the birds have flown the nest

The second hatching of blackbirds

 

have left the nest, so the other day I thought I would remove it and clean up the umbrella. Fortunately it is not too messy but I was fascinated by the nest. It is so sturdy in its construction that it  lifted off easily, and inside I found one little bluish egg alongside a hole where the nest was built around the finial on top of the umbrella.

I can't show a photo yet of my Steam Punk Challenge piece for our Guild Exhibition this weekend, because after I handed it in I realised that I had forgotten to photograph the completed work!
Since then I have had a further try at block making based on the papyrus plant. It is somewhat larger this time and am quite pleased with the result. This shows the new one with some of the smaller ones. Not a great print but I can use it as a background for some applique.

From some time out, these are a few photos from a walk on the beach. At first it looks like rocks and sand,

 

 but it is always worth closer examination -
a washed up feather

 a weathered shell fastened to a rock

 a shell wedged between the rocks

and a small sea anemone (?) - poke something in the middle and it closes up

On the sand, an interesting wash effect

and on the promenade, a young sprout on the trunk of the Norfolk Island Pine.