2023 in review: a good crop of frogs

Missed out on waxwings, though.

2023 was a great year for frogs spawning in our garden pond

At this time of year it’s too easy – for me, anyway, being a perennial self-critic and overthinker – to look back and mope about the things I didn’t manage to do.

I wish I’d managed to make more art in 2023, but starting a new full-time job in February made that more difficult than in recent years.

Having a regular salary means that I don’t need to worry about making art with sales in mind, and paying the bills is less of a concern. This is a GOOD THING! So for 2024 I think I probably just need to adjust my art-making practices and expectations to fit in around other things that I want or need to do.

Anyway! Here are some things that I did manage to do this year.

I drew an illustrated alphabet of birds for two lovely bird-loving friends who had a baby in summer. I drew each one individually using Procreate and my iPad, before assembling the whole thing and getting it printed professionally on nice paper. It was a bit of a challenge to find a bird suitable for X, but Xema sabini, better-known as Sabine’s gull, fitted the bill.

Baby Maisie is still too young to fully appreciate the birds, but I have my fingers crossed for her…

I was commissioned by another friend to draw a pair of jays to give as a Christmas present. I seized the opportunity to get out my colour pencils again and I’m really happy with the results.

For the past few Christmases I’ve printed some cards and, with the assistance of my trusty XCut XPress printing press I managed to turn out 30 cards with a ‘dove of peace’ design.

I did manage to make some other prints this year – moorhens, black-tailed godwits, snipe, lapwings and redshanks (have a look in my shop) – so I’ve probably been more productive than I remember. And I am just starting planning and preparation for another print.

(However, I am still working on a embroidered bullfinch that I started in spring, but it’s very nearly finished and I mostly only spend time on it on Wednesday lunchtimes at work, so I’m going to cut myself some slack there).

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I mentioned a while back that I’ve been keeping a list of the bird species I’ve seen this year. Proper birdwatchers keep meticulous records but I’m not a very good birdwatcher, so I’ve just written down the names. The total is… 158 species.

Image by Rick Tremblay from Pixabay

I haven’t really tried very hard to see anything specific, with the notable exception of the waxwing (pictured). This winter is supposed to be a good one for seeing waxwings, which have come here from Scandinavia to feast on our berries. In the past week I have tried to see them in three different locations, and failed each time. While they are delightful birds, complete with silky plumage, trilling call and bouffant crest, I’m sure my time will come. Just not in 2023.

This year I also failed to see the Aurora borealis (northern lights) – light pollution hasn’t really helped with that. But while visiting Yorkshire over Christmas I did manage to see my first-ever nacreous clouds, or polar stratospheric clouds. Excuse the poor phone photo below, but you can see they’re beautifully rainbow-coloured.

Hoping for a peaceful 2024 for everyone (and maybe some waxwings too).