April's Antics

What a beautiful April it's been! We've been very lucky with the weather so far this month here in Yorkshire. So what have I been up to?

Art-wise, I'm plugging away at commissions in the background in and amongst wildlife surveying. Here's a taster of one I'm working on at the moment, I don't want to give too much away!

I also had the opportunity to attend another of Pollyanna Pickering's art talks. Pollyanna currently has a rather beautiful exhibition displayed at Haworth Art Gallery, Accrington and to launch the event she gave a very interesting presentation on her life's travels in search of special subjects for her work, a job many wildlife artists can only dream of! Such a privilege to be able to sketch animals in their natural environments and Pollyanna does a stirling job of capturing their characters in her famous paintings.

A couple of pics from the exhibition:

The warmer weather means only one thing in the world of ecology, survey-time! Great crested newts are well on the move now having stirred from hibernation before they head to their breeding ponds. It's always worth the late nights to see these fascinating little dinosaurs with their striking belly markings! I never tire of them. We also see other amphibians on our surveys including smooth and palmate newts, frogs and toads.

A handsome male with his crest along his back,
not quite so impressive out of the water!

Every newt has individual belly markings...

This handsome chap was in one of our bottle traps this week
his crest was particularly large, a fine specimen

You can just make out the iridescent flash on the males' tails,
a helpful giveaway when you're torching a pond at night!

Spot the Newt! Clue is in the last photo ;)

It's not all about newts though, we're also out for the first bat surveys of the year as well as surveys for water vole, badger, otter and other protected species. And plants too! Here are a few flower shots from this month...

Marsh-marigolds

Lungwort

Our native Bluebell

Lesser celandines

The arum, or lords and ladies, a favourite of mine!

I've also been trying to keep a hand in with my bird ringing training, hoping for lots more exciting sessions in store this year! A few birds from my trainer's garden. 21 birds, 8 species and 4 retraps, not a bad morning.

Started the morning off with this control female Blackcap

A noisy Song Thrush

And a female Bullfinch who was quite happy to stay a wee while :)

And then there is of course our loveable fluffball of a German Shepherd, a wonderful excuse for getting outside even more than usual! This hedge-surfing Yellowhammer was particularly welcome a couple of weeks back, so lovely to see them about once more.

Weee!

Toby having a game of ball. We've been working up to these heavier impact games on hard tarmac as his muscles have strengthened a bit. Having only been used to short walks his fitness levels were down but he's a much stronger lad now and loving his food!

 

A bit picture heavy this month, I really should post more often instead of cramming it all into a monthly post, no idea where the time goes!

Ta-ra for now folks, 

Meg x

Spring's a sprung!

Life seems to have turned into even more of a rollercoaster than usual since we got Toby, certainly not a bad thing! Feels like we've had him years already, he's a cheeky little boy with a penchant for gloves, socks and anything he can nick out of a waster paper bin that he thinks will get a reaction! He's not reached full maturity yet in German Shepherd terms, though he's not far off. Still very much a puppy!

So this weekend seeing as Saturday was the Spring Equinox, myself, a friend and of course Toby went for a drive into the Yorkshire Dales for a lovely walk starting at Horton-in-Ribblesdale, middling at Helwith Bridge and up the side of Pen-Y-Ghent, one of the famous Three Yorkshire Peaks. Toby is being eased into this country bumpkin lark having come from a city background and so stiles are a seemingly new concept to him. When he first arrived, jumping over anything seemed fairly alien but he's cottoned on quick! A couple of stiles en-route looked something like this... >>>
Now anyone who goes walking with dogs will know how awkward it is getting dogs over this design of stile, I expect border collies can jump in one leap but, as I've experienced with Madam Maya the Malamute, some dogs just ain't going to make it. Regardless of managing to walk up normal stairs, these stiles are just not cutting the mustard...The first one we encountered involved me picking up Toby (all nearly 32kgs of him!) and bundling him up the stile in a less than graceful fashion. At the next one of these stiles there was a gate next to it but the entrance was blocked by farm machinery...my friend was trying to coax Toby round the back of it and down the side of a wall to get through the gate but he was just looking at us daft. As I realised I was going to have to go back over the stile and lead him round Toby then instead decided we'd faffed about far too much and simply scaled the 5ft dry stone wall...the biggest jump I've seen him manage yet! #Proud moment# All this exercise was clearly paying off and building up his muscles as he wasn't fit enough to manage a large jump like that a few weeks ago!

Anyway I digress...A few photos from the walk, taken from my phone so my apologies for the quality!

A beautiful white stream...

Last time we did this walk this stream was frozen so it was hard to see it's true colour. Little did we know it was full of creamy limestone deposits resulting in gorgeous crystal clear water flowing into the River Ribble.

View of Pen-Y-Ghent

Toby enjoying one of many stiles!

The River Ribble

Swaledales

Panorama and a Tobydog

Lovely views were had of dipper, curlew, oystercatcher and soaring buzzard. A stop off in Settle on the way home for a cheeky bag of chips to keep the hunger pangs away, a cracking end to a lovely day out.

On Sunday, with such blue skies overhead, I thought I'd bring out my old faithful motorbike for a spring clean. I managed about 15 minutes of scrubbing before getting bored, I was never one for making her sparkle, as she only gets mucky again! I'm afraid I'm a firm believer that life is too short for cleaning and bikes are made for riding after all! Instead I grabbed my camera as I couldn't resist a photoshoot. Toby was obliging as usual...

My lovely Thump, slightly cleaner!

Enjoying the sun, tis hard being a dog!

Pretty and he knows it...

Smiler!

So lucky to own these two beauties!

Then of course the word on everyone's lips on Friday had been the eclipse, it was pretty cloudy here for the duration of it, these were the shots I managed but nothing to shout about I'm afraid!

In other news, I am drawing quietly in the background, a couple of commissions are keeping me occupied. A spot of bird ringing is being managed in and among work days which is grand. With any luck I'll be close to getting my C-licence by the end of the year, if I can get the ringing time in!

The ecological survey season is just around the corner and I will have more than enough to keep me busy in that department so it's lovely to be able to make the most of my spare time walking and drawing before life becomes the hectic ball of fun that comes with surveying great crested newts, bats, otters and more! I love having the excuse to be out and about when nature is waking up. Nearly stood on these two on one dog walk...

Ribbety giggedy

Snowdrops and crocuses

I've rambled on long enough this morning but lots to catch up on! Until next time, I shall leave you with this two headed daffodil, it sprouted just the other day :)

Enjoy your start to spring all, can't believe it's nearly Easter!

Meg x

2014: A look back on a very busy but fun-filled year!

'Ello ello!

So I thought I'd do a reflection type of post, if anything it should be a good way to collect together all the cracking memories created from last year! Looking back I'm amazed how much has been fitted in, it's been a good 'un :)

First up, ART HIGHLIGHTS:
 My pencil drawing of a mother and baby Mountain Gorilla, entitled "Primaternal Love", was shortlisted for the David Sheperd Wildlife Artist of the Year Competition where it then went on to sell on the Preview night before the exhibition was properly open to the public, SUCH an amazing feeling and definitely the highlight of my arty career so far. To have a piece of my artwork framed up and hung just down the road from Buckingham Palace with many staggeringly beautiful artworks was a huge privilege and certainly one I will never forget. I hope to enter again this year, the deadline is drawing closer (haha see what I did there!) but I have my entry piece in mind and hope to get cracking on with it very soon once the dreaded tax return has been filed!!
You can read more about my time at WAY here http://megghyll.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/what-weekend.html

My other main art highlight was getting the opportunity to visit internationally famous animal artist Pollyanna Pickering in her home at Matlock for a very special event to celebrate 30 years of the Born Free Foundation. A really lovely day out and the chance to meet one of my all time favourite actresses and founder of the BFF, Virginia McKenna. Read more here! http://megghyll.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/born-free-foundation-30th-anniversary.html

I'd like to also take the time to say a massive thankyou to my lovely customers who have either commissioned my work, bought products from my shop or just taken the time to like and share my work and posts online, it truly means SUCH a lot and keeps me thinking all of the time spent at my drawing board isn't in vain. You're all superstars! :) Here are a few of the commissions I've undertaken this year....




ECOLOGY HIGHLIGHTS
I've been very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to work as an ecologist since April which has meant most of my spring and summer season has been spent outdoors, my favourite place of all :) Great crested newt surveys and translocations, bat surveys and building inspections, otter, badger and water vole surveys, it's all been going on and I've loved every minute of it, even the antisocial hours...!

Having spent the entire season putting hundreds of miles on my motorbike and numerous outfit changes every day (bike kit off and into wellies and waterproofs, back into bike kit, back into wellies...!) it was somewhat of a relief to pass my driving test (first time yippee!) back in October and the acquiring of my little Stella Skoda - yes she has a name, I know... :/ - who has naturally done many more miles since she arrived in my care! Thump, my SV650 has earned her right to stay warm and dry in the garage after serving me without fault for close to 7000 miles in a season and 4 years of being effectively run into the ground! Who knows, if I'm feeling VERY generous I may even give her a spring clean, though she'll probably fall apart then in shock....


Read more about my ecological exploits in a few posts, check the drop downs on the left hand side of this page :)

RINGING HIGHLIGHTS
2014 was crazy busy with ecology work and my bird ringing training took a bit of a back seat as I found being available AND getting suitable ringing weather was a tall order throughout the year. However, 2015 looks set to have much in store on the ringing front, I hope to get plenty done and maybe that C licence is not so far away! I've already been out once this year and managed a busy morning of almost 90 new birds in my trainer's back garden, hopefully a sign of good and productive things to come so will keep you posted.

FUN HIGHLIGHTS

I've had the chance to enjoy some beautiful walks over the year, including the Forest of Bowland and mostly the Yorkshire Dales. We often have a furry companion with us too, Maya the Malamute :) I've made visits to the RSPB reserves St Aidan's, Fairburn Ings and Leighton Moss as well as a weekend at the Rutland Birdfair which was a lot of fun!  Weekend breaks in Wales, Kent and France too and jollies to the Scottish Highlands and Italy. It's easily been one of the best years of all my 26 and I think 2015 is looking set to be a grand one too. I'm blessed with great friends and supporting family, not forgetting my chap who is my rock and best mate. Here's to making many more happy memories.

Remember, you only have one life so LIVE IT :)

Ascending Mt. Snowdon

Tour de France

Coire Lagan, Isle of Skye

Madame Maya Malamute

Gaping Gill

Leighton Moss

Manorola, one of the Cinque Terra, Tuscany

 So although it's been a year filled with positive experiences, it's also been a year with losses too, in particular, a very good friend of ours who left us too young. Never to be forgotten.

But not to leave on a sad note, here's a little Blue Tit, the first visitor to my window feeder :) Hope all of you enjoyed the festive period and wishing you a very Happy New Year!

Speak soon,
Meg x