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Raspberries, my favorite.
but I must be an ignoramus...I don't know what the giant puffball is! Mushroom? Rutabega? What?
Good for you for getting out of the studio for a bit!

I, too, had a moment of mouth-watering at the sight of those raspberries.

West Oxon is looking so much more lovely than Birmingham tonight! About time you had the best part of the day to enjoy it.

:)

Lovely post, just lovely.

Raspberries, my favorite. look sod delicious.

For shame, I have never eaten raspberries...or a puffball (looks like a mushroom, am I right?)
Your surrounding countryside is so beautiful...do you have room for a lodger?

Well I'd say you have it well in hand. (I know, groan, I'm a bit sorry but I had to say it.)
I love it when you take us on field trips.
(())

If I had any money at all, I would be on a plane at this moment! Right now, my dream vacation is to rent a cottage in the Cotswolds, have a car, and just disappear for a month or so.

I like the look of the raspberries best of all ...the countryside looks so appealing!

Never seen wild raspberries - they look delicious. Must admit to having used giant puffballs as footballs when a child - sorry!!(It is quite spectacular......)

It figures the sun would shine as soon as I left England, sigh. Your lovely images make me miss the English countryside all the more. Although Maine is nice too - we have raspberries and blueberries growing wild in our backyard. They must have been planted by birds.

It was fun to see your workspace too. It sounds like you've been busy with work just as I've been busy with packing-moving-unpacking. I'm looking forward to getting back to painting too. So nice to catch up with you! I've added you to my blog's sidebar so I don't lose track of you again.

What did the puff ball taste like, Gretel? I only ever come across them after they've ripened and live up to their name.

hi Mr Adanaland! Andy and I were in dispute about it - when I'd sliced them (as shown) I fried them in butter and added them to a pork casserole I'd had going in the slow cooker. Andy said he didn't think it had much taste. I disagreed - it didn't have as much flavour as the small puffballs, which go crsipily nice, but it tasted more or less like a normal mushroom. But there was lots of it - and it was free!

This post is so wonderful... I love how it flows. I can see it translating into a great picture book. Oops... did I say a "dirty word"? ;)

Cindy at Rosehaven Cottage

Mmmmmmm..... Glad to see you making it outside. :-)

I've never eaten a puffball, would love to try.
P.

I've never seen wild raspberries, they look lovely. And I haven't seen a giant puffball either, that one looks magnificent. Ooo I can just taste crispy mushrooms!

Yum, puffball, fields look like quilt pieces, warm and cozy, I want to curl up on them and nap.

The raspberries seem to be the biggest hit!
Not a surprise there.
I have never eaten a wild mushroom after my mother told me she nearly killed my dad and herself cooking a 'mushroom' pie from ones she found in the park.
Dad looked them up.........they had scrambled eggs instead.
I do miss England.

what a fun post! I saw an 8 point buck myself this weekend. He gallantly leapt out of the trees and stopped in the middle of the road, made eye contact with me and then retreated back to where he came from. Luckily I was on a slow drive and had plenty of time to stop and just admire him.

Thanks for adding me to your blog roll, I have done likewise. You are very brave to eat fungi! I love Jay feathers so pretty.

Lovely pictures! It reads just like a picture book, I think secretly you're full of potential books...;)

I enjoyed reading your blog. My grandson brought home a Blue Jay feather last week from his trip to the Texas Gulf Coast. No shells, just bird feathers.
We used to have Blue Jays, Red Birds, Blue Birds, and all sorts of birds, but we only see the occasional Red Bird now. Robins, sparrows, and quite a few birds from the north spend the winter here.
I really like the way that you presented your pictures in this post. What a beautiful area!

I'll say it too -- such a nice post. And that fabulous view of West Oxfordshire is out of a storybook. Mushrooms and raspberries and deer, oh my... it is a bit magical, isn't it?

Jenny

prey tell is that a type of mushroom? the puffball I mean? I loathe mushrooms unless there's a fairy sitting on or under one for show. BUT it looks interesting nonetheless.
Ah but the raspberries, that's another story entirely.....mouth watering!
XOXO

Interesting Jennifer. Another thing about "I've learned a bunch of great things from this experience..." you'll probably end up with a better picture book than you would have had if you had not gone through this whole process.

Good luck with it!
gail

Boy, I know those feelings!
I'm working on a script right now and I'm always paranoid about hitting that wall. I think for me, I try to create a mine rich enough that it can with stand changes of heart and the occasional obsstacles. However, I don't think I've accomplished this yet. There are always gaps in the story. Thank God for people willing to read them.

Oh gosh, i hit walls all the time, if it's not in a graphic design project, it's with my art. exploring different avenues may not always turn out as planned, but in this case it solidified your original intention was the best option.so it's a success! sometimes setting things aside for a few days and sleeping on it brings about a breakthrough!!

Gail- Thanks, I hope so! The whole process of thinking it through has been really interesting.

Eric- I like the way you word that-- creating them rich enough-- There have been projects that I've dropped in the past, but they didn't nag at me like this one did. It's like a feeling in your belly that doesn't go away. (Not sure if that's a great way to describe it!) And yay, for readers! I know I have blind spots, and need someone to point them out.

Christine- It's oddly comforting to know that others deal with this, too! I need to be reminded of that. Sometimes it's so hard to put a project aside (I tend to do the obsessive thing, first) but you're right-- it usually does lead to a fresh outlook.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, everyone!

Jennifer
I have never done a picture book - though I can draw - sort of.
I'm working on chapter books for 8-12 yr olds and get all my friends' children to give me feedback....they rather enjoy the importance of it!
Have horses in my current one - so got a 10 yr old with her own horse (!) to tell me a bit more about what it smelled like..etc.
How one struggles being creative.
One can always give up and play on-line solitaire...but not for too long......

kind of an afterthought, and you can tell me to shut up....but as an art director, i suggest this to my artist's.....go back and re-evaluate your illustrations, tell the story with your pictures 'first'...then go back and re-evaluate and edit the text. it seems like your struggle is connecting the two. if your pictures tell the story well, there is probably text you can edit, thereby shortening your manuscript to better suit a picture book. start backwards...work forwards.. :) hope that helps.

Ha ha, Elizabeth-- you're right... it's easy to drown your struggles online. ;-)

Christine- No, please don't shut up!! :-)

You said it EXACTLY with "it seems like your struggle is connecting the two." That happens time and again when I concentrate too much on the words first without the pictures. Maybe because I think the story needs a strong structure, so the literal part of my brain focuses on the words-- when really I need to think about both at the same time. It's not an altogether rational process, I think! And I think it has to do with how each particular story comes to you, too-- visually or verbally. I love your suggestion-- I'll give it a try!

What a wonderful post Jennifer!! Thanks for sharing this.

I think that writing is actually very hard. I congratulate all of you that are able to do it!
I dream of writing and illustration my own story some day.. I have ideas and stories dancing around in my head all the time...but I know I am not ready, at least right now.

I think we all struggle in a similar way with any creative process. There is a combination of thoughts and feelings that is not easy to balance. But I don't think there is an easy way out of it but with trial an error. You had to go through all of this experience in order to realize that your book really needed to be a picture book and that your heart really wanted to illustrate those already imagined pictures in your head.
I think you accomplished a great deal actually! :o)

Hi Alicia- Thanks! Yes, I think the trial and error is definitely part of the process, whatever kind of art or writing you're doing. Hey-- your characters would make great stories-- I hope you give it a try sometime!

i know what it's like to get stuck like that, if there is one thing i've learned with working with patients in an art therapy setting is how to help them get out of their head.... don't let yourself get too tied up in the words, if you are set on a picture book, you already know the pictures should tell the story without the words, the words are just there for support, mentally let go of the words for now. you know the story, put the words aside and tell the story with your illustrations, then hang all of your sketches and without looking at your manuscript rewrite the first words that come to you. never let a wall stand in your way, you can always turn around and go the other direction. :) you CAN do make this story happen!!

Do hope you are having a better time with your story/picture book.
Sometimes one wrestles with things and then it all suddenly becomes clear......
I like to get ideas when half-asleep - naptime or night time -I try to get 'into' the story.
Of course this sometimes keeps me awake - or else it works - but I then go to sleep and forget it...
Several people want to do DOORS - literally or metaphorically next WED.
I look forward to seeing everyone's.

Christine-- That's great advice. I'm going to print it out and save it! I do wonder if a lot of creative people have that same "issue" (I don't really think of it as a problem) of getting stuck in their own heads too much. Hmmm... this could be the subject of another post...

And Elizabeth- Yes, I'm moving forward with the story- wrestling a bit, but I know it's just part of the process. Oh, and yes-- naps are wonderful-- I think they let your subconscious ideas bubble up!

I'm spreading the word about "Door Day." Should be fun!