Or another F could be...

Only when uploading this picture to the blog did I realise that this is the third F! 

A feather stick can be used for fire lighting, especially when tinder is scarce or it is wet. It is a stick with lots of very thin whittled cuts, with all the thin shavings still (just) attached to the stick.

F is also for...

Fire steel!

Another human link to woodland - I use a fire steel to light fires when I'm in the wood. I've used the same one for years - and you can tell from the look of it; all worn away yet still has years left in it. 

Just a couple more to go - not sure what they will be yet! and then a bit of a break in June to work on the shop and get some more products listed and cards printed! I have a couple of nice ongoing projects that I'm looking forward to dedicating some more time to.

Or...

M could be for Marshmallow... or even as a T for Toasted marshmallow - on a whittled stick over the embers of a fire. If you then sandwich it between biscuits (I go for digestives, unless feeling very decadent and then it would be milk chocolate hobnobs - chocolate facing in so that it melts...) it becomes a s'more (some more - as you can often want more). Traditionally a s'more is American and uses Graham crackers and includes chocolate. So this could also be S for s'more! 

I've eaten way too many of these over the last 12 years.

Or... C could be for... Charcoal!

Or... C could be for... #Charcoal!
I'm trying to think of a few alternatives for some letters - moving from flora and fauna to some other things that might be found in the woodland - some with more of a human influence.

So - here is some charcoal, made in the woods, from wood (in a tin, not from the wood). 

I realise I should have drawn this in charcoal too really- I have plans to mix up the sketchbook a bit in June and dig out other mediums that have been dormant for months! 

 

Z is for...

Zebra spider!

Phew!  I made it! I'm going to do a few variations for the last few days of May.  I'm hoping to then turn this Woodland Alphabet into a print... watch this space!

Y is for...

Yew!

X is for...

Xylem! 

I was definitely having a panic about this letter!  It's not a woodland species... but an important part of woodland flora, responsible for transporting water and minerals. In some species of tree you can really clearly see the xylem tubes within the growth rings on a cut trunk.

W is for...

Woodlouse!

Complete with a real woodlouse, having inspected the drawing.

V is for...

Violet! Wood Violet / Common Dog Violet to be more specific. Seen flowering in the wood the other week. 

U is for...

U is for... #Ugly Milkcap! 

...this is another letter I was struggling with, until my cousin saved the day and consulted her Roger Phillips mushroom book and came up with 3 options almost instantly! 

The Ugly Milkcap is very common, usually found with Birch in damp places from late summer through to late Autumn according to Roger.

In other news I'm suddenly finding this neat, accurate,  watercolour and ink work a bit restricting... a pastel pencil snuck in here... it's making me think about an experimental sketchbook challenge for June...

T is for...

Treecreeper!

I thought a Treecreeper might make it into #AlicesAprilAviary but I didn't see one until the 30th April -the same day I saw the Dipper. As it was only the second Dipper I'd ever seen, that made the cut for #AlicesAprilAviary, and the poor TC missed out. 

I saw at least 4 more species I hadn't drawn for that challenge that day, but decided not to draw them all but save them for another day, another project. 

The Treecreeper came very close to being drawn however, as when I saw him (on the 30th April), he flew from the Oak tree I was sitting under, over to a Poplar. I excitedly pointed it out to Dad who was gardening near me, and he said (without looking up) 'I know- it's just dropped a worm on your arm'... sure enough, there was a worm on my sleeve that the TC had just dropped just before I caught sight of him.

I used to see one almost every week in one of the woods I used to work in regularly, it'd go up the larch trees-starting low on the trunks and working it's way upwards.

So, I'm pleased to be able to add the #Treecreeper to the #WoodlandAlphabet

S is for...

Shield bug (and a small, sticky, Sweet Chestnut leaf - it is growing from the buds I picked several weeks ago and have been keeping in a jar on the table).

R is for...

Red campion!

...which is actually the most vibrant pink and a lovely colourful addition to the woodland. Currently receiving the baton from the bluebells and soon will take it forward towards summer and the bluebells will go over.

I have some wonderful friends - this bouquet of wild flowers was picked for me by a particularly fab one last week - and has been making me smile, sitting on my table. It's got lovely Red campions in it, which was very handy for my letter R! I'd like to draw each species in there, but there aren't enough hours in the day. 

Also - look at the petals of the Red campion - perfect pink hearts. 

Q is for...

There are a few letters I've been worrying about in this project - this was the first. I was tempted to switch to Latin and focus on the Quercus family (Oaks) but, this weekend we visited a lovely little wood - and there, saving the day was a Quince! 

Although not native they have grown in the UK since 1275 (according to Wikipedia) so I think that's long enough to count - for this project anyway.

P is for...

P is for... #Primrose

Another favourite, so unfussy and arrives early in a widely reassuring way.

I was told (by someone...not sure who) it comes from Prima - being first and rosa - flower = first flower. It is always lovely to see them.

We used to pick them when we used to make Easter gardens on an old tray when we were small and they were reliably always about.

They were still going in the wood last week... will look again this week. ✒

O is for...

Oak!

I've gone for the distinctive buds rather than the well known leaf for this one...

N is for...

Nettle!

M is for...

... May bug

I know it isn't it's correct name, but when this guy was on the windowsill yesterday morning he just had to be drawn. 

L is for...

Larch! Another favourite of mine. I like the way it puts a golden carpet down in the woods for us to walk on in the Autumn, and then around Easter produces such a good green with it's new needles to show that all is well in the world and spring is really here. 

I've drawn Larch quite a lot over the years - I know I have a black and white sketch of a twig with cones on in an old sketchbook and a coloured version with the amazing flowers too. Below are some more recent pictures - the first two done specifically for the #WoodlandAlphabet.

A larch cone featured on one of my Christmas Card designs, and this little one was a one off, hand painted and hand lettered.

The below was done at Easter - I tried to draw as many twigs as I could - each about 6" long, with buds and then coming into leaf. It's all gone crazy green now so there are some I'll have to catch up with next year. 

K is for...

King Alfred's Cake/s - a fungus commonly found on dead Ash trees/ branches - apparently also occasionally on Beech or Elder but I haven't seen this yet myself. 

Allegedly King Alfred was left in charge of taking some cakes out of an oven and forgot - burnt buns remained and these resemble just that. 

Also known as Cramp ball fungus - carrying one will apparently prevent cramp - I've not tried it. 

It is also referred to as Coal fungus - when dry you can use a fire steel to light these and they become a hot coal, that you can then use to light a bigger fire. I have done that, and they do indeed get exceptionally hot, and glow red. 

Latin name is Daldinia concentrica -if you break one you will see the concentric circle pattern inside - or you might be able to see it when you break it off the log. 

J is for...

Jay! I didn't manage to see a Jay during April so it didn't feature in my 'Alice's April Aviary' challenge. However it is a woodland bird and so here it is. Apparently they can pick up several acorns (which they love) at once and store them in a secret pouch under the throat- and one in their bill that they take and stash away to feast on in the winter and spring. 

I saw one at the weekend. In a cherry tree in a garden. Also in the tree was a Magpie... and a large Cat. Right up in the canopy, level with the bedroom windows. Much excitement for a Saturday morning. 

The blue feathers are really amazing on a Jay - I found it very hard to get the right shade for this drawing and plan to have another go - below is a feather I found in the wood last summer.

I is for...

Ivy! Climbing woodland plants for two days running is a bit shocking I know, but they seemed the most appropriate species for both letters and for my #WoodlandAlphabet. 

This oh-so-handy ink lid holder is a piece of Ivy that my Mum cut down - it had grown around something forming a completely fixed loop. Turns out it was just what I didn't know I needed to stop the lid of my ink rolling about getting ink everywhere it shouldn't!

H is for...

Honeysuckle! The drawing in the foreground is one one for the #WoodlandAlphabet project. The one in the background is from my drawing a day book from 2008 - drawn in early June, in the woods. I can remember I had got to the woods really early and the breeze carried the scent of the honeysuckle, that was climbing a larch near the gate right up through the wood. I always wish I could bottle the scent - just for a little sniff in the middle of winter. My Grandmother once told me that she used to love to ride her bicycle along the lane in the early evening when the air was full of the smell of honeysuckle. 

It seems that it is a bit of a favourite of mine to photograph too - here are three pics I found... the first two are from the woods and the last one from the lane referred to above. 

G is for...

Grey Squirrel... lovable looking but a real pain if you own / manage/ work in woodlands due to their habit of damaging trees... via nibbling (more info here should you be interested!). However, they are a well known and easily recognised woodland species. I like their mannerisms and find them fascinating to watch - it's such a pity they can wreak havoc. 

F is for...

Although not about at this time of year, this is a classic and so I thought it should be included - Fly agaric. It regularly features in story book illustrations yet I'm not sure how many people really see a lot of these (apart from us fortunate enough to spend a lot of time in woodlands). They really are splendid to look at. Red does mean danger in this case however.

E is for...

Elm!

I have a bit of a soft spot for the Elm- I feel it is a bit of an underdog and am always pleased when I see one. (Dutch Elm Disease info ...)

This is the drawing I did yesterday for the #WoodlandAlphabet, however it is the third Elm study in the sketchbook since March. 

This was the first study- looking at the buds:

Then the next - with the start of the seeds. Photographed with an Elm yesterday which showed just how much it had changed since I'd drawn the branch 2 weeks ago (prompting the new drawing). 

Same study, different picture... just because.

In the kitchen there is a cutting that is coming into leaf that I need to get on and draw too!

D is for...

Well, I wrote a list of possible D's to draw and went for the Dingy Skipper as I realised I hadn't drawn a butterfly before! (actually, I think I did - in France in August 2008 as my drawing a day on a holiday! - it landed on the edge of a swimming pool...)

Anyway here is is...

Then I had a bit of a play with a technique I've been marvelling at over on Instagram - some really beautiful work by Kathy Hutton - do have a look at her lovely website or her equally lovely Instagram feed.

This evening, in the sun after work I had a go at her style of monoprinting - and have two more D's as a result! 

This is endlessly fun and something I could see me enjoying again in the near future! 

I'm not sure an attempt at hand lettering was really necessary at this stage, especially as it has to be done in mirror writing... but I couldn't resist! Thankfully a school friend and I have mastered the art of mirror writing over the years of hilarious letters - this is taking it to another level altogether though.

C is for...

C is for... (lesser) #Celandine (Does that count?!)

Found in woodlands and at this time of year and so I've gone for it. Not ideal stumbling on the 3rd letter!