New Fabric & Other Things

I went shopping the other day and as well as coming home with two new plants – a cactus and a succulent - (I’m dangerous when I go shopping; you never know what I’ll come back with!), I bought some lovely new fabric.

Here are the plants, if you’d like to see them:

(I re-potted them in some bigger pots.)

These are the fabrics I’m planning to use in a few new project ideas I have whirling around my head. (I’ve also written them down so I don’t forget!)

I hadn’t planned to buy so many, but when in a fabric shop, I can’t help myself; they’re all so gorgeous and spark beautiful new ideas. It’s the same in a book shop – I have a stack of books waiting to be read – and in art shops and I also have a bit of a weakness for shiny things like beads and jewellery findings. This is why I shouldn’t go to animal shelters: I’d end up bringing the whole lot home. I wouldn’t be able to move for little furry creatures. There’s enough to do looking after one.

I’ve got some feathery creatures in the garden though. A couple of weeks ago, my mother noticed a wren flying back and fore to the ivy around the cherry tree and when I listened a few days later, I heard a riot of tweeting coming from there, like there were chicks competing for food when the adult came back with a beak full. I didn’t want to disturb them at the time, but this week I had a look and found the nest.

It was empty, so the chicks have fledged and I’ve seen three flitting around. They’re tiny! I tried to take a photo of the mother as she left the nest, but ended up with a photo fail, getting just her leg and tail because she hopped off the branch as my finger pressed the button.

 I did manage to get this one though:

 A female chaffinch on the bowl of water I put out for them. She almost looks like she’s smiling to me. Then there was another one perching on a branch:

 And a woodpigeon on a tree:

 It wouldn’t be my usual blog post without some flowers, so, if you haven’t had enough, I’ll leave you with some poppies, an aquilegia and droplets on grass and an aquilegia leaf: