After 15 or 20 years the raised veg beds are beginning to come apart at the corners and rot through in places. I like the L-shaped beds as they are but wheeling a barrow down the garden is a bit of an obstacle courses, especially steering past the greenhouse. So our plan is to widen the central path – and perhaps the side paths to give better access to the beds. It’s a big job but we’re getting Earnshaw’s the local timber and fencing centre in to give us a quote for the doing the work. Planting veg and covering it with netting or cloches to keep the pigeons off should then be a whole lot ea ..read more

Still a bit too early to put these in as we’re still having the occasional overnight frost ..read more

Let’s celebrate Yorkshire’s Greatest Photographers . . . Happy birthday John. Other Great Yorkshire Photographers are available. Apologies to Paul, Robert, Jim ..read more

My right thumb is doing well – I’d sprained it with a marathon session of snipping back the ivy and hawthorn – but I’m still keen to practice drawing with my non-dominant left hand. These chitted Maris Bard first early seed potatoes are ideal subjects for my wobbly pen ..read more

More memories of Batley School of Art in the late 1960s. My thanks to the graphically gifted alumni who commented on my last post. Peter Ludlam, Graphics Tutor, Batley, 1964 We were lucky to have experts in ceramics, textiles, graphic design, printmaking and painting and decorating at Batley but there was only one tutor who had worked – as I hoped to – as a freelance illustrator. Peter Ludlam had started as a graphics tutor a few years before I started at Batley, as former student John Oldfield recalls: I started at Batley in September 1963 Peter started one year later and was a fantastic br ..read more

This month’s spread from the Dalesman. The morel growing from the foot of a wall just down the road was a new species for me ..read more

My attempts at drawing – and, even more tricky, writing – with my non-dominant hand. Guest artist: my great niece Florence, who drew the snowman with the psychedelic mandalas. After several over-enthusiastic sessions trimming back the rowan and crab apple with secateurs, the doctor has suggested that I take a break from anything too strenuous with my right hand for a couple of weeks, so no more big pruning sessions, but I will be doing some gentle exercises with a squeezy soft ball ..read more

George Street, Wakefield: Wall-rue and Maidenhair Spleenwort on a brick wall which probably dates back to the days of the cattle market, and a mossy pool on the roots of an old flowering cherry. The ‘well kept secret’ herbs and spices are served at Kentucky Fried Chicken, Westgate Retail Park ..read more

It rained for much of today but by 4 o’clock the towering cumulus clouds had passed over and it was bright enough to encourage me to put on my 1970s black wellies and cross a soggy, mossy lawn to trim back the ivy by the shed. The birds are already singing and showing interest in denser sections of the hawthorn hedge. Luckily I pruned the rowan, crab apple and the holly hedge at the end of the garden a month ago. Barbara spotted some frog activity last week and today I noticed two clumps of spawn in the usual, sunniest, corner of the pond ..read more

Liquorice lovers historical and legendary get walk-on partsintroducing my booklet ‘All Sorts of Walks in Liquorice Country’ (2010). Drawn in Procreate Dreams on the iPad. Music: the folk song ‘Shepherd’s Hey’, transcribed using GarageBand ..read more