draw the line there...although with my hubby and his hobbies...ie hot tub he may well decide to try and persuade me to have one!

I met up with an old friend last week and she mentioned how much she liked my Highland Cow painting, so I thought I'd revisit it and have a go at painting another. 

I find it fascinating how my painting is progressing and it's not until I look back that I see and realise that I'm evolving as an artist. 

Do you find the same with your art?

Hopefully, I'm moving in the right direction! 

I have also had the pleasure of receiving photographs of my Giraffe painting in their new homes.

I have two in Australia, two in USA and a few in the UK.

That seriously makes me smile :D

So on that happy note I shall love and leave you this week.

Thanks Eva and Kristin for hosting PPF once more.

Have a brilliant weekend everyone