Claire Davies Coach, Artist, Writer

Today has been a good day. How about you?

The sun came out as I took Murray (my wheeled walker) out to pick up a few bits from the new Browns The Greengrocers stall here. The guys were great helping me to navigate the layout with the walker and my obvious physical limitations.

(A particularly delicious bunch of radishes came home with me and I was very pleased to find blood oranges too.)

Then my good friend took me to see a fascinating display of women's fashion from 1900 to 1950 at York University. We learned lots of fascinating information about early plastics and artificial fibres which I have already forgotten 😆

I was concerned about the access to such an old building and whether I'd be able to get round the displays before my pain and stiffness became too much. But the size of the room and being able to sit on Murray made all the difference!

If you're visiting a new place and would like to research disabled facilities first - definitely check out the AccessAble website to see what you can find.

Hey hey hey!

It's been a while since I posted so I'm dropping in to say hi.

I'm on a bed rest afternoon. It takes a lot for me to retreat back to the bedroom before evening. Even in my heart failure days I would do everything I could to stay out of bed during the day.

But my fibromyalgia is not settling in the way I'd hoped and the last few nights have been increasingly painful. I'm also due a minor but potentially extremely painful medical procedure tomorrow and we all know that stress heightens the nervous system dysfunction in fibromyalgia.

Sometimes the only answer is to give in.

With this, my own creative output is still struggling to find a way forward. But I have just started to attend a weekly Weaving for Wellbeing class at my local library, and YouTube artist videos are feeding the itch when I'd like to be drawing but am just not capable. I'm also hoping to get to the monthly Nature Writing session with Gayle Johnson Writer on Friday.

It's also Inktober, and my tree journal is waiting for me to return. So there's lots of inspiration to be found, when I'm ready. 💚

Hi! It's been a while. How was your summer?

To be fair, you've probably been far too busy in your own life to miss my sporadic nature and art related musings. I'm so pleased if you have, and it's fair enough, I'm always advocating for more time experiencing these things than looking at them online.

But I've missed turning up here, and the little conversations that connect us. I've also missed my art and the natural world that inspires it.

Summer 2025 has been a real b*tch for many of us in the chronic illness community. On top of that, my eyesight took a bit of a dive and I realised that I couldn't see straight enough to sketch, or read, or much else really. Really I just burnt myself out in the end.

But it's not all doom and gloom. I did get out to some fab places on my better days. I turned 50 in August. And my new reading glasses seem to be making reading a lot easier. I'm yet to pick up a pencil. It'll happen.

As soon as it does, I'll be back at it with the urban tree project, and I have a couple of new ideas for little side projects.

Speaking of which - Mr D and I have set ourselves a mindful eating challenge this month. We've done this a few times now, and it all started when I read this excellent book in 2014. What with the new glasses, I thought I'd have another read.

Happy September everyone!

Just before this weather hit I pootled off on my scooter to document our next tree for the urban tree project.

And it's a Birch! This is one of my favourite trees to draw so I'm looking forward to getting started on this one.

Just look at the detail in the bark. I love the way it changes as the trees age.

(If you're new here, or just need a reminder...I'm using my art journal to document and learn about all of the trees living on Askham Lane, Acomb, a suburb of York. Scroll back a few posts to see previous journal entries. 😊)

Have you tried the mobility scooters at Yorkshire Arboretum?

Entirely free with the usual admission fee, and an optional donation to help maintain them.

Mum and I popped over to Yorkshire Arboretum yesterday to try out the new scooters and have a delicious lunch in the cafe.

It was great to get out ahead of the forthcoming hot weather. Scooters on site open up much more of the space than I would manage on foot with my stick. I can absolutely recommend them.

Urban cherry trees 🍒

After a bit of a hiatus I'm glad to be back with the trees and a few extra thoughts 😊

An exhausting PiP application and the extremely hot weather all got a bit much, and I reverted back to survival mode.

But now the weather has calmed down, and I've got a natty new (to me) mobility scooter - happy days!

This has enabled me to focus back on the local tree project, with a visit to one of the many cherries on the street. By the time I get to the first cherry with my journal the fruit will be gone so I got a quick snap to share now.

There are a number of cherries around here. Some planted, some wild. The birds certainly do their job of depositing the seeds far and wide! 😆

Enjoy. I'll be back with more very soon.

Claire x

Fibromyalgia and staying active in 30° heat - A Guide.

1. Pack it in. You know better.

I swear I thought I was smiling in this photo. I think my face melted.

😂

Did you spot my post yesterday on the cherry plum trees growing nearby?

New watercolour, waiting for the final colour glaze. A4. Because sometimes the inspiration is right in front of me.

Yesterday I posted about the cherry plums fruiting - today another eating crop to look out for 😊

Can you spot a Sweet Chestnut? (Castanea sativa)

Not to be confused with Horse Chestnut which IS NOT EDIBLE

With long spiky catkin flowers and thick, serrated leaves, they are putting on a great display right now.

According to The Woodland Trust, Sweet Chestnut is monoecious, meaning both male and female flowers are found on the same tree. The long spiky catkins are male, with smaller less visible female flowers at the base of the cluster. The female flowers produce the chestnut, a few tiny nuts are visible in the photos.

Stood among the three trees on Woodthorpe Green Mum picked up a sweet aroma, which we realised was coming from the flowers. They were packed with pollen that day! I've never picked up a scent before.

Final tidbit - The Woodland Trust website states that they start producing nuts at about 25 years old. Which makes these trees older than I thought they were!

Look out for ripening nuts in September/October. It will be interesting to see how abundantly these produce.

The cherry plum trees (also known as myrobalan) are fruiting at the moment. Have you seen one?

We got out for some fresh air this morning - first the excellent Phill Ya Boots Cafe for an iced coffee, then a stroll on the small green next to the row of shops.

There are a number of healthy trees on Woodthorpe Green, including two purple leaved cherry plums. They can also have green leaves with either red or yellow, small stoned fruits.

These wild cultivar plums are edible and make excellent plum preserve. But confirm your own tree ID first, and be considerate of where and how much you pick.

Almost completed the Common Ash double spread in my nature journal.

A couple of spaces to fill out, I just need to decide how to illustrate the facts that I'm finding.

I'm particularly pleased with the collage paper I used to show the Ash keys top left. The paper is left over from the leaf printing exercise I shared a couple of weeks ago. ☺️

I've had a rough run with my fibromyalgia symptoms recently that have slowed me down, but the whole point of this project is to work at my own pace.

I'll share again when I'm finished!