A LITTLE POST - Spring In The Lakes

Spring is always busy... stopping to rescue stray lambs on most journeys from A to B, both of us focusing on our work and the house. We've been snatching what chances we get to relax & a few evenings ago we decided to run out to a nearby pub, in a little village in an epic valley carved dramatically out of the 'side road' to Keswick from our house. The restaurant seated us with a view up the mountainside. As we let ourselves exhale & sip our drinks (another week of the endless jobs a house renovation includes) the moody grey-blue hue of a storm settled over the view outside. A curtain of chubby raindrops started pounding the stone terrace outside & soon after, the delightful sight of an orderly line of sheep, patiently winding their way down the hill to their nearest known umbrella - a large full oak, set in the slopes of green & rock.

It's been a rough five years. Pandemic, 4 funerals (one far too soon and always a cutting absense) though thankfully, broken up by a wedding between... two rather traumatic surgeries & three house moves in total. There are of course moments that make it worth enduring, where I feel pure joy & living where we do, we are given these moments often. Watching those sheep make their way through the rain to a safe place, in the company of my favourite person, was one (yes, we rescued a lamb on the drive home)

It never ceases to amaze me how Spring refreshes everything, in & out. Some traditions we've already formed - a pilgrimage to the Marmalade Awards at Dalemain, watching the blossoms bloom at Lowther castle, eagerly awaiting the new lambs - We have sheep in the fields surrounding our house most of the year round. These gentle weirdos are some of my favourite creatures, lately I've been feeding a friends Zwartbles, (they dont have enough fibre from the grass right now so banana peels are a welcome treat) even with their new babies in the field, they're so gentle and patient with us. & here comes the end of the afternoon... back to work before it's time to take a walk & feed them their snacks. As for my art works, I'll be posting about it here from now on (Instagram - @thatdanceartist being another good place to stay up to date) I'm being brave & attempting to become decent at sculpture this year, really refine my drawing works & put them together in to accessible products that reflect the depth of my study of dance. It's very exciting - hopefully coffee will get me through it. Speak soon & enjoy your Summers! Samantha