On the Beech

Sunday, 31st October 2004
Wild West Yorkshire nature diary

It's warm enough to sit out - well half in, half out, of the front door - at my Mum's this morning. As I start drawing the upper limbs of the variegated beech in the shrubbery, a grey squirrel appears, climbing up the far side of the trunk and then sitting on a branch just to the left of the cup of the 'Y' formed by the main boughs. You'll need some imagination to see the blob and 'C' I've sketched in as a squirrel but at least it gives me some idea of scale. I suspect the squirrel is nibbling beech nuts, or beech mast as it's called. Certainly the great tits which were also active in the canopy were taking the three-sided nuts from their capsules and pecking their way into them. There were a lot of beech capsules lying on the lawn below.

A Scardier Rabbit

I complete my 'startled rabbit'. The effect is so like modelling in Plasticine. I couldn't resist sending this out to friends. Here are some of their comments:

Richard,if Jim was after me with one of his big gun's, I would be scaredier than that, believe me pal. It is funny though, and when I read the subject ('Rabbit's reaction to the news that Jim is back from Newquay') it just creased me up.

You have got the laugh of the day today Richard.

Jim, who used to live next door, now has a small farm. And this from California:

I can't even begin to imagine how you created the rabbit, and if I may be allowed to cast a vote (wink, wink), I'd chose your pen and ink drawings, although the rabbit has a certain Wallace and Grommit quality. I'm not nearly as appreciative of animated characters as I should be, considering that I live in the hub of “the industry”.

Talking of scardier things, we have witches, ghouls and one monkey who looks vaguely familiar ' trick or treating' this evening.

Richard Bell, richard@willowisland.co.uk