Thursday 8 March 2012

Look away now!

I know some people aren't too keen on these little critters but there's no escaping them chez Kemshall right now. I only wish we had sound effects on this blog - you wouldn't believe how vocal a pond full of amorous frogs and toads can be. I was so distracted by the noise on the way to my garden studio that I felt compelled to pull up a chair for a few minutes to catch them on camera.


I've edited the pictures to spare you the most embarrassing behaviour! We seem to have record numbers this year - I did try to make a head count but they weren't cooperating and the shy ones kept diving undercover when my shadow loomed too close.


It was very pleasant to sit in the spring sunshine and eat a banana and lemon curd breakfast sandwich. (I never claimed to have sophisticated tastes!) Fascinating as the wild life is, I did manage to tear myself away eventually. Today's plan was to work on the altered moth book some more. It's getting pleasingly full now. I like nothing more than a book so generous and fat that it won't close!


I'm enjoying the best bit of the process now - the time at the end when I go through the pages adding little finishing touches that will hopefully bring the whole thing together.


It's just the same when I make a quilt - the final embellishing is what I enjoy most.

Hope you're having a burst of spring creativity right now too. Thanks for reading - Linda

7 comments:

  1. Wow - look at all that wonderful frog spawn! I bet your garden is completely slug-free come summer. Your butterfly book is delightful - I have in mind to start some sort of a book about dragonflies but not sure if it will be an altered book or just based on a sketchbook. You're an inspiration!

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  2. Nobody make the Paul McCartney connection yet? I can just hear them "doo do doop doo do doop we all stand together " in the way that frogs woo!

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  3. We had a frogs come into our bedroom two nights in a row!! We think it's the same little frog! They are fun to watch! I just want them to stay outside!

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  4. Hi Angie - nature has frogspawn in such abundance because it gets eaten by so many different creatures. The herons and wild ducks will soon come to call. We'll still be knee deep in tiny frogs in a few weeks though! Good luck with your dragonflies. I'm sure the book will be glorious.

    Hi Maryld - Not only do they sound like a McCartney frog chorus, they leap like characters from a cartoon!

    Robbie - I like to see them in the proper place but draw the line at frogs in the bedroom! Tell me you sleep on the ground floor - I'd hate to think of frogs climbing up the walls of the house to creep in the bedroom window!

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  5. Thank you for the froggy delight! I grew up near Seattle where frogs of all sorts sang me to sleep. I moved to the desert side of the state and alas, no frogs. Crickets just aren't as soothing at night as a wonderful bull frog. Your moth book is wonderful. The last photo made me do a double take! The texture you achieved is amazing! I wanted to touch the furry part of the moth as it looked so real. Enjoy your day in the sun. My first daffodil and hyacinth opened today - heavenly scent!

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  6. Rampant froggy sex in your garden pond. How X rated!!

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  7. My little daughter enjoyed looking at your frog pictures, we saw some on a recent visit to Dundee Botanical Garden, she was quite amused by them. The altered Moth book looks beautiful, I too find fat, full to the brim books lovely to hold and browse through.
    Yvonne

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