Jane Aston, painter.

Intriguing spirals on the sunflower, going in both directions.

Sketching patterns of Sunflower seeds, I will probably try a mono print inspired by these  circles

Pumpkin Spider, not sure what it is seems to have some sort of respiratory holes.

It looks like it could be a Marbled Orbweaver.

My little cat with 3 legs has cat aids. It means he is not going to be able to fight off infections easily. I need to keep an eye on him if he seems ill as he could rapidly deteriorate.  Last weekend when he refused to eat or drink I had a syringe to force fluids down.  He slowly starting perking up again. He probably won't have a very long life but if their diet is protein rich with Omega 3s you may help boost their health a bit. I am informed by the vets that they are open full time throughout Autumn being busy with Cattle. He may need antibiotics jabs. Otherwise he is his  normal chirpy self. A lot of cats around here have this problem, many have it from birth, possibly how my one has it.  Meanwhile he has discovered the joys of the sun lounger I found one by the bins.

Thistle Patch

I have been gradually clearing away the thistles from George's vegetable garden. He normally likes to plough this area but the tractor needs to be warm before he can start it up. It's also quite an effort to work on especially if you are feeling a bit ill as George was. I looked at the plot for a while, 2 years actually, and then I realised I could indeed tackle it in my own way. I have an old mower I use without a box and I lift the front up if the mowing gets tough, ant hills are tough. So I have been mowing around the edges slowly and now I have an ever receding island of thistles that the sheep love. I am saving some for winter. The valley view along the garden is quite good. There are cows in the adjacent fields at the moment. The plan then is to plant beds of vegetables. I find the quickest way to kill what's underneath and clear the ground is lay a piece of plastic or glass down and this seems to kill the grass when the sun is bright as it is here within a few days. I can then easily dig and plant. I sometimes use black plastic but it's hard to find around here.