Deep Dale, Wharram Le Street, Yorkshire Wolds.

I parked at a high point above Burdale. Looking across nearby fields I could see lots of pale blue flowers on tall stems, and the distant fields and hills beyond. The plant was chicory, I think. I sorted my painting things and set off to find a view, George was excited to explore the new path.

Drifts of chicory       

Floated softly,

deliciously.

Webbing the distant

Contoured hills in a

Dreamy

Pale blue gauze.

Some tired flowers

Were closing their petals,

Others shouted at the sun.

This was an exploration, for me, a new path. I had heard of Deep Dale and thought it may be worth painting. As I set up lots of people walked past, including Sharon, who stopped to talk,telling me she is trying watercolour, and John who was walking with his daughter, who was in her first year at university. John himself was furloughed and I think, enjoying the experience. He had tackled the Wolds Way previously.

After walking George about a kilometre to the painting site, I secured him to a fence post, where he found a  log which  needed chewing. It caused me some concern because every now and then he would pick the log up and exuberantly 'worry it' which brought it very close to both my legs and the... tripod, with the paint box on top.

Deep Dale is as it’s name implies, sloping sides lead down to a dry valley bottom. One side of the valley is covered in sparse shrubbery and bright yellow ragwort. An adjacent field of wheat displayed tractor tracks which described the contours of the land. Although it was a sunny day standing here with George in the shade of some trees, I felt chilled after a couple of hours and so we packed up, the picture was more or less finished. The second test against the West Indies was underway, day 4 out of 5. However, day three had been a wash out, so in effect this is day three, the main task was to get the West Indies out before they reached the follow on. ( Which was subsequently avoided by the West Indies batsmen ).

Barley green seas,

Sway and whisper in

The gentlest of breezes. their

Nodding whiskered heads,

Flow across the tractor tracks

Making them almost invisible

While, in adjacent fields

Wheat stands bleached and tall,

Where tractor tracks are so well defined,

They provide cereal pathways

through which a person can walk.

Exploring another hidden Dale nearby I come across signs warning me of 'Bull in Field' so I become a little anxious.

Tall dried out grasses, swayed,

Drooping their seeded heads,

Flagging the way to the

Centenary footpath,

To Deep Dale.

Heading back to the car walking along a chalk white, tracked farm road, I pass tall grasses and drifts of rosebay willow herb, seven feet tall,  rose pink candelabras. Masses of dock is also evident, hog weeds are producing their brown discs of life. Stinging nettles and cleavers growing in abundance, butter cups shining here and there. Fields of potatoes are flowering suggesting they will be harvested soon. Two rabbits bobtail away, disappearing into a field of oil rape seed which needs to ripen just a little more.  I pass some big old potato boxes, 'Cockerill, York 2003' stamped on the side, a small wren emerges from the undergrowth and perches on top of one of the boxes. The lane hedges, are augmented by occasional, though regular mature ash trees, from one, a blackbird calls loudly as I walked past, it flies off and as it flies, one of its feathers becomes detached and drifts down landing on me.

Finally, driving home I was pleased to see the 'pea' wagons setting off to collect their harvest...a particular time of the year.

Original available, in a simple white, glazed frame, subject to giving the picture a protective varnishing, which will be applied when the oil is dry, approximately 4 weeks.

£175.