Weather and Wheelbarrows ♥

blanket... CHECK! 

cup of tea... CHECK! 

fave owl mug... CHECK!

chocolate biscuit... CHECK!

So I have spent the past two days (ok... half days) outside in the cold, cold October weather to help my dear old dad move tree branches and rake up leaves for our annual Bonfire on the 5^th of November to celebrate 'Guy Fawkes Night' (if you haven't heard of Bonfire night then I suggest you read this – Guy Fawkes Night)

so why have I been helping?

Well... I've spent most of my week off college sat inside on my laptop and pretty much doing NOTHING (apart from the odd bit of housework now and again) so he offered me £20 in exchange for some work in the garden

i'd have been a fool to say no so...

I didn't.

However... the work outside wasn't fun and it wasn't easy but it WAS very cold and windy and rainy and not the most pleasant way to spend your half term!

Anyway... this afternoon while I was snapping endless piles of chopped down tree branches and shoving them into a wheelbarrow (I HATE the wheelbarrow!) I took a little photo of a particular branch...

that's right... even though it was pouring with rain and i was freeeeezing cold and soaked to the bone, i STILL found time to get a quick shot of a tree branch snapped in half...


THAT'S dedication right there! or is it just stupidity...


i don't know what it was about the branch though, i just really wanted to get a photo of it. 


there was something so beautiful about the way it broke, the way the bark split but didn't snap completely in two creating that perfect little arch with all the greeny phloem tissue and the cambium layer and the wood (thank you old Biology lessons) 


i just really liked the arch it made i guess!


and yes... i am aware that i sound like an idiot but come on... it's kind of pretty! c'est incroyable et mervellieux... oui ou non??? 


by the way...


i should probably explain something about my garden if you're sitting there thinking... well it can't take that long to shift a few branches from one side to the other...


it's not exactly a normal garden per se...  for a start, a river runs through it and there are trees EVERYWHERE 

you see... a river! true story! and lots of trees = lots of branches to move...

STUPID stupid branches because... my arms hurt from lifting them, my feet hurt, i have scratches all over me from them and i picked up a massive branch this afternoon and it whacked me straight in the face and sent me flying... not cool nature NOT COOL!

it's a pain of a garden to be honest! takes ages to sort, but you know what... i still love it! especially when it's covered in snow...

now let me point out that it is NOT snowing here at the moment, these photos were taken in January 2010 when the island was hit with some of the worst snow it's had in a loooong time! 

it's pretty though right?! kind of... 'Narnia-ish' maybe? it's when the garden looks best i think, don't get me wrong it's super duper in the Spring/Summer with flowers and lots of green everywhere but come on... fresh snow makes everything look prettier!

see what i mean about the trees though? they are freakin everywhere!

ok i'll shut up about the garden now... promise

* * *

in other news...

due to the hard graft and manual labour i have endured over the past 48 hours (yes i did just write that...) it means that i STILL haven't started any more Halloween Pinup Girl illustrations...

this means one of two things... either i will get my bum in gear and get to work on some sketches asap... or i'll just abandon the plan completely and make it up by doing LOADS of Christmas themed illustrations instead for November/December

i haven't decided yet but stay tuned!

ok, that's all folks...

tatty byeeeee 

♥ ◕‿◕ ★  xX

ps - apologies once again for another boring post... i'll do my best to liven it up a bit next time!