And finally snow...

Cold snap on the moors around here continue with the first snowfall of the winter. Bodmin Moor and Dartmoor received a good covering last Monday. I got a rush of energy Tuesday morning, and charged up the camera in readiness for a foray up onto Twelve Man's Moor to get reference shots for some "winter-scene" paintings. However, as is often the case day-to-day work activities took over, the picture on the easel refused to paint itself and I told myself "I'll go up there tomorrow". Tomorrow came, car needed to go to the garage, weather warmed up and all the snow thawed out and came sluicing down the Lyner river on it's merry way to the English Channel. Damn!

What I might have seen - a fox enjoys the snow on Dartmoor...

"Vixen on Holwell Tor"

Oils on canvas

This painting is available to buy just contact me for details

All time low

Local tv announced a temperature of -12 degrees on top of Bodmin Moor a couple of nights ago. Apparently this is the lowest recorded temperature in 20 years. Of course according to said news programme, a few days of cold is the end of the world - the "Big Freeze" etc. Personally I like a bit of cold, it's supposed to be winter for heaven's sake!

Frost and foxes

Post christmas cold snap has hit Bodmin Moor with a vengence. The ground water and streams coming down off of Kilmar Tor (Cornwall's third highest point at around 350m) have been frozen solid for days. Not that I'm complaining as the crystal clear blue skies and low sunlight have provided some fantastic views and plenty of inspiration for new paintings. Makes a change from the usual months of rain we have most winters down here!

One highlight of the last few days was an extended view of a dog fox foraging for moles in a frozen field nearby. Must have watched him ranging from molehill to molehill for at least twenty minutes until it got too cold to stand around any longer and me and the dog had to walk on before we both got frostbite. Now if I'd only had my camera...

The lower ridge of Kilmar Tor on a (much) warmer day

"Kestrel Hunting - Kilmar Tor"

Oils on canvas 20 x 24 inches

Available to buy - just contact me via email

Alas female pheasants

Correction to that previous post, sadly I saw a dead female pheasant on the road today, same perilous (for wildlife) stretch of A30 in Cornwall. On the upside however also saw several hunting kestrels over the verges plus buzzards and also numerous opportunist magpies and crows hoovering up the unfortunate victims of speeding motorists. Circle of life and all that...

Alas pheasants

Driving up the A30 from Cornwall to Exeter the other day I was dismayed to see the sheer number of male pheasants lying dead either on or by the side of the carriageway. I counted at least seven on one two-mile stretch, pretty grim viewing. Autumn is the time of year for agressive male birds to go rampaging out and about so I guess it's inevitable that many would venture onto the tarmac, plus there are a large number of wide sweeping fields and patches of moorland along this piece of road. The number of dead birds I've seen lately are a miniscule drop in the ocean however compared with the (conservative) estimate of at least 10 million birds and animals killed on british roads every year, with poor old pheasants outnumbering every other species by six times.
Yet to see a dead female pheasant on the road though, which is a little strange.

Top Dog

My trusty canine sidekick poses dramatically on top of Kilmar Tor. He has just paused from running and jumping to scan the surroundings for unwary wildlife and also to audition for a part in the latest remake of Lassie.

King of the Spiders

Interesting visitor to our cottage the other night. It was dark and we'd just arrived home, switched on the lights and started making a cup of tea when I happened to turn around and spot sat on the wall above our fireplace quite simply the largest spider I have ever seen living wild in any part of the good old British Isles. It was obviously a member of the harmless house spider clan but an individual of the most incredible hulk proportions that I stood open-mouthed for a minute or two marvelling at it's legs and mandibles. Unfortunately my better half is terrified of spiders so with the help of a large mug and a postcard I scooped the chap up before she had a chance to see it and moved to deposit it out-of-doors. However it was such a large spider that the mug could barely contain all of it's mighty arachnid power and I am sorry to say I accidently severed one of it's eight legs in the ensuing struggle. I finally released it in the lane outside and I'm sure I heard it mutter "I'll be back" before vanishing into the darkness...