I thought I might run out of things to do while in self isolation but that looks very unlikely now. I have settled into the new way of life and although I miss popping down the street for a cappuccino and a chat with friends or a ducking down the pub for a feed I am coping just fine thank you very much.

One of the tasks I am doing at the moment is making myself a few new bonsai display stands. Over the years I have acquired a reasonable amount of “second hand” timber and I am finally putting it to good use.

Firstly I decided to make a couple of tall small stands (for shohin) as I believe that shohin bonsai, when shown individually need to be on high stands so they don’t “get lost”. The local bonsai society currently has black coloured backing for their annual display, and so with this in mind I decided to paint the new stands black. The idea was that the stand should meld into the background thus giving the appearance of the tree floating. Please forgive my whimsical thoughts.

Please don’t take any notice of the trees, its the stands that are important.

I know you aren’t supposed to be taking any notice of the trees, but that trident maple needs a trim!