In these strange times I have treasured my time outdoors, sketching, even more than usual. Drawing from photographs when I’ve arrived home has also been a lovely way of bringing the outside in. You’ll see some journal pages with both field sketches and more finished work. Some have text, some don’t, some are pencil sketches, others painted. I don’t think there should be any rules about what goes in a journal – they’re just snapshots of what was special about a particular day and a good distraction from both the pandemic and politics!

A Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary in a north west wind in Cumbria. Although much of its ‘pearl border’ had been lost with age it was still beautiful (like many of us when we get older – or so I like to think, anyway!)

This beautiful male sparrowhawk with his ‘blue shoulder-cloak wrapped about him’ as Ted Hughes said in his wonderful poem, had a certain insouicance, a power and grace in flight, that made identification easy.

Back to Frampton Marsh in the ice, with the beautiful curling call of the curlew amplified by the fog.