Connecting with 'real' seasonal moments

Avoiding the assumed and imagined

I grew up with Beatrix Potter as my best friend, at least in my head. From a very young age I noticed the detailing in her illustrations and how well she noticed seasonality. As I got older I expanded my literary family to include Lucy Maud Montgomery with Anne of Green Gables as my heroine. My final addition to my wee imagined family was Louisa May Alcott and her adorble ‘Little Women.’

My wee family of writers and illustrators seemed to ponder over the seasonal shifts and I knew whenever it snowed I could see the Little Women wrapping up to go out in the cold. Seasonal references occupied the edges of my creative mind but then I discovered Edith Holden and her ‘The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady’ and everything became much clearer. Edith taught me many things, but perhaps the most important, was the reality of seasonal moments and the importance of noticing. Some years ago I began devoting my entire creative world to seasonal moments. I quickly learnt that my younger self, with her literary friends, was not set in the real world. The authors and artists were using their permitted creative licences to create scenes in the natural world that aren’t always there in reality.

When I took my lead from Edith I could quickly see that not all seedheads appear in the autumn. The first time I noticed that I realised that I had been wandering around with my eyes partially closed and was still lost in what I assumed or even imagined went on in the different seasons. Fast forward more years than I care to count and the natural world immediately around me does well to hide any changes. I notice everything. Not only that but I notice when seasonal changes shift out of their expected timescale. I call these occurances my Ox Eye daisy moments. For me, Ox Eye daisies were always a June flower. I use to see them bursting through the grasses as I walked to the school bus stop. Now Ox Eye daisies flower much earlier and in most cases a whole month earlier.

I have an almost daily ritual. When I notice something new appearing like the first blossom on the Hawthorn tree, for example, I dive into Edith’s book and see when she references this sight. Sometimes we are aligned, other times we are not. However, the important thing here is that I have noticed not just what but when. I am an avid Citizen Scientist and join in lots of online counts and sightings (RSPB bird count, butterfly count with the Butterfly Conservation Trust, First signs of spring with the Woodland Trust to name just three) and I believe this is one of the best things I do in the year. This year my slight obsession has been butterflies. I have not cut my grass for many a year now and last year I noticed a lot more butterflies than in any other year. Now, thanks to recent research, I can tie those two things together. Not only that but I understand that some butterfly species hibernate in long grasses. I am never ever cutting my grass again. I also take advice from bodies like the British Hedgehog Preservation Trust on how to support our resident hedgehog who lives in a tree trunk that fell down in a storm a couple of years ago. Plant Life is one of the most impressive environmental charities to connect with and I have had lots of advice on how to develop my Wild Space.

So my daily life is populated with real encounters with the natural world capturing real moments suspended in time and place. I now, far better, understand the natural world immediately around me. Imagine a world where everyone had the same experience and what kind of connections that would instill in us all? Imagine how much more humanity might care about these sacred seasonal moments?

If you have time this is a lovely wee exercise. Take a piece of plain paper and leave on the table. Go outside and gather a few things that speak to you of seasonal moments. Bring them back in and lay them on the paper. Write the date on the piece of paper. Take a photo. Repeat in exactly a years time etc etc. Try and notice different things each time. Do this exercise in every season and you will soon develop a very sharp seasonal eye.

Mine shows seedheads in July as these are from the Californian Poppy which are mostly in this state now on the island. It also includes tiny conker seed cases that have been blown down in the high winds we are experiencing. Feverfew is having a lovely season this year so I needed to ensure their wee flowers were included. Our foxgloves are just going over now so wanted to mark that moment as they have also had a fabulous season. I have also included calendula which is loving the combination of sunshine and showers we are having at this time and bacon and eggs wild flower from the hedgerow.

What will I do with all these seasonal natural finds?

• I will dry the poppy heads and use them in my seasonal wreath above the fireplace

• I will press the foxglove and the feverfew flowers to use in my art work at a later stage

• I will pop the wee conker seed cases on the windowsil in my studio and watch what happens to them as they dry a wee bit then I will cut them open to investigate what is inside. They will then go in my compost bin.

• I will eco print with the bacon and eggs wild flower as I know it prints well.

• I will dry the calendula petals and use them in my homemade skin cream

Real seasonal encounters that bring such a deep and knowledgeable connection with the world immediately around me. Joyful. Until next time…

Book Arts Project

I am now offering a paid subscription project focusing on creating seasonal book art if you would like to join us….