Looking at green

A gift of rosemary and homemade rosemary pesto

The cygnets are growing so fast

Doing new versions of older paintings

While I try to move my 'office' outside as often as possible, there have been too many days spent working indoors for too long. My eyes get tired quickly in front of the computer, and even though I love the smell of my studio (and I mostly use water-mixable oils now, so rarely need turpentine - and when I do I use low-odour solvent), after a few hours my lungs are crying out for fresh air and I need to look into the distance, at green growing things, or at the sea.

A while ago I made daily walks a non-negotiable, because it can be too easy to not do the things you know are good for you and you enjoy. I no longer count walks into town from work (lovely as they are, past the swan nest and other delights); there has to be a proper walk just for the sake of walking. At the moment it tends to be evening time; the morning mirror-a-commute walk when I work from home has fallen away, but I might reinstate it and go running in the evening. There are no rigid rules.

Even though full-on summer has been sporadic here, at this time of the year  I crave being in nature all the time. Sometimes when taking out the compost - a few steps across the garden to the wall - it hits me how wrong it feels to be indoors on such a glorious day, and I look forward to doing laundry, because I get a few minutes at the clothes line.

This year I want to get into gardening more (and it looks like it will happen). In the meantime I tend to the few plants I have here and enjoy the abundance from other people's gardens.