Celebrating Wordsworth's Daffodils

I have been celebrating 'Daffodils' by William Wordsworth with a new knitted finger puppet collage.

 the caption reads

a host of what? William pondered

It's a much simpler card than most, and I have used the loose pages from a lovely old book about flowers that was in pieces and not fit for anything except using for collage.

I like the rustic colour of William as well.

The next card in the series has William thinking 

when all at once I saw a cow

but since my attempts to knit a cow finger puppet have resulted in what looks like a mutant dalmatian dog, I may have resort to the pages of the Farmer's Weekly magazine and use images instead.

William is coming with me to Free Verse:The Poetry Book  Fair in London on 7th September, and is already in place at The Print Shed in Madley for the h Art exhibition.

www.theprintshed.net

poetrybookfair.com

Horses love carrots, not poetry.

No matter what else is going on, my life with my horse and the life of the yard where he lives remains constant. It's very comforting.

 

When I go to fetch Thomas from the barn where he lives, he always very politely searches my pockets in case there is food for him concealed within, although he knows that the carrot or apple he is going to receive is still in my car.

I took this photo with my phone, our silhouettes against the compacted mud floor of the barn.

He doesn't really rate my ability to write poetry, but he likes my ability to provide carrots.

h Art exhibition. The Print Shed. Poetry, Art, and tea as well!

I am so excited to be part of the exhibition at The Print Shed in Madley, celebrating the annual h Art week. Lots of studios and galleries in Herefordshire are open, and it's a wonderful chance to see lots of art, and often talk to the artists as well.

I have never seen a piece I've made featured on an invite before!
The Print Shed is a lovely place,
www.theprintshed.net
and you can find information about the whole programme here,
h-art.herefordshire.gov.uk

orchids. easy to grow. beautiful to look at.

I took a break from working earlier, and photographed the orchids that are flowering on various windowsills in my house.

Orchids are very easy to keep, if you follow some basic guidelines.

They need light but not direct sunlight. So a windowsill that catches a little or no sun is ideal.

 

 

They need humidity. So mist them regularly, or keep them on a kitchen or bathroom windowsill.

 

Don't cut down the flower stems after the flowers have dropped off until the the stems actually die. You may be cutting off the place where the next flower stem will grow.

Support the stems for a lovely display.

 Keep your orchid in a clear plastic pot. The roots need some light, so an ordinary flower pot isn't a good idea.

Water regularly, with a little house plant food (I use Baby Bio) in the water. You really don't need to buy expensive orchid foods.

And - most important of all - spend time looking at the beautiful blooms.

Right - back to the poetry!

Kitchen Table Publishing

I have been working at the kitchen table, preparing two sets of poems. The poems themselves are in my shed. I printed them in there, where they're now hanging up to dry. The wood, hammer, drill and nails for their presentation are all on the kitchen table, where we also eat.

Sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't be easier just to put poems in a BOOK, like everyone else, but then I really like the finished product.

 The Keys to Love.

The poems are on the labels behind the letterpress printed titles. It's an edition of six. 

Ready to take to Free Verse: The Poetry Book Fair in London on 7th September poetrybookfair.com and to exhibit as part of h.Art week, 7th to 15th September, at the Print Shed in Madley. www.theprintshed.net

Exciting times. It's worth having the kitchen table multi task for a while!

Printing for Free Verse: Poetry Book Fair. Covered in ink.

I am printing poetry in my shed, ready for Free Verse: The Poetry Book Fair, at the Conway Hall in London on 7th September. 

Starting as it gets light,

and happily typesetting. Here is one of The Season's Key. It's a winter haiku.

I love the process of taking poetry from an idea through to the printed word, and I have done all of it. The absolute attention to detail needed to write the poem is mirrored in the setting and printing.

 I relish the clutter that comes with each printing task, to be tidied away at the end.

In a small way, it gives me a connection with printers of old, the basic process being essentially unchanged until the advent of computers.

Really looking forward to the Book Fair!

poetrybookfair.com

explosion of gladioli

I love gladioli in all their astonishing garish glory. I grow them in the vegetable garden, and pick them for the house. 

For about three weeks, there is an explosion of colour indoors.

 The individual blooms are like orchids.

I have been taking a break from toiling in my printing shed preparing for Free Verse: The Poetry Book Fair, by sitting next to these lovely flowers and filling my vision with colour, which makes a lovely change from peering at print.

Very excited to see my name on the Book Fair homepage;
http://www.poetrybookfair.com/

Hazard Press is on the list too. We're going together, and are sharing a half table to display our wares. Luckily neither of us produce massive volumes!

The camera lies. I have proof.

During a visit to the reclamation yard I saw this magnificent chance for  photo. A reflection in a big mirror which stood behind some open backed shelves. I love how our bodies just disappeared! And how our heads are resting on shelves.

I was looking for some random pieces of wood to bang nails into, to hold my latest series of poems entitled The Keys to Love. Here they are hanging up in my shed, printed on labels, with letterpress label titles, and little keys.

As the scrapyard is now a reclamation yard, which means everything there is  tidier and more expensive than it used to be, I  couldn't find the scruffy old bits of wood I was hoping for.

But I did see myself pictured, alive , but with no body!

Found Alphabet, number 7. The letter Z.

Here is the letter Z, formed from a piece of electric fence tape lying on the path to the turnout fields at the stable yard.  

  

You can see how dry the ground is, even after the recent torrential rain. 

The photo, taken with my phone, doesn't do justice to the wonderful colour of the Herefordshire soil.

Electric fencing is a very effective way to make temporary fields for horses to graze. And as I discovered yesterday, the shock delivered from the battery powered fence isn't enough to hurt, but enough to put you off touching it!

 

 

ripe fruits, sleeping giants.

The tomatoes in the greenhouse are beginning to ripen.

Perfect shiny jewels.  I can't believe I grew them from tiny seeds.

Meanwhile, outside in the vegetable garden, some sleeping giants have suddenly appeared.

Resting beneath huge prickly leaves - and growing.

Poetry Book Fair, London, September 7th.

Making poetry seed packets ready for Free Verse:The Poetry Book Fair, at Conway Hall in London on September 7th. poetrybookfair.com

I really like making the seed packets, but have to careful not to start cutting the wrong parts of the paper off,  spill the glue, or throw tea all over the table.

 But I think the packets look very handsome, filled with little sheets of poetry, ready to plant in the imagination!

Scolded by Squirrels. Nuts.

I find squirrels really disturbing and scary. Think of Squirrel Nutkin - he's horrid. If ever there was a wild animal plotting our downfall, it's the squirrel.
Here's my poem;

nuts

fixed with furious eyes

too angry to blink

straight backed

tail quivering with rage

screeching and screaming

before rushing away.

I’ve been threatened by three of them now

and in the same manner,

 one squirrel on a garden wall

 one on a forest branch

 one in the tree outside my room

Courgette canoes.

I hollowed out some courgettes to fill with a savoury stuffing, and realised they would make good canoes for my finger puppets.

Paddling like mad with a silver spoon on a rough sea.

This is the rather shaky view taken as if from the rescue helicopter.

 Two intrepid travellers set out together, 

but they too need rescuing from the perfect storm.

I am looking forward to more maritime squash activity when the monstrous pumpkins in the veg garden get to full size. 

Your potato crisps & chips are here

The fields around the stable yard are planted with potatoes. High ridges with very glossy and uniform plants sitting on top of them.






                                                             


Here are the potato flowers. There's a small potato fruit, rather like a tomato, in the background.              

           And the hard working Herefordshire clay, that never gets a rest.

a chariot drawn by cats

 Poor Freya. Not only a goddess in a brutal Norse world,
but having cats instead of horses for her chariot.
Here's my poem;

Freya
Oh, imagine the
inconvenience of a
chariot drawn by
cats

This poem can be found in my collection
Mythical Beasts, which you can find in my Etsy shop.

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/153620685/mythical-beasts-legendary-poems-in-a

There are some more poems from Mythical Beasts on my website, under the tab Poetry.

www.francescakay.co.uk