WOYWW 255

 It is Wednesday (well, I cannot tell a lie, it is actually Tuesday while I am writing this) and that means What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - WOYWW, the day when we all join Julia at Stamping Ground to see what everyone else is doing.

 I was MIA last week but I did have a lot to fit in, getting the caravan and myself ready for my first solo trip.  So this week's post shows you where my desk was, rather than what is on it.

I am quite proud of myself for managing to do all the things I need to know about, although I did accept help with things I knew how to do, like winding the legs up and down. 

This was my destination - Eastnor Deer Park, near Ledbury in Herefordshire, and this was the view from the front window.  The weather was a little mixed, some glorious sunshine and some very heavy rain (not heavy enough to wash the Sahara sand off the caravan or the motor).  The nights were chilly but, fortunately, the gas bottle ran out during the day and was easily changed over (must remember to replace the empty one).

Needless to say, some crafting was done, including a couple of sketches of the views.  I need to redo them before colouring in, and find a better way to show the different kinds of trees and bushes, but with the photo and the sketch I should be able to work it up to something better at my leisure.  The main thing was the practice in something I wanted to do, to draw my own landscapes.  This time of year is a good one to study the way trees grow as the leaves have not yet covered the skeleton of branches.

The birdlife at Eastnor has increased dramatically over the past few years.  On Sunday evening, I hunted the whole caravan to find out what the whirring noise was (others on the field were doing the same) before I suddenly realised it was outside and almost certainly birds.  At first, I thought it was some kind of owl, then I twigged that is was actually nightjars calling to each other.  There must have been around half a dozen around in the trees, and the calls were virtually non-stop until the cocks started to crow at first light.  I have never heard them before in the wild, only on wild life programmes on TV.  This YouTube video gives you a flavour of what we were hearing.

This is what the bird actually looks like.

This is something I have never seen at Eastnor either, a swan flying so low across the park from the castle lake to the fishing ponds at the other end of the park. 

On the whole, the weekend was a success and proved to me that I can continue to use the caravan on my own, which makes it easier to take the dogs away with me.  It also showed up a few faults with the van, which are probably partially due to lack of use over the last twelve months, like cupboards that don't want to open, the barrel of one of the outside locks coming out attached to the key and a couple of others.  However, the adaptations that Broad Lane did for me worked like a dream.  The motor mover had enough battery power to allow me to unhitch in the middle of the road and bring the caravan back onto the drive without having to reverse (don't do that, yet) and no physical effort more than pressing a button.  

Now I just need to get these faults sorted and I can start to book holidays again.  I shall go mainly to more of the type of site with full facilities and flat pitches to save the extra hassle of levelling. 

Then I shall put a permanent set of crafting stuff in the van so I don't forget.  I am curious about what you all think about the different kinds of colouring pencils.  I have always, from childhood, stuck with Derwent media and have most of their products, including my precious electric eraser (not due to laziness, but because of its precision.   However, a lot of people swear by Spectrum Noir so I thought it would be good to see if there were any better.  I took a set with me over the weekend, together with a tin of Derwent for comparison.  So far, the Spectrum Noir have not impressed me and they may get passed on to others to play with.  I am fairly sure that I will stick to the Derwent, which are, after all, made in this country.

This was supposed to be a short and sweet post.  Sorry, Julia, I have waffled on again.  Anyway, dear readers (as they say), if you have stuck with me to the end, I am sure you will enjoy visiting all the other desks on show.  All the instructions on how to join in can be found at Stamping Ground - easy peasy.