After a few years of disappointing summers and bitter winters, things seem to be picking up this spring time. Temperatures are gradually climbing and most days for the past few weeks have been pretty sunny.

Each time I go out into our garden, I’m always surprised. Tulips are popping up, the rose bushes are looking healthy, and the rhubarb is growing strong. Spring has truly sprung, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a great summer because I do love a good excuse for a barbecue or three!

But in stark contrast to all this new life, today I was greeted with a surprise of a different kind in the garden (see image, right), courtesy of our cats.

They may have a ‘butter wouldn’t melt’ look about them, but don’t let that fool you – Scampi and Blinky are dangerous serial killers! No wonder they’re always sleeping during the day – during the night they’re busy mauling poor rodents!

I took a bit of time out from getting our things ready for a long weekend in Wales to experiment with these textures on the above images.