Moving my work

 Yesterday was the day to pack up the work from the Barony Centre exhibition, and return it to the Smiddy Gallery at Culzean.

Quite a long day...and added up to a lot of driving in the end...about ninety miles..but at least it was mostly dry at each stop made.

Sadly no sales ..but the display at the Smiddy is looking healthier now!

The blacksmith (Ben Wynn) had made a new display for the glass artist (Andrew Barham) to display his suncatchers. The other pieces are made by Andrew as well.

Not my photo...but what gets put on our group chat turns up in my photos thanks to goggle...(I do a lot of deleting otherwise my allowance would get filled up even faster!)

Back home..and my neighbour had rescued my washing as the wind had been strong enough to dislodge the prop to the line! No damage to line or prop and the washing was safe on the line...and nicely "ironing dry".. probably not for the first time in the day!!

Then the second batch of juice bottling and processing, and a combined quick leftovers supper...potatoes and runner beans from the garden with pinto beans in tomato sauce ( made with home-grown onions and garlic)

Apple juice result

 It is a lovely colour.. halfway through producing the next batch now...

Definitely Autumn...they are actually more yellow than they look here.

A month since I returned from France...I have been so busy...and remiss...I have a few letters waiting to be written!! And emails...but proper physical letters mean so much more.

Today's job first is get the clean washing on the line...then collect my pots from the September exhibition in the Barony Gallery in West Kilbride.

Apple juice!!

 Ok....look at these in reverse please!! This has what has been happening most of today..I did take a break this afternoon and restrimmed the rough grass. Then used the push mower and edger...we are over 5⁰ so the grass is still growing!!!!!

Slow progress

 That's the last of this batch waiting to be done...gold and red on the tree, silver snow on the ground and Season's Greetings in gold!

Simple but special.

I took the cockerel picture from France to be framed in Ayr, and he did it while I had a wander around town. I'll photograph it tomorrow..he did a good job.

Ayr is in a sorry state...but so are many towns.  Some bits are being restored though

But on the other side of the road...

And beside it...

The 1970s police hq being demolished.

For a few years the police have been in an old Victorian school building....a lovely brick built one, in good condition...says it all.....

Hopefully the council will build homes on the site...as although the building was transferred to Strathclyde police with the rejig of the counties in the 70s....the council quietly retained the land.....

Seasonal printing and foraging

 New card printing...

Not just the C word.... there are nearly thirty other celebrations of light in different forms in the month that spans the solstice.

So I start on the equinox with a block that I've used already for my personal greetings cards a few years ago.

Now for the difficult job....creating others to go with it!! 

Back to being alone again...feels odd.

There is always plenty (too much!) to do.

I'll start on glaze rehydration today..that can sit and look after itself for a while....and also apple juicing. 

I collected what I could carry from a tree in the nature reserve...the ground was covered underneath the tree!  I hadn't seen much blossom in the spring, or growing fruit later on, but as it is now surrounded by other trees all the apples had grown at the top!!

It was good to have a conversation with three teen lads who were having a stroll around the reserve path. Showing them what was ripe, explaining why there weren't so many large apples and saying what I would make from them...juice, jelly, spread..maybe a pie...and they all tried eating a ripe apple. Even the one who wasn't keen on apples! 

Using the new "toy" !

when bro was here I bought a new strimmer...and today I used it!!

The grass needs to dry out then I can cut it again, hopefully with the push mower in most places. 

A bits and bobs day again. 

I started dismantling a handlebar, brakes, shifters and gears set...that had been left absolutely filthy!! That was a serious cleaning job!

 The view at 8pm....I'm feeling tired earlier too!!

Wondering, planning....

 It has been nice having bro here for a few days....he is off for some camping on his motorbike, so I'm getting on with things...

Drying fig slices..

And I have my first aubergine!!

It is still quite warm in the greenhouse, so the tomatoes are ripening ok.  Outside the weather is odd...showery and sometimes a really cold breeze....I go to town on the bus, wrapped up for our weather....and arrive in town ten miles away and 400 feet lower...and I'm decidedly over dressed!!

I managed to mow the grass yesterday, and mulched the leeks and a patch of bare earth as well as feeding the compost bin...but the rain came before I could use my new implement....a strimmer!!  I had an old one, but on inspection the head was mangled...and nothing of that make available in the DiY store....and it was cheaper to buy a whole new one. Thanks to bro for helping me decide which one.

Today I took the picture that I bought in France to get a frame....but the farmer was closed.....Ayr races weekend plus bank holiday Monday, so quite a few places were closed for a long weekend.

Change of plans ...time to research travel to France....a combination of flying to Paris and Flixbus from there. Then I enquired at the station as travel agents don't do rail fares....even with a senior Railcard the single fare is £84...and it goes up in the new year....add on the cost of London to Paris....and across Paris...  That ruled out train travel!!

I wonder if there might be a vacancy for a potter somewhere.....??!!

And tonight's sunset....

Funeral celebration

 To Dumfries today to celebrate the life of Pirate's oppo and friend.

A day of strong and blustery winds and showers, heavy at times.

A day of celebrating, remembering and catching up with old friends.

A sad and happy day all in one.

A really blustery day as well.

And a smile...what do you think?!

Apples

a day of this and that...and apple picking...mostly for juice

 

Breezy day walking

 This morning was just relaxing and waiting for a delivery...then out to town with bro.

Paying most of my takings in....that is over a  third of the car mending paid back in....and some kept as float for gallery days and the next cycle jumble/ craft fair when I have enough stock, or whatever!

A framed A4 print sent off... that's a handy £28! From just posting a Facebook memory of my prints ...

Lunch in the bookshop then a walk up the street in Ayr where they have cleaned the block paving ..it has really made a difference....the rest of the town needs cleaning...and keeping clean!!

Then off to Culzean to stock check cards , look in the secondhand bookshop and go for a decent walk to the walled garden..fruit and veges...and to the Swan pond and back.

Lovely to have the sea breezes but also shelter from the trees as we walked around.

No vines in at the moment..just a peach tree.

The glass houses are undergoing renovation 

A willow water dragon!!

You can really see the erosive effect of the wind.