September on the Mount

Now that September has arrived we locals feel that we can venture out again to the local beauty spots.  Actually this year there are still loads of visitors as we found when we went to St Michael's Mount on Sunday.  The tide was out and I really like walking across on the sand rather than bumping over the cobbles on the causeway.  Our aim was simply to get some fresh air so we started with a bite of lunch at the cafe (not the National Trust restaurant).

We sat outside and managed to avoid getting dive bombed by seagulls which are a permanent problem in these parts.  NEVER attempt to eat sandwiches of pasties outside in St Ives.

Then I went searching for images that might be useful for designs.  I am very lazy about taking sketching things with me on these occasions and I know drawing makes you stand back and observe much more carefully but never mind, the camera is a wonderful thing.  A number of people live on the Mount.  They have rows of plants outside their houses and I was really struck by the succulents.

The colours in some of them are wonderful.

The little ones suggested suffolk puffs.  I haven't made suffolk puffs for years.  The last time I did for my City and Guilds course, I had terrible problems with one of the cats we had then stealing them and wandering off around the house with them.  They tend to be a despised technique but when I saw these plants I thought they would work well in journal quilts.  I also remember that they are the sort of thing you can make while travelling.

And finally, the dark red ones which I love.  Although they grow very well down here I do not have room for them in the garden.

I think it is very sheltered where these plants grow but the owners do not get much privacy during the tourist season.