Exhibition, duck herding, puppets, etc.

Ta-dah! At last, the exhibition's hung. All I have to worry about now is the increased risk of people seeing my work. Yikes. If you're in Devon, it's in The Courtyard Cafe, Chagford all September. And do take a look at some of the great work being created in Devon Open Studios.

2011 Collection

We spent a day at Lustleigh Village Show. Many are the wonders to behold there, but the duck herding is possibly the funniest.

Phenomenal birds of prey were on display. I had a quick stroke of this one, but flinched away when he looked (hungrily, I thought) down at my fingers.

And while we're on birds of prey, I strongly recommend you visit Coyopa and read an extract of 'The Falcon's Child'.

I was pleased to spot this woman knitting as she walked. She's a professional weaver and actually only looked down at her hands in shyness when I was taking her photo.

We watched a hay rick being built in the traditional way, with help from Ed and Samson (below) from Chagfood.

The kids had plenty of traditional entertainment too. This Punch and Judy show gathered a huge crowd. You can probably see from the photo how dark the story is, but the kids (young and old) were having a grand time yelling warnings and encouragement to the characters. I'd like to know more about the origins of this tale of a man, his wife, a crocodile and some sausages.

Hot sheep waited, nose-to-tail in a truck until...

..their coats were whipped off in the sheep shearing speed trials. If a shearer nicks the skin of a sheep, his time is disallowed. There's genuine competition, especially between the old hands and the young upstarts, although everyone acknowledges not enough people carry this skill now, so outside the trials there's huge encouragement to the men (exclusively, it seems) who want to learn.

Pickle went on a merry-go-round for the first time. She had so much fun and couldn't stop grinning afterwards.

Last night we were at Yuli Somme's Bellacouche preview. In typical Dartmoor style, apart from the usual dogs and kids, a friend had brought a pony.

And on the way home the sky was shining fire. I'd felt odd all day. Maybe it's autumn slinking into my bones, maybe it was the magical company the night before, or the early morning stroll through the sculptures in the Mythic Garden. But something is shifting in me; taking a new shape and creeping up, up to speak with a new voice. We never know who we'll be tomorrow. All I know is to face into the strongest wind and keep walking.

All I know, is that when the Wild God visits, I will give him the best I have, and listen hard.