Update #5 - January 2026

 A little writing progress yesterday on Chapter 2, mostly map work and borrowing place descriptions from earlier books.  I was going to run errands today, but have decided to keep writing instead. I think / hope that once I get out of this chapter, things will go a little faster.

After last weekend's three-day deepfreeze, the weather has returned to normal - not warm, but 40ish highs most days, and no single digit lows. Last weekend's 2-3 inches of snow has also mostly melted. We'll probably be able to celebrate Imbolc outdoors tomorrow.

Update #4 - January 2026

 Again, not much writing over the last week, but a certain amount of thinking and reading earlier stories. My current problem is in regard to where Arthur's court was at this point. Caerlion would have been reasonable, but at the beginning of Storyteller Gwernin describes it as being in ruins, to an extent which would not have happened in the 18 years since Arthur died, or even in the 35 years since Taliesin first saw it. I am currently thinking that Caerlion must have been largely abandoned for some reason, and Arthur must have had his chief court elsewhere, either at Caer Dydd or Caerwent. In the meantime, the three of them will follow one of the major Roman roads, part of which we saw near the end of The Old Gods Endure, on their way to whichever place I decide on.

Another cold day here, but at least the temperature is supposed to get above freezing tomorrow after three days below. We've had a little snow from time to time, with possibly another inch or two tonight. At least we weren't affected by the big storm back east called Fern - which amusingly is the Irish equivalent of Gwernin!

Update #3 - January 2026

 Finally, a small amount of writing yesterday. It's a start. At least I think I know where the rest of chapter 2 is going.

Milder weather earlier in the week, colder again today. Last week's snow has finally melted, though it took a while. We might get a little more Monday, but I'm not counting on it. Ruay stays in a lot when it's this cold (16 F this morning). He's a desert cat.

Update #2 - January 2026

 Sigh. Once again, not much progress. I've got to stop browsing the web so much and get on with this book.

Got about 3.5 inches of snow last night. This lot will now be leaving very fast, as it's going to be pretty cold the next couple of days. Lots of birds and squirrels this morning, including a flicker earlier who was busy eating the suet crumbs a squirrel was dropping from the feeder.

Update #1 - January 2026

 No writing the last few days, but that is about to change. If I'm going to finish the Taliesin book this year, I've got to get going!

Hope everyone had good holidays. Cloudy here today but not very cold. We need more snow, and more sunshine in between. :)

Update #4 - December 2025

 Running late with this post due to holidays. No writing progress this last week - I may just wait to start again after New Year's Eve, but I wanted to get one more December update before it's too late.

After a bunch of mild days, we got an inch or so of snow late last night, and it was 12 F at sunrise. The snow will clear itself off in the next couple of days, so I haven't bothered scraping it much, especially since it was frozen to the walks this morning. 

Happy New Year, everyone!

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Update #3 - December 2025

 Sigh. No writing progress, although I spent some time yesterday tinkering with chapter 1. I think I'll back off and restart chapter 2, which isn't working. I'd only got as far as planning that someone would tell a story, but I don't know what the story is.

Milder weather on the whole, but windy. Need to do some more yard cleanup, but no incentive. We'll be having Midwinter celebration on Saturday; then there's Christmas and New Years. I hope to get more things done next month. In the meantime, happy holidays, everyone!

Update #2 - December 2025

 Again, not much additional writing on chapter 2, but some reading of earlier material in the Storyteller books and thoughts about plotting, which led to an additional chapter in the spreadsheets. For some reason Talhaearn is about to tell a tale about Manawydan, perhaps as something Gwion can think about. This update is a day late because we were doing errands yesterday. I'm hoping to make more progress in the next week before the December holidays start.

After last week's snow and cold weather, we've now returned to highs around 60 or so occasional nights with mild or absent frost. Not unusual for Denver at this time of year. We could definitely use more precipitation, though - it's been a very dry year since late spring.

Update #1 - December 2025

 Very little writing progress in the last week, although I have the beginnings of chapter 2, and a couple of ideas for the rest of it. This chapter needs to cover their travel from Aberystwyth to Caerwent on the south coast. I've found an interesting link to Roman roads which will be helpful, although I've covered the ones they'll be using before in Storyteller and The Old Gods Endure. Hopefully I'll make more progress in the next week.

Winter is definitely here. We had snow Tuesday night and most of Wednesday, for a total of about 4 - 4.5 inches. It seems to have been wet initially, so all the trees are covered with it, but happily there were no leaves left by then. About 10 degrees F this morning, but the temperature may creep up above freezing for a while this afternoon. Too cold for my orange cat Ruay, who is currently sleeping
in the cat bed behind this laptop!

Update #4 - November 2025

 Well, I finally got out of Chapter 1, and made a brief start on Chapter 2. This one will take Gwion to King Arthur's court at Venta with Talhaearn and Emrys, where he will be living and studying as he grows up. Again, this is a period which I will have to think about, as it's not something he has ever told Gwernin about. On the other hand, I don't have to make it fit in with much that he did tell Gwernin...

Cold mornings now - 20 F at dawn yesterday and today - and colder weather coming next week. I need to empty the water buckets in the garden when I can get them thawed, even though the small birds like to drink at them. Getting anything thawed this morning for the wildlife involved icebreaking and hot water. 

Rather than celebrating Thanksgiving today, I'll be joining Rowen and two friends Saturday for our Friends-giving dinner. Instead of duck or turkey, we'll be having Alaskan crab this year!