Weird Fox

An end of May blog post. I have been away far too long! 
Time has flown by so fast and May has been wonderful in the Uk with an abundant of Spring flowers. We have had a Spring heatwave! 

Spring sunshine through the Daffodils.

I have been enjoying lying in a hammock under the Apple Trees. 

I remember when I did my very first blog post, way back in 2008. I have dipped in and out of blogging over the years and I've had different blog names, such as Joanne May Illustration, Willow Treefox, and Ghost Lily Design.

The banner from an old blog.

So much has changed and these days it seems people have less time to blog and write long posts. Many people I used to follow on Blogger have moved away!
Discovering new Relations on my family tree.
My name has changed yet again to Joanne Potter after discovering that I'm related to Beatrix Potter, who I greatly admire. 

A young Beatrix Potter with her dog Spot.

I had most of her beautiful books when I was a little girl and her illustrations have always inspired me. Beatrix did some amazing conservation work for the National Trust and I'm also a member of the National Trust, I have been for many years. 

The Foxy Whiskered Gentleman is one of my favourite Characters. 

After researching my family tree I discovered that I have much in common with Beatrix, apart from being an illustrator as well, I love nature and feel passionate about wildlife conservation. It is so important to preserve the wildlife for future generations. We can all do our bit to help the insects, birds, and animals. 

I planted a Buddleja Bush. Also known as a Butterfly Bush.

Lavender is great for encouraging Bees into the garden.

We finally bought a house in 2013 after years of moving around and renting. One of the first things I wanted to do was to landscape the garden, it is now a woodland garden. I planted Japanese Maple trees and flowers that would encourage wildlife. 
Zigsa cat loves the woodland garden too. You can also find him on his Twitter page, @ZigsaCat

In my next blog post I will show some of the work I have been doing over the past few years and discuss more about wildlife and how it influences my art.