Ocean Wildlife

As 1st mate on the boat I usually pull up anchor.
One morning I saw seaweed wrapped around the anchor. 

On closer inspection I saw it was a gigantic starfish either fighting with the anchor...

...or making love with it.

We saw 3 different types of whales in the distance and hundreds of dolphins close up.

This one played around the bow of the boat for a long time.
We watched each other.
I know I smiled a lot.

One morning a generous skipper, who moored next to us over night, gave us a bucket of prawns from his trap.

A few hours later, his steamed prawns made a delicious lunch.

Sea Reflections

While we were on our annual sailing trip exploring the Pacific North West coast I took pictures of the shoreline reflected in the sea. 

This shot I didn't rotate because it made such an interesting mirror reflection pattern.

 

The different compositions change the mood of the shot.
There is lots of potential in looking at the concept of reflection and mirroring.

Grassi Lakes, Alberta

Over the summer we went for a walk up behind Canmore to the Grassi Lakes that feed this waterfall. 

While picture-taking I focused on reflections in the water. 

The reflections were abstractions of the surroundings. 

Or they look like digital layering. 

Even though the place was crowded everyone was peaceful and enjoyed talking with passing strangers. The hydrogen ions in the air make people happy.

Tree Cloths

The colours on the Arbutus Tree Cloth were showing a shift in colours when I did the July colour studies. 

The Arbutus is an evergreen but it sheds half its leaves over summer.
There is a shift from a yellow green to a low intensity orange.

The Maple is also showing a change - the chlorophyll is beginning to move downward.
There is a shift in colour from green to yellow.
Fall is coming.

New growth on the cedar has turned to a cooler green.

And, as usual, there is not much change in the Douglas-fir needle colour.
I am stitching a July band on each of the tree cloths in the colors I have observed.

Getting Things Done

Once I had put away all fabric and threads in their right places and my tables were clear again, I was ready to organise the many other piles of stuff in my studio. 

I started organising the stuff into different categories according to David Allen's system.

I am a David Allen disciple.

Lasagna Gardening

About a year ago my sister showed us how to convert lawn to garden.

On top of cut grass we layered: newspaper, cardboard, grass clippings, leaves, coffee grounds, manure + topsoil, and finally a top soil layer. 

\

Now I have planted a green mulch - comfrey.

I laid down a layer of paper around the plants to suppress the weeds until the comfry plants take hold.

A layer of Douglas-fir mulch holds the paper in place and also acts as a weed suppressant.

It is all an experiment.

Studio Tidy Up

Back in Victoria I decided to tidy up my studio.

First I put away everything covering my work tables.

I rounded up all the loose yarns and threads, sorted them by colour then put them away in my thread colour- coded boxes.

I did the same with all of the fabrics I had accumulated over the past year.

I have a set of colour-coded fabric boxes I use for teaching.

I topped up those with fabrics and put them in storage.

This is a good start to my studio tidy-up.

Otters & Cream

A leisurely walk beside the Otter River....

 

...ended with a Devon cream tea at the old flour mill. 

We confirmed this was the best Devon cream tea in the land.
I had mine with a delicious pot of nettle tea.

R & R On the Devon Coast

After a demanding graduation week in London, we spent a relaxing and rejuvenating week on the Devon coast, based in the idyllic beach resort village of Budleigh Salterton.
I like that the woman is wearing the same colours as the beach huts are painted.

 

 

 

Beach art using the famous Budleigh Salterton beach pebbles. 

The vernacular Devon boat

A picture-perfect village.
Again, those soft English colours.