Being a Collection of Such Things as Bring Contentment and Delight in Daily Life: Garden Birds; Lofty Skies; Patterned Snails and Cheerful Weeds.
This is my calendar for 2021. It will probably be my last calendar and it's not available for sale on my website, I've just made a few for gifts and for people who have bought them annually for the last while. All the images are available on my website as art prints and if you'd like to order them as cards just contact me. Klee Paper is selling a wall-planner I designed & illustrated. You can order it on their website - if ordering just one or two, please phone them rather than placing the order via the website, as that's handier for them.
My own calendar is printed on 150gsm recycled paper (100% post-consumer waste) and bound with recycled yellow string, and packaged in cellulose plastic-alternative, which is biodegradable in municipal composting.
January: Dun Laoghaire Seascape
I saw this view from the rocks below the East Pier in Dun Laoghaire,
looking across Scotsmans Bay to Sandycove, with Kish Bank Lighthouse
far away on the horizon and small seagulls sailing quietly round the
seaweed-covered rocks .
February: Blackbird and Winter Moth in Ivy
Blackbirds are one of the earliest of our hedgerow birds to breed, occasionally nesting as early as February. They often build their nests in ivy, which is also a good source of food for them in winter. The male Winter Moth flies from October to February. The female Winter Moth has tiny wings and is flightless.
Blackbirds are one of the earliest of our hedgerow birds to breed, occasionally nesting as early as February. They often build their nests in ivy, which is also a good source of food for them in winter. The male Winter Moth flies from October to February. The female Winter Moth has tiny wings and is flightless.
March: Long-Tailed Tit & Brimstone Butterfly on Blackthorn Blossom
The Brimstone Butterfly is one of the earliest butterflies on the wing, as it hibernates in ivy. Long-Tailed Tits make their elaborate nests in the thick of thorny bushes like blackthorn and gorse. They are tiny birds often in flocks, and at night they gather together for warmth. They are unusual in that they help to feed each other's baby chicks.
The Brimstone Butterfly is one of the earliest butterflies on the wing, as it hibernates in ivy. Long-Tailed Tits make their elaborate nests in the thick of thorny bushes like blackthorn and gorse. They are tiny birds often in flocks, and at night they gather together for warmth. They are unusual in that they help to feed each other's baby chicks.
A sunny morning in late Spring, with glorious weeds like dandelions, red deadnettles, forget-me-nots and sun spurge filling the garden with colour and extending invitations to jewel-like hover-flies and richly-patterned garden snails
May: Spring
Loosely based on a view of the Wicklow Mountains from the green beside
my house. I love the large sky and watching dogs run about wagging their
tails and greeting each other, and kindly bringing their owners out for
fresh air and introducing them to their neighbours.
The Wren is a tiny bird that hunts through hedgerows for insects and their larvae. Usually solitary, in very cold weather it will huddle with other wrens, forming a feathery bundle with tails sticking outwards. Ringlet Butterflies fly June to August, and feed on the nectar of brambles among other flowers. Their dark colouring helps them to remain warm so they can fly on overcast days. Like many butterflies and moths, their caterpillars feed on wild grasses.
Also shown are Greater Stitchwort, Fumitory, Common Vetch, and Dandelion. The Brown-Lipped Snail varies from yellow to striped humbug colours; it generally munches only on dead foliage and can be considered the friend of gardeners.
July: Vetches & Trefoils
A bunch of flowers from the Pea Family. The pink spires of Sainfoin
were a traditional forage crop, while the fluffy heads of Hares-foot
Clover can be found among sand dunes. Birds-foot Trefoil, Bush Vetch
and Tufted Vetch are more easily found, often making dreary waysides
beautiful in late summer. White Clover and Red Clover are commoner
still, and were once called honeysuckles because they are so rich in
nectar.
August: Poppy Field
A summer meadow filled with poppies, white clover, thistle and
buttercups. I drew this thinking of the archetypal lazy summer's day,
when time stretches out and we find ourselves watching the progress of
ants. We notice the way grass is not green, but maned with silver and
beige and soft rose. On days like this it's always luxurious to have a
sleepy plan to explore, which we may or may not fulfil. So there's a
green hill rising in the distance with an oak tree at its crown and a
horse to greet, should we decide to wander that way.
September: Oak
Pendunculate Oak Acorn; Acorn Cup Gall; Oak Marble Gall; Pendunculate Oak Leaf;
Holm Oak Acorn; Empty Acorn Cups; Black Stone Flower Lichen; Oak Moss; Maritime Sunburst Lichen Rough-Stalked Feather-Moss - Sporophyte & Clump; Oak Twig;
Turkey Oak Leaf; Knopper Gall; Turkey Oak Acorns and Acorn Cup
Holm Oak Acorn; Empty Acorn Cups; Black Stone Flower Lichen; Oak Moss; Maritime Sunburst Lichen Rough-Stalked Feather-Moss - Sporophyte & Clump; Oak Twig;
Turkey Oak Leaf; Knopper Gall; Turkey Oak Acorns and Acorn Cup
Collected in the Phoenix Park, Dublin
October: Yellowhammer
The Yellowhammer is a beautiful golden and chestnut bird which has
become rarer in recent years. It breeds in hedgerows throughout summer
and into September. Although its main food is seeds and insects, it
also enjoys blackberries. The Herald Moth flies in Autumn and Spring,
and hibernates between. Garden Spiders, also called Orb-Weavers for
their wonderful webs, are conspicuous in Autumn. When spinning a new
web they eat the old one for protein!
November: Crow Hill
Based on the hill that greets the eye on entering the Phoenix Park near
the Magazine Fort. I drew this
while listening to Harlan Ellison reading Ursula le Guin's 'A Wizard of
Earthsea', so the landscape became for me one of magic and poetry.
December: Winter Afternoon
The light can be so strange on winter afternoons, it almost seems
to quieten everything, as though the heavy yellow rays are slowing and
muffling sound.
