Abstract Landscape Painter. Rural Dweller. Lover of Modernist Art and Design.
A Close Shave!
It's 6.36am and I'm having breakfast and listening out for the first birdsong in the morning darkness. The robin will start soon, but yesterday it was the wrens that were filling the air with their powerful, mellifluous song. Who'd have thought that such a little bird would produce such a loud sound! They are like little powerhouses - tiny, ocarina-like birds, breathing out music. Actually the most common British garden birds, they are my favourite. Sprightly and characterful, with their upright tails and flitting movement. Despite their miniscule size, they seem to want to fill the air with their sound. Yesterday morning I had a close encounter with one in flight.
I went out into the garden to fetch some logs for that evening's fire. It was misty, as it is this morning. The fine water droplets in the atmosphere had diffused the light of the rising sun into widespread, golden glow. I climbed the two stone steps from the path outside the back door and emerged from the overgrown herb garden and onto the lawn. A wren, obviously en route from one side of the garden to the other, was not expecting a human object to suddenly appear at that point. It flashed past at great speed about six inches from my face, at eye level. I'm not sure who was the most surprised! I saw it land rapidly and expertly in a tree to my right-hand side - like watching a tennis ball zoom past your eye line. It was a close shave for us both!
Later, in the studio, I continued to work on a series of small paintings based on our garden visitors. So far, the two that I have completed have been night scenes, incorporating owls, a rabbit and some deer. I worked until just before 6pm, almost without stopping, and finished the second one before returning home for the evening. These pictures will be going to four galleries, as part of their relative Christmas exhibitions.
Meanwhile…..I am expecting another garden visitor….a new little dog is due to arrive next week….can't wait!
All text and images ©2013 Carol Saunderson
