Tuesday 18 March 2014


I've been canning cooking pears (Gieser Wildeman). I put them in syrup with cinnamon and other spices, lemon peel and camomile infusion.

Tuesday 11 March 2014



 Some weeks ago on a walk through the park I came across these enormous red beech trees that had been cut down. The growth rings on the trunks weren't clear enough to count, but they must have been at least a hundred years old. Next to the pile of logs was a great heap of cut off branches and twigs that were already bearing buds. I found it a bit sad to realize these would never blossom. So I took one twig home and put it on a vase (an old mustard jar really). I decided to at least make a drawing of it as a tribute. But I also hoped it would blossom, like an easter branch. My expectations weren't very high, but after a week or two one of the buds actually opened! As I write, more buds are opening and some are starting to burst small, hairy leaves.