Joppy.co.uk

  Everywhere is an abundance of moss at the moment and it looks so ancient and peaceful so I decided to check out what moss was all about and did some research. As always the research turned up lots of interesting facts. I did consider whether to do an indoor display of moss but I think it looks best outside. One of the interesting things I came across is that there are actually some inner city moss 'trees' being created to help absorb pollution! Moss requires shade and water to thrive and so not usually found in the city BUT somebody has worked out how to make a structure or even sculpture with some shade and water reservoir and these have the ability to soak up more pollution than hundreds of trees.  The photo above looks fabulous it is on one of my walks with Wallace and its part of a bridge next to a stream where Wallace often jumps in for a drink (I know he has to jump in to drink!!) It is castellated so it looks great all covered in moss. When I was a Brownie Guide I was...

Hazel catkins poke me in my eye every time I walk through a gap in the trees in the field near to where I live, so how could I not choose Hazel catkins and the Hazel tree for my subject to study last week. What an interesting study the Hazel tree is and there are tonnes of them around where I live including a branching one in my garden by the stream. Unfortunately we didn't get much of a look in on the hazel nuts in the Autumn as the squirrels had them all!! The year before we did manage to forage a stash and cooked them in the oven with sugar and cinnamon and they were delicious. I was wondering if the squirrels were extra stocking up this year because they knew it was going to snow?  There is a tonne of interesting folklore around the Hazel and uses too, I have written it all down in a book that I started making for 2021.  I picked just a few catkins for an indoor display in the kitchen. These are some left over tiles from this weekend's DIY. We have had 4 boxes of deliberat...

  I chose snowdrops last week for my project, as mine were just starting to come out down by the stream - see the photo below of them hiding in the leaves just before it snowed at the weekend. It was a lovely morning so I dug some up and had some long missed time in the garden all morning. I made the above little rustic display on my window cill. It looks so nice and its great to see the snowdrops all day long. Snowdrops are really very delicate and their flower heads are tiny and droop down so you don't get a really good view of how pretty they are close up. Mine have little heart shapes barely visible on the outside and when you turn them up a lovely lined green underneath. Its such a shame this is all hidden away. This is as close as I could get with a mobile phone camera I hope I managed to capture it! Folklore says snowdrops are both lucky and unlucky - so I will take them as lucky and the first sign that spring is on its way. (Although it did then snow on sunday!!  I hav...

There are so many many mole hills appearing on my walks across fields that I wanted to find out more - so week two has been mole week! Some of the things I have been finding out are very interesting not least that the mole is the original dirt thrower!! Project - wise I opted to go for something a little bit simpler so some of my other work in progresses have a chance and the 2021 project doesn't completely take over!  It's not that easy to find mole sewing patterns but after lots of searching out some pencil and digital drawings I drew my own based on the head of one and the paws of another and did a little sketch which I then traced through the light of my i-pad onto some linen weave material. I have sewn the mole in taupe - which apparently is the french word for mole - so it is the exact right colour! Just a little bit of back stitch and some french knots - which really need some improvement. The knot keeps getting stuck in my needle - I may need a smaller needle head to al...