SURPRISED FALLOW

While walking the Hunters Path below Castle Drogo a small group of Fallow deer shot across infront of me, the first one stopped in surprise at seeing me & I managed to get this picture of it looking quite startled! I love the pose.....

ART AT DELAMORE

Delamore Country House is in Cornwood near Ivybridge & each May holds an exhibition of sculptures in the beautiful gardens & artwork in the house. It is well worth a visit. Here in front of the house are two dogs by Melanie Deegan who's work I also show in my gallery in Chagford.

NUTHATCH

I am so pleased to see the Nuthatches are back in their nesting hole in a tree besides the river Teign. It is the fourth spring that they have used this nest & they are busy feeding young in it again. It is right beside the bridge below Castle Drogo & easy to see from here.

RED WEDDING DRESS

While we were enjoying the bluebells on Dartmoor there was a photographer with a model wearing a bright red wedding dress posing amongst the bluebells. This made a great contrast with the blue & red. I took some pictures of the action & here she is looking a trifle unbalanced on a granite stone!

YOUNG HARE

On our way back from Dunster I spotted a pair of ears sticking up from the long grass in a field near Beaford & sure enough it was a young Hare sitting munching away, ducking down when the Swallows flew close over its head. I managed to take several pictures of it from a convenient gateway. I am at present working on some oil paintings of Hares so this unexpected sighting is most helpful.

DUNSTER

We popped up to visit Dunster this week as I took some paintings to a gallery there. It was nice to explore this picture postard village again and at the moment it is looking so lovely will all the summer flowers coming out early with Swifts, Swallows & Martins flying overhead.

BLUEBELLS BELOW HAYTOR

Holwell Lawn on Dartmoor is a spectacular place to see a sea of bluebells & this year it seems better than ever. There are wonderful views across to Haytor which makes a perfect backdrop for the bluebells. Not many people expect to see bluebells on the moor but originally it was covered in a forest & I expect the bluebells carpeted its floor!

BLUEBELL TIME!

The bluebells here are now at their very best, I think the little bit of rain we have had recently has helped as everything was far too dry. I took this photo up in the Whiddon deer park, I saw no deer though but did catch a glimpse of a male Spotted Flycatcher!

YOUNG CANADA GOOSE!

I was so pleased to see mother Canada Goose out on the river here with one sweet little fluffy chick, I am sure she will have had more that just the one & wonder what has happened to these. I have seen Mink on the river & also a lucky glimpse of an Otter & her young could easily be their lunch!

BIOFUEL

These piles of beautiful mature Oak trees are waiting to be turned into Biofuel to heat Castle Drogo which you can just see on the hillside in the distance. They are proud to be reducing their Carbon emmissions by cutting down hundreds & hundreds of fine Oak trees in their prime to feed their new Biomass boiler! Surely trees are the best way of offsetting carbon emmissions? Have they also considered that by felling these trees they are removing countless nesting sites for birds & also killing thousands of insects etc.