4th July 2026
Happy independence day to my American friends
One of my mental resilience teachings was noticing signs of our wellbeing being covered up in which we constantly ruminate and it sometimes feels like you are under attack by your own thoughts. But , there is a further teaching in mindfulness and also from the poet Rumi about letting all reside within you as a guest. It is a difficult process as all you want to do with a guest house full of insecurities is find inner peace , for you mind to shut up ! however , the peace comes through letting things be, not forcing it to stop !
I had an idea that instead of having an online gallery shop that i should invest in framing some of my small abstract watercolours and physically go to a weekend artisan market and see what happens. Me and people being autistic is not the best but i will have to learn. As my mind is going off like fireworks i am sensing i need a holiday so over the next two weeks i need to get everything prepared to make space for taking a couple weeks off and then re-start trying something new. Also i have some online exhibitions secured featuring on Instagram over the next 5 months.
My little insight of the week was letting things be and go , is not about not trying out different ways to evolve but being with the difficulties , the failures and let downs. Noticing the resistance and being with the pain without labelling it as those thoughts hold you back. The Buddhist 2/3 arrow teaching of being struck with an arrow , instead of tending to the would we blame , we get angry and we make things solid by constantly bringing up the wound and keeping it fresh. Quite often the 3rd arrow is self pity of “why me” . The shared human experience is that it happens to most of us and we all struggle. The mindful path of self compassion allows us just to be with the wound but also care about ourselves when we are triggered by it.
After the heatwave the weather cooled down by 8-10 degrees which was nice and also in-between a large thunderstorm with hail stones the weather was allowing of my three nature journeys for my diary and social media. After some abortive attempts of new places for my “meet a tree “ i managed to capture some more wonderful tree characters. Sharing what we love is like a flower releasing its seeds to the wind or attaching them to a bee so that it may touch more hearts.
Bakethin Nature Reserve
Foxgloves are for me a symbol of July and that summer has arrived and have popped up everywhere in and out of the wooded areas making their presence known. I love the Scandinavian folklore that the fairies taught the foxes to ring the foxglove bells to warn others of hunters. Something so beautiful is also so deadly and used to warn of evil.
Isn’t it so wonderful that everything is sparking in the sunlight and cheering up the mood to show us there is plenty of goodness in the world. The world is a difficult place full of horrid self centred greedy people and its the grounding of natures awe and beauty which show us the way.
When i look at them i think of Hieronymus Bosch painting “the garden of earthly delights “ and all their ostentatious displays of wealth similar to the strange large fruit in the painting in which they are addicted. They are not in heaven of privileges but a honey trap of hell.
Nature shows me the most simple lesson of life being grateful for the gifts it provides us and when we share that gift in reciprocity it allows others to cherish something greater in their hearts rather than the latest iphone.
Seeing the beauty of nature and its messiness and chaos that we too can love ourselves being ourselves without having to conceal to others as there are no flowers that feel shame of their forms , and there no hierarchy of beauty as a wild rose is as wonderful than a buttercup.
Embodied Nature Paintings
Woodland in spring time : watercolour and paper pulp on 56 × 76 cm cotton rag paper
Bull Crag Peninsular
I was looking forward to my Bull Crag walk , i got up with the sunshine peeping through my window and went straight there. It is about 5 miles through the forest in the car. The lights was lovely , not too fierce as it had been , the air was still to take pictures of plants and you could smell the sweet aromas of flowers.
At the beginning of spring it was the bramble which sent shoots out to peep at the oncoming spring and as the birds arrived waking up the trees which new spring flowers followed now the bramble has its own turn to celebrate summer with the most beautiful delicate white flowers and later on it will gift with juicy berries full of nutrients and flavour.
The bramble ( or Blackberry ) is a sacred plant especially to the mostly unknown Celtic goddess Brigid. It symbolises renewal. It is a healing plant and used to ward of evil. Many believe that it was the bramble which was used in Christs thorny crown and was Moses burning bush.
They are my friends now , i check up on them and share their world to you so anyone can marvel in their beauty. It is the be-friending which connects us closer to nature , to get to know it and care about it.
The thistles are beginning to pop up along the verge with their distinctive vibrant purple heads to compliment the clovers. there is magic elsewhere just not as vibrant. Strange grasses with nodules half way up and then the most striking tall grasses when you inspect them closer you realise how beautifully complex they are with nuances of colours.
The grasses always pose a question to me as i love them as they are and taking a photograph is a privilege but they are not the most easiest to share especially in a world where people want to be wowed . My photographs are to encourage people to go into nature , find their places and fall in love : nature wows in all its forms and transitions when you let it back into your heart.
Hareshaw Linn
I hadn’t shown much of the pathways in the woodland or zoomed outwards to depict its lushness . There is an enchanted stone pathway along with bridges where maybe a troll might dwell along with fairy pools and the sound of rushing water from the Linn. There are other secret pathways which during summer are hidden by deep foliage and that is why finding your own woodland and going throughout the year will reveal little enclaves and pathways to explore in summer seeking out the shy flowers.
As we moved into summer the green becomes predominate and sometimes when your mind not so present it feels that is all available. It is OK not to be present all the time , just to walk and chat to yourself or have a good think. Nature is a great thinking companion and i guarantee even after a stroll ruminating by the end you will feel refreshed but also it may of lightened your load. Mindfulness is about intention , knowing what you are doing , when you are doing it and without judgement. You have not wasted one moments breath as nature understands , holds you with love and wants to hear your troubles.
I really cannot stand still for one moment as the whole place is full of stories to tell me , pretty lilac tall flowers along with strangely shaped purple flowers but to me it all its own presence and place. Clumps of grasses beside a tree , another plant with 6 leaves instead of the fibonacci sequence in the most striking green and yes life is impermanent showing flourishing is not about productivity or being the best.
On my wanderings i find a fungus at the beginning of July in the hottest orange one could imagine. Wandering woodlands teaches you not to take things for granted and be open minded to what you will find and when it will happen.
