I haven't made an entry since Tegan died. It is time to start drawing again.

Tegan's ashes

I buried Tegan's ashes this morning.

Tegan

Tegan died today. She gave me fourteen wonderful years of love and friendship. I shall miss her so very much.

Brass, copper and clay

I am still trying to draw something every day and on most days I do. This study was difficult because of the metalwork. Not easy to capture in watercolour. I must remember to graduate my backgrounds.

James' cat Oscar has been hit by a car and will face the amputation of his right front leg today. Poor Oscar, I hope he recovers and adjusts to his disability.

Steam Train to Salisbury

An early start saw us hurrying down Warwick Road to the railway station. We needed to catch the 8 am train in order to get to Victoria soon after nine o'clock. We had plenty of time and soon the steam train Oliver Cromwell was brought in by an English Electric Co-Co and that was a bonus.

Soon we were off and steamed along at a good speed. We stopped at Staines and Brookwood for more passengers and again to take on water at Overton. At Salisbury, we alighted and watched as more water was taken on. Then we had a lovely sunny day in Salisbury and even managed to walk around to the water meadows and see the view that Constable painted.

Finally it was time to come home and the train kept perfect time all the way back to Victoria. A lovely day!

Ramblin' Rose

The rose painting was difficult and I would have had much more control with pastel. But watercolour does convey lightness better.

Lovely frog by the garden steps and two snails mating on the laburnum tree.

Bees

Watching bees in the garden is fascinating. There are many different sorts and not at all easy to identify. The red-tailed bumble-bee nests behind the grid in the wall below the kitchen floor and the white-tailed bumble-bee nests in the roof above my bedroom window. There are mason bees in cardboard tubes above the car port and a leaf-cutter bee has a tunnel in a plant pot in the greenhouse. It lines the tunnel with segments of leaves that it neatly cuts and carries.




The phlomis is an excellent bee plant and I do like to watch the bees land on the lower petal and push their way into the flower. Then as they do, the flower gets its reward as the stamens bend down and press the anthers onto the bee's furry back leaving a dusting of pollen. Off the bee flies to another flower where it will leave a trace of male pollen on the female stigma and so fertilise it and enable seeds to form. Simply wonderful!