And it’s Nearly Half-way Through September Already!

The year is two-thirds through. This can’t be right …

This painting is called, ‘In awe of evening’ — it’s about that feeling you get when you look around you and realise that you’re part of something bigger than yourself and, in the quiet of evening in particular, it can convince you that strength and serenity is within your grasp.

It has been painted as an ACEO art card.

These art cards are 3.5 x 2.5 inches, but my technique for ‘In awe of evening’ is more the kind of technique used for miniature painting than the technique I usually use for ACEOs — that is, instead of areas of single wash, the whole of this painting has been created with tiny brushstrokes.

This creature — set into the stonework to the right of the door — is on the house of dragons around the corner from me — see. I’m not sure if it is an imp, a goblin, a gargoyle or some other kind of house-protection spirit. That’s what I’m assuming it is — a protection for the house and its inhabitants.

There are lots of fluffy plants around just now on the turn of the year from summer to autumn. Above left is the result of summer’s display of love-in-the-mist flowers — seed pods, attractive in their own right, but also useful for winter displays when dried.

Above right is a mimosa tree with pink flowers. I’m used to seeing fluffy yellow mimosa flowers — which is an Acacia — but this is the first time I’ve seen pink.

I gather that adding Rosé to citrus vodka and raspberry lemonade creates a bubbly Pink Mimosa for quaffing, but this pink mimosa — spotted on a road PupperJack and I don’t usually walk down — is Albizia julibrissin — also known as Persian or Chinese silk tree, pink siris or mimosa; it is not related to the yellow one.

Our houses adapt to their surroundings. Look at the angle of the bottom of this door — it’s not necessarily that shape because of subsidence. But it might be. Bristol is riddled underground by old mines and caves …

Or maybe the path was built crooked …

Or maybe the door always had such an angle on its bottom side and the whole house was built around it. **smiley thing in here**

This year many more front gardens in the neighbourhood are growing vegetables rather than all flowers. As above.

I wonder if the cost of living has anything to do with it …

It is not uncommon to see tomatoes in with the flowering plants.

I’ve mentioned before that we have a habit in this neighbourhood of putting unwanted items out on our garden walls for anyone to take if they want them.

This the first time I’ve seen an electric fly swatter on a wall for someone to carry home.

It’s for use on electric flies only. Of course it is!

Bear in mind this is the middle of a fair-sized city — but yet the gardens around have a surprising diversity of fruits to harvest — not all suitable for humans, but we share this place with other creatures, too.

Above — plums almost totally obscure the tree itself; middle — ooh, look — a quince-jelly tree! On the right are haws which will be much appreciated by multitudinous birds come the cold weather.

“Occurs in woodland, gardens and hedgerows. Butterflies often perch in sunny spots, spiralling into the air to chase each other.

The aptly named Speckled Wood flies in partially shaded woodland with dappled sunlight. The male usually perches in a small pool of sunlight, from where it rises rapidly to intercept any intruder. Both sexes feed on honeydew in the treetops and are rarely seen feeding on flowers, except early and late in the year when aphid activity is low.

The range of this butterfly contracted during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries but has spread back since the 1920s. It has continued to spread over the past two decades, recolonizing many areas in eastern and northern England and Scotland.”

From: butterfly-conservation.org

Just to add that our Speckled Wood was in our garden in the South-West of England so they’re obviously spreading their wings and flying further afield.

There is so much about the world that is unsettling at the moment, but PupperJack always sends thoughtful but positive greetings.

And Corgisseur sends cheers!

Dennett started the Photo-a-Day Challenge to help combat the pandemic blues. Since then many others kindly share their week with us:

Erika Burkhalter, Anne Bonfert, Tracy Aston, Lisa Bolin, Juan O. Aguilera, David Wade Chambers, June Nguyen, Mia Verita, LensAfield, Barbara Radisavljevic, Diana Lotti, Barb Dalton, Kim Zuch, K. Barrett, Penny Grubb, Ellie Jacobson, Shruthi Sundaram, Jillian Amatt — Artistic Voyages, Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles

(If your name should, or should not, be on this list, please let me know.)

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