19th September 2026

A weekly journal with Trees , Flora and Fungi , Photography , Mindful Wanderings and My Life Journey in Kielder Forest.

Stella and I can report that now her Cat Flap is fully operational and only she can use it - Yay

As i said to Stella , i wanted coming here as Stella and Chris lived happily ever after !

I was going to write about how i struggle with my mind trying to stop my meditation or being able to sit still , but i have been evolving with a little assistance over that few weeks.

Sometimes we just cannot see what is front of ourselves or need a different perspective on things which could be simply a better way of phrasing or approaching something. I have now began to create a thread of what i am doing here on Branacos to build something, next is my painting.

I needed my painting to be seen more cohesively on how it is all inter-connected. Everything chaotic, confused , muddled , disconnected and as my tendency is to add more when i perceive things not working, I needed to simplify , give myself more breathing space and focus on a flow of why i paint. I also struggle with the concept of my work being separated out and coldly shown as a product on a Gallery wall with the added distaste of having to ask someone whether my art is good enough for them.

I wish for my art to follow the same animate spirit in which nature guides me along with its felt senses. I created a new sense of how my painting follows a path, firstly “Encounter” , where i go into nature to connect with painting gesturally to seek its inner energy : This encounter absorbs within me as fragments of an embodied memory , its feeling , colour and movement manifest automatically from me : Then this becomes “Transformed” into emergence of creating an encounter of the felt sense , its vibrance , decay , moods , emergence , presence and fullness of a felt sense.

My advice led me to being able for some of the “Fragmented Memories” are retained as a story line for a future aspirational installation but as i do a lot of them some can be curated to sell individually through my website without it taking away from my storyline. Along with an painting it comes together with a micro zine showing the relationship the sold piece has to the whole. Also , I have been under valuing myself and my work which has been generated by an insecurity within me , the value is going to be increased.

The advice re-framed that it is not that i do not want to make an income from my paintings but do not want to sell them out of context as a product on a Galleries wall , therefore, i need to be working towards the bigger picture to manifest what i want from it.

Bakethin Nature Reserve

I so love that nature becomes repurposed by nature with respect of its former self. The spiders web makes use of the bent over decaying thistle as being quite proud of having a beautiful looking home and when the spiders leave autumn then the plants depart too.

One foot in summer and one tentative toe into autumn and as time goes by that will be the other way around. The colours become more subtle as they fade and then deepen into earthiness before they drop to re-compost one more time.

Have you sat next to wild plants and grasses and shared a view together ? Have you felt their presence and delight in you joining them ? Just sat in stillness feel whats with you and extend that outwards and you remember the awareness that those wild plants experience each and every day.

It is becoming time where the wild verges become empty and the attention moves into the Forest as the moss and lichen awaken then fugi emerge from the ground. It is so rewarding to notice how this happens , its just love , patience and a dose of curiosity that is required and you are witnessing the magic of life.

Do not let people fool you in thinking what you feel is not real or what you love to see is not beautiful. They are lost in a mind which isn’t theirs but constructs created out of fear. See that flower head go from beautiful petals into something more sublime and exotic . Notice the exquisite and delicate lilacs of the heather but go a little deep and see its deep cadmium inner punctuated by cadmium yellow. Slow down , notice tiny mushrooms emerging out of the moss en masse and wonder why now.

In the Quiet of the Wild

I had in mind a wild verge a little closer to home along the pathway lower down from my house through a woodland which leads to the reservoir. There was a patch i was interested in which was chaotic , packed and with stunning array of wild plants and now autumn is amongst us this is decaying with elegance of subtle colours . In the centre of it all , the mass , its dense, dark but interweaved are beautiful reds , greens and oranges ; reaching upwards are pastel tentacles which once held beautiful colours. I had been wanting to go here but i was feeling self conscious especially so close to my neighbours . I do not know why , as a passing neighbour was loving what i had done.

Beauty expands

with your heart

christopher Evans

Small Encounters | Small Responses

Pencil , Crayon & Watercolour on Paper

Larger Traces | The Essence of Nature

Pencil , Charcoal & Watercolour Mono Print on A2 Paper

Hareshaw Linn

As the leaves reduce their green colouration and begin to turn into their hidden colours there is a point in which their is a balance of branches and colour which i find so wonderful. The leaves will turn and your focus will be on their celebration and afterwards the gnarly and twisty branches have their own moment but its this moment which flutter my heart and interests me as a painter.

Although the Raspberries were a few and Blackberries not quite as plump but the Elderberries are magnificent and proud on their red stalks and the red of the Wild Rose Hips shine out amongst the forest green.

Make an autumnal elderberry cordial and take in a hot flask to sit in the woodland or wherever you like to sit and warm yourself with the taste of natures love.

Whilst sat in silence i began thinking about seeds and how beautiful and diverse they are which brings me so much joy. I wrote something down in my poem book.

Be a seed

forget your petals

let go of what held you

you are free now

follow the wind

catch a bird in flight

and re-settle somewhere

that has not seen how

beautiful you are.

Branacos

Bull Crag Peninsular

The petals are almost reaching the top and its time to visit your natural place and encounter the transitional energy og summer to autumn. Feel the colder breeze and witness the energy wind down. It is a good time to learn to sit with the serene as it senses you as before it was preoccupied with the intensity of life.

The wild flowers love a great view and invite you to sit with them in silence.

If you intention is to connect and slow down with curiosity then there are some white daisies hidden across the peninsular.

Nature likes to surprise you in thinking the show is now over with stunning wild flowers with semi transparent light cadmium yellows but just look within as there is a wonderful red in the centre.

I have been thinking about my meetings with the Blackberries and ideas of reciprocity of nature. I have not quite yet formulated into words as i feel it is more of a felt sense which the Blackberries understand. Blackberries are a symbol of an ancient , innate covenant between humans , flora , fauna and fungi which humans duty to manage the wild places in return to share its nutritional benefits .

Part of my “The Wood Remembers” i have an aim to show the journey of wild plants within the woodlands regardless whether the changes are subtle so for this journal here are the Conkers a month on.

I thought i had shared a final Foxglove but as changes are made within the woodland over the time new things which were already there appear which creates such magic in not knowing what you will encounter . The petals are less vibrant than those shooting up in July but nevertheless so wonderful to say hello for the last time. Until 2027 my friends i shall think of you.

Of course , how could i not share hidden Mushrooms within the wild verges.