It's definitely spring here now, with a lot of trees starting to bud out, and grape hyacinths blooming. Next week will be cooler and damper again, with hopefully more rain than snow. I decided to try starting the little current tomatoes from seed, but otherwise buy what I need at the farmer's market which starts early next month. They have a lot of heirloom tomato varieties, and I won't have to house the plants until then.
Thursday, April 11, 2024
April 2024 - Update #2
Thursday, April 4, 2024
April 2024 - Update #1
It's beginning to feel like spring here - only light frosts, no snow for the last week, and the grape hyacinths are blooming in the nemeton on the warm south side of the yard. However, Denver is capable of heavy snows for at least another month, and my particular frost-free date is usually May 15th or there abouts. And I just realized I haven't started any tomato seedlings yet...
Thursday, March 28, 2024
March 2024 - Update #4
I've finished chapter 13, and most of chapter 14. Gwernin et al have reached Fráechán's ráth at the base of the Sliabh na Caillí. He wasn't there when they first arrived, but is now, and they will be lighting the Beltane fires tonight. I need to finish this chapter today or tomorrow, so I can work on some other things while I think about what comes next.
The weather here continues in its spring pattern - snow, milder weather that melts it, snow again, etc. The last dump over the weekend was only about 4 inches here, although other areas got more, but the ground is mostly warm enough that it doesn't last long on the walks or streets - what I call "self-shoveling snow". Not much luck with all the crocus bulbs I planted last fall - the squirrels got some of them, and the severely cold weather seems to have got most of the rest. I'll try again earlier next fall.
Thursday, March 21, 2024
March 2024 - Update #3
I've almost finished chapter 13, bar a little tinkering. Last Saturday was a busy day for me, between running the Zoom sessions for our March Divination workshops and giving a presentation myself on the ogam. After that it took me a while to get going again. At least we've had no more snow.
Not having found Fráechán where they had hoped to find him, Gwernin et al spent a couple of days getting acquainted with some of the people and the location that I described in The King's Druid, and are getting ready to move on to Sliabh na Caillí, where they hope to meet him in time to celebrate Beltane. But in those uncertain times, not finding someone where you expect to find him can always be a cause for uneasiness.
The weather is inching into spring here, but no leaves on the trees yet. This is good, because last week's dreadful snow managed to break bare branches in the neighborhood, and I was glad to have power and internet for Saturday!
Friday, March 15, 2024
March 2024 - Update #2
Presently I'll have to go out and shovel more of yesterday's snow, but at the moment things are warming up a bit and I'm waiting for more of it to fall off the trees. After tomorrow I should be able to get more writing done.
Thursday, March 7, 2024
March 2024 - Update #1
In other news, I've been spending time preparing for my presentation on ogam divination in Chokecherry Grove's March Divination Workshop. For more information on that, see this link.
Thursday, February 29, 2024
February 2024 - Update #5
Rare it is to have five Thursdays in February, but this year we do. Their abundance, however, has not helped my rate of progress with the book. I did finish chapter 11, and started chapter 12 ("the bend of the Boyne"), partly through reorganization of material, but since Monday I have been working on another project. Our local ADF group, Chokecherry Grove, is putting on a series of Zoom workshops on divination methods in two weeks (Saturday 16th), and since I signed myself up to speak on the ogam, I have been preparing a PowerPoint of my material. It's about finished now, and it's time I got back to Gwernin et al, who have arrived in Ireland at last.
Aside from some brief but intense snow on Tuesday morning, the weather has been mild and dry, and windy enough that we had fire weather warnings on a couple of days. Next week looks colder and wetter again - typical March weather here.
Thursday, February 22, 2024
February 2024 - Update #4
My orange cat, Ruay, is having his morning outside time, when he likes to chase the squirrels. He's developed a habit of jumping onto the plant stands under the window and looking in at me and Mulberry. That won't work come summer, when the plants come out of the garage, but in the meantime it's amusing.