Still here...

Well, what can I say? It's been Christmas... We got a big snow last Wednesday night and Thursday, roughly 8-10 inches here - very white Christmas. No new progress on the current book, but that should change soon. Other than that, not much different. Hope everyone reading had a good holiday!

-GRG

Still here...

The weekend was busy, with SBGH's Yule celebration on Saturday night and some follow-up business on Sunday. Now I can get back to writing (!) for a while. Cold gray weather today with a few snowflakes should make it easier...

-GRG

Sunday again...

Today's other poem/poems:

pen gaseg ar bren onn - yw
dim ond hen ysbryd - menyw
bod wedi marw amser maith
yn ol. nawr, yn y noswaith,
mae hi'n cerdded trwy'r tref
gyda wyneb yr hunlef
a'r pobl rhoi diod gref
iddi - i fyned adref.

A mare’s head on an ashen post?
No, it’s only some ancient ghost
Of a woman who died in the long ago days.
Now, in the twilight – or so they say! –
She walks through the town in a linen sheet
With a nightmare face, through the very streets,
And the people give her strong beer – no foam! –
Just to make (damned) sure she will go home!

-GRG

Sunday...

The Colorado Welsh Society is having their Christmas tea this afternoon, and I'm scheduled to read two poems as part of the program. So guess what I was doing this morning... Here's the first.

Where is Llywelyn? Ble mae o?
He was due back eight nights ago.
The low sun creeps across the sky
And still I wait. He cannot die.
Without him, Wales might cease to be!
Ble mae Llywelyn? Where is he?

Where is Llywelyn? Ble mae o?
With banners bright we saw him go.
His scarlet lions shone in the sun—
I know this war can still be won—
and Cymru still can flourish, free!
Ble mae Llywelyn? Where is he?

Where is Llywelyn? Ble mae o?
I watch and wait; my worries grow,
But from the south I get no news.
The English king cannot refuse
To make peace soon, and then we’ll see…
Ble mae Llywelyn? Where is he?

Where is Llywelyn? Ble mae o?
Gwenllian fach, I do not know.
I wish that I could hold you tight.
I walk the battlements each night.
The sunrise lights no hope in me.
Ble mae Llywelyn? Where is he?

Where is Llywelyn? Ble mae o?
Outside Cilmari, in the snow,
Uncomforted, they say he died
In arms struck down. I know they lied.
He must live still! It cannot be!
Ble mae Llywelyn? Where is he?

Where is Llywelyn? Ble mae o?
To Avalon I’d have him go,
Like Arthur, live, and still fight on.
My time is spent. I must be gone.
Remember Eleanor, my dear—
Ble mae Llywelyn? I am here…

For more background, see Wikipedia.



-GRG

Friday...

No more snow this week, but a lot of what we got last week is still here, partly because of some really cold (-4 F)weather Monday and Tuesday. After that anything above freezing feels mild!

I've mostly been involved with the Yule ritual and the Welsh Society this week, but finally got started again on the new book and made my 1,000+ words daily quota last night. Onward...

-GRG

Still here...

Still here and busy, just not keeping up with the blog...

Three snowstorms in the last week:



About a foot of snow on the ground now, and the high today was around 16 deg. F...

I think we'll have a white Christmas (& Yule)!

-GRG

Saturday...

Still here, just busy. More in a day or so (probably...)

-GRG

Tuesday...

Well, it's been a while - party I've been busy writing, and partly with other things. The book's coming along well - over 44,000 words now. I think this one will be significant bigger than Ash Spear - possibly around 150,000 words.

After a nice day outside today, Titus found a sunny south window for a nap:



More tomorrow, perhaps...

-GRG

Monday...

Still making good progress on the book - past 39,000 words now. I took Saturday off to celebrate Samhain (one more time) with SBGH. They're promising us some more snow tonight (sigh), so I spent some time yesterday getting some large broken branches down - elms are not my favorite tree.

Back to work...

-GRG

Wednesday...

Snow again last night and this morning, seven or eight inches this time, I think. At least the power stayed on. Not fun to shovel because the base was heavy and wet, and it stuck to the shovel--not to mention the trees. Didn't get as much written as usual last night due to Welsh class, and also to the nature of the story at this point which requires a little more thought, but I'm pressing on. Over 35,000 words now, or about 97 pages in book format. This one may be a little longer than I thought.

Back to work...

-GRG

Monday night...

Just a jack-o-lantern picture.



Needed the tripod for this one!

Nos Calan Gaeaf Da eto!

-GRG

Monday...

And hard at work writing after a most productive weekend. I did take time out last night to celebrate Samhain (one night early). Our Samhain pumpkin:



Being as it's a pie pumpkin from my garden, we baked and ate it. I've have pictures of my Jack-O-Lantern pumpkin up in a day or so.

Nos Calan Gaeaf Da i chi!

-GRG

Friday...

Conditions here are drifting back toward seasonal normal now. A lot of the snow has melted, but by no means all:



Back to writing...

-GRG

Thursday...

No post yesterday because I was offline all day due to a power outage. Denver had its first autumn snowstorm, and it was a big one:



I think we got about 8 inches here, though it's hard to be sure. The several days before had been warm and sunny, and I spent them frantically preparing house and garden for what we got. One of Tuesday's last tasks: potato and beet harvest:



No writing yesterday as I had intended because no power. I could have used the netbook, of course, but wasn't sure how long it would be before I could recharge the battery. A few years ago after a late spring blizzard I was out for three days... Thankfully, only 22 hours this time!

-GRG

Monday...

Busy again in the garden yesterday and today. Our first big winter storm is due tomorrow night, with possibility of 4-8 inches of snow and lows Wednesday night in the teens (F), so I've had a lot to do the last few days in putting the garden to bed and making the garage ready for those geraniums etc. which are too tall to fit in the cold frame. Almost done now - I'll bring them inside tomorrow, pick the beets and batten down a few other things. Wednesday should be a good day for writing, and I'm looking forward to getting back the Druid book!

-GRG

Saturday...

Been a busy week, more with the garden than with the book. New pictures presently - just wanted to say "I'm still here!" We might have snow Wednesday...

-GRG

Monday...

Hmm, running late today and it looks like I forgot Friday. Ah well, still here, busy, etc. Weather is changing - high around 50 F day, currently 42 F and partly cloudy, so I'm expecting a hard freeze tonight, which should take care of most of the rest of the garden - everything but the beans is already harvested anyway.

No additional writing the last two days but I spent some time yesterday and this morning researching what was actually going on in Roman Britain during late 1st century CE - actually fits in pretty well with what I've written so far. Time to get some more forward progress now on the story...

This lot's from last week:



Back to work...

-GRG

Wednesday...

More writing, more gardening, more fine autumn weather - nothing much different. Roses are still putting on a fine show:



Word count on the new book is now 24,247 words. I'm still arguing with myself about the title, but in the meantime here's a cover mock-up I'm using on LibraryThing:



The stone circle is Drom Beg in Ireland.

-GRG

Monday...

After two nights of mild frost, the vegetable garden is pretty much done for the year. I haven't harvested the last of the beans yet, and the potatoes and jerusalem artichokes are still to come (I'll dig them after we have a killing frost), but otherwise it's a time to admire the rowan berries and the remaining roses and asters, and start the last clean-up. Cadfael rose:



and Glamis Castle rose:



Still plugging along on the new book. Word count's up to almost 22,000 now. As I mentioned on LibraryThing, I've posted a teaser for comments.

Back to work...

-GRG

Friday...

A touch of frost last night. I was expecting it, and harvested most of the rest of my vulnerable crops (peppers, eggplant, squash, tomatoes, basil, and the last cucumber). Not much damage that I can see so far except to the zucchini leaves, but the next few nights are supposed to be colder. Still haven't picked all the beans - we'll see how that goes.



Writing continues to go well. I'm up to 19,000 words now - about 50 pages. Steady does it, or as the Welsh proverb has it, "contestant tapping cracks the stone."

-GRG

Wednesday...

Autumn color is starting to develop on some of the trees, especially the ash trees, and on the Virginia creeper. Garden harvest is coming to an end, with possible frost this weekend. Weather's finally cooling down a bit, too, which is welcome.



I'm still knocking out 1,000+ words a day on the new book most days. Yesterday was a bit of a strain, because Welsh classes started again, which meant I had to write in the afternoon instead of my preferred evening slot (when there are less distractions, such as lawn mowers, weed whackers, etc.). Still, I managed it. I'm amazed at how smoothly it's going - it's just a matter of pushing myself to turn in that regular 1,000 words. And some sections are more tiring to write than others.

Back to work!

-GRG

Monday...

The asters are at their peak bloom now, and the bees are going crazy. I have to remember to water them early, before they fully open, so I don't disturb so many bees.



We were busy Saturday with ADF at Front Range Pagan Pride, and Sunday I was writing. Still good progress on the new book. In fact, I'm going to go work on it now...

-GRG

Friday,...

Cooler weather yesterday, which was nice. I'm making good progress on the new book, and have set up a page here for information about it. I'll add new bits from time to time. In the meantime the harvest goes on:



Back to work!

-GRG

Wednesday...

Wednesday already! I've been busy with the book the last couple of days - over 1,000 words a day, which is fast for me. Now if I can just keep it up... Weather's still warm - too warm for this time of year, though not setting records. I picked the three remaining ripe pumpkins today lest the squirrels get them; the three younger ones are changing color, so may have time to ripen fully if the weather holds.



Back to work now...

-GRG

Monday...

The new book is coming along slowly. Title still seems to be a bit uncertain - I may use something other than "The Druid's Son" after all, and leave that one for Gwernin... Got a little writing done over the weekend, in and around other things.

The finches are busy with the sunflower seeds now, but one took a little time out yesterday to take a bath:



Weather's still warm and dry - I actually am getting zucchini again, although they're growing slower. Still, the longer before serious frost, the more beans will mature, not to mention the last three pumpkins which are only now starting to change color.

Speaking of changing, I'll be changing the template on this blog soon, but wanted to tinker with it a bit first to give people a warning - I hate going to sites which are suddenly completely different!

Back to work now...

-GRG

Changes coming...

I'm thinking of redesigning the look of this blog somewhat. I'll start gradually, though, so as not to create too much confusion...

Friday...

An early post, since I'll be busy today. Yesterday morning we had our first frost. This is relatively late for Denver, where we often get a hard garden-destroying freeze in early September followed by another month of irritatingly mild weather. Yesterday's frost was light - I had a small amount in the coldest spot in my yard, but saw frost in some other open spaces and on roofs while I was taking my dawn walk. No damage to the garden, and I had protected the eggplant/pepper bed with plastic just in case. The reading by my back door was 34 F.

Managed to get some more writing done on the new book the last couple of evenings. I've got to get more regular about this. I don't find it easy to start a passage - rather like diving into cold water - and will do all sorts of things to put it off (like blogging!). Once written, on the other hand, editing is easy. I'm also doing this one without an outline, another departure from past practice. Things come as they come. I like the results so far.

The autumn clematis is in full bloom, and smells wonderful:



Back to work...

-GRG

Wednesday...

Busy with a wood-working project the last couple of days. It's good for thinking, though. Should be able to get some more writing done now.

Rowan berries are very red now:



That's all today.

-GRG

Monday...

More fine autumn weather. We celebrated Harvest with SBGH Saturday, and I sacrificed a pumpkin for a pork and pumpkin casserole:



The 17th seemed a little early for the equinox celebration, but I think there were scheduling conflicts. We'll have our own celebration Friday.

The new book is coming along fairly well. Unlike the Gwernin stories it's third person narration and not planned out ahead of time in any detail. We'll see how it works. If it comes out well I'm hopeful it will make a good entry point into the series for people who haven't read the earlier books.

The asters are blooming, and the bees are going crazy:



Back to work now...

-GRG

Friday...

And a cool autumn morning (40 deg. F. by my back door at dawn). Lots of dew on top of last night's showers, so nice and damp - good for photography, too:



This morning I harvested my first pumpkin. It's going into the pot along with some pork and other good stuff for tomorrow's feast.

Back to work...

-GRG

Wednesday...

...and the weather is changing. It was clear at dawn, but now the clouds have moved in, and the forecast is colder and wet. No frost likely here yet, but the snow level may be down to 10,000 feet in the mountains tonight, which means Mt. Evans will have a new white hat in the morning.

I've been involved in a lot of miscellaneous activities the last couple of days, but now it's time to get back to writing. One more picture from Estes Park before I go:



Now, back to work...

-GRG

Tuesday...

I meant to put the book review I did for Sharon Penman's new book Lionheart up on the blog, though I did link to it on LibraryThing. Anyway, as the book release date is coming up soon (4 October according to Amazon), I thought I'd post it here as well. So here goes...
--------------------------------------------------------------------



Lionheart by Sharon Kay Penman.

Covering the period July 1189 through September 1192, this is very much Part I of a two volume book. To say that it traces Richard Lionheart's involvement in the Third Crusade and his marriage to Berengaria of Navarre is too simple a description of a narrative which starts with a three page list of principal characters and stretches in its field of action from northern England to the Holy Land; to say that it includes a cast of thousands is no exaggeration. Penman paints a vast and minutely detailed picture; indeed the depth of detail (and the extensive and impressive research behind it) is both a strength and a weakness of this book.

The first eighty pages sometimes seem to drag as Penman jumps from location to location, viewpoint to viewpoint, in the process of introducing all her principals and providing the necessary thumbnail sketches of their backgrounds. At last, however, the various parties (fated to converge in Sicily) get on the road, and the pace picks up slightly. By the time we reach Cyprus the action is fairly brisk. The rest of the book, located in the Holy Land, mostly holds this pace, although there are some slow sections now and again which deal mainly with the labyrinthine politics of the Crusade, often seeming to take the principals in slow ponderous circles at an enormous cost in blood, treasure, and general suffering.

The conclusion of the book sees Richard's departure from the Holy Land, sailing back to Western Europe to try and salvage his battered empire. History (and Penman's afterword) tells us the fate of most of the principals, but it's partly the future of two minor but appealing invented characters which will lure me back to read the next volume. Overall, an impressive achievement, highly recommended for Penman's fans and those interested in the Angevins and the Third Crusade. Four stars out of five.

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

-G R Grove
----------------------------------------------------------

And that's it for today.

Monday...

We spent the weekend at Estes Park in the mountains, helping with the Colorado Welsh Society booth at the Long's Peak Scottish-Irish Highland Festival and telling stories. I got a chance to do the Mongan story for the first time. It still needs a little more polishing, and preferably a venue with *slightly* less overwhelming background noise, but it's coming along. I also did a few others - "Arthur and the Three Truths", "House Was Too Small", "How Cuchulain Got His Name", and "MacCrimthann's Three Treasures" are the ones I remember. Also got to tell a lot of people about my books. I could have sold a few, but the Long's Peak festival doesn't like that unless you're an official merchant (and pay through the nose for the privilege).

We also found a Celtic jeweler named Michael Hayman whose work we hadn't seen before but really liked. I bought two pieces from him, and would have liked to buy more.

An Estes Park picture to close:



The white tents are the festival.

-GRG

Friday...

As I noted on my LibraryThing thread a couple of days ago, something strange is currently happening with my writing: I now seem to be working on two books simultaneously! The first one, of course, is The Druid's Son, which will form the fourth book of the Storyteller Series. But the other one... well, it's a sort of prequel, not narrated by Gwernin, which forms the background to the main book. The working title for now is Son of the Fox. If this is confusing - well, I'm a bit confused myself at the moment!

On other fronts, the weather has finally settled into a seasonal normal range for Denver - much nicer than the last part of August! A couple of pictures: first, autumn-blooming clematis...



...and second, the rowan berries are getting ripe:



Back to work now...

-GRG

Wednesday...

Cool, cloudy weather yesterday and today with occasional light drizzle - makes me think of Ireland and Wales. (In fact today's temperature here is about the same as Cardiff's!) Working on some writing ideas today - a new plot thread for the current trilogy has surfaced, also some more background for the title character.

No photos today as the light isn't great, and there's nothing really new in the garden. Back to work!

-GRG

Tuesday...

I don't usually post on Tuesday, but I got some photos yesterday I'd like to share...

Ever had a day like this?



Or found yourself in this position?



Or this?



As far as I'm aware, the mouse survived. He (yes, I checked) was very good at getting down under the grass, and creeping along or holding still. I think the cats eventually lost interest, and he escaped.

There are a few more shots on Flickr from this sequence - just click on one of the above and you'll see them all.

-GRG

Monday...

First, our performance as Dwygelli at the fundraised Saturday night went well. I've set up a new website for us under that name here - take a look and tell us what you think.

While I was at it, I finally got the .com domain name for Tregwernin and set that up. the old blogspot address will continue to work, but you can also get to this page now by simply typing "tregwernin.com".

Yesterday we spent recovering from the fundraiser. The garden is still in full flood, and I snuck a few early new potatoes out of the raised bed yesterday. The last two nights have been quite cool - 42 F by my back door, so probably a little lower in the vegetable garden - and the end of the squash / tomato season is in sight. We'll probably have our first frost in two or three weeks. Squash production is already tapering off with the change in the light, and the only tomatoes still setting are the Sweet 100's, but it's certainly been a good year.

Today's picture is of a huge caterpillar I saw in the driveway Saturday. We think it might be the kind which turns into a big moth - anyone have a better idea?



Hoping to get back to writing today or tomorrow.

-GRG

Friday...

Cooler weather at last! And I've spent half the day working on website and email stuff - what a waste! I'm going out in the garden now - but one picture first of the green beans (3.5 pounds) I picked yesterday:



-GRG

Wednesday...

First, here's the link (and a second link)for Saturday's event. It's a fundraiser for Gateway Battered Women's Shelter, run by our local ADF group. We're Dwygelli, and we open (4:00-4:45 pm). Here's our card:



Next, a picture of Monday's tomatoes:



Weather's still hot, with temperatures well above seasonal normal (as in mid-90's again today, close to a record high), but it should be a little better starting Friday. Maybe then I can get more writing done...

-GRG

Monday...

The weather's a bit cooler today, so I'll be canning tomatoes. The Romas in particular have been very productive this year, so we'll have a good supply. I'll put up pictures later.

On other news, we'll be doing a short set of songs and storytelling to open for a charity event this coming Saturday. Links later...

-GRG

Friday...

Too hot to do much here, but I thought I'd put up a picture of the reinforcement of the bean fence. Hopefully this will keep it from collapsing until the end of the season.



That's all for now.

-GRG

Thursday...

Oops, running late again. Here's the book review for Lionheart I mentioned in my last post, and the story I've been preparing to tell. Also, on my LibraryThing discussion thread, a list of the stories I've told or could tell. Being busy with the latter was why I forgot to post here yesterday.

One more garden picture:



And that's it for today...

-GRG

Monday...

Oops, forgot Friday again... I was preoccupied with canning tomatoes, among other things. At this point almost all our vegetables come from my garden, and I have excess to can or give away. Won't last much longer, though - first frost here is usually mid-September.

The beans have recovered from last week's mishap. The only question is whether the post extension at the west end of the fence will survive for another month:



The story I was working on last week is more or less set, and I've been practicing telling it. Getting close...

I spent a good bit of the weekend reading Sharon Penman's newest book, Lionheart. Since I was lucky enough to win an advanced review copy (it comes out in October) from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program (at 50:1 odds!) I thought the least I could do was read and review it asap. I've finished the reading (which took a while - 594 pages and not a quick read), so should be reviewing it soon; I'll post it here when I do. Normally I don't read new historical fiction (new to me, that is) while working on one of my own books, but both her style and period are so different from mine that I'm not worried about cross-contamination.

That's it for today.

-GRG

Wednesday...

Trouble in the garden yesterday evening - the bean fence fell over! Under-engineering, basically, plus very healthy beans this year. We got it part of the way back up, and are hoping it will hold for the remaining 5-6 weeks before our usual mid-September frost. Must do better next year!



The last two days I've been writing, but not on The Druid's Son. With all of the storytelling we did over the weekend, I felt the need to expand my repertoire, and decided to try and pick up an old Irish tale I heard Patrick Ball tell ten or twelve years ago. By googling a couple of phrases, I found the original story on line, and have been working up my own version. With luck I might have it ready for the Long's Peak Highland Games in September. My version is somewhat different from both the original and what little I can remember of Patrick's - I added bits and took out bits, as one does, to adapt the tale to the anticipated audience - but I think it's shaping up well. I might post it here by and by if there's interest.

Back to work...

-GRG

Monday...

Apologies -- looks like I missed last Friday. Blame it on the hot weather.

We had a fun weekend at the Rocky Mountain Highland Games with the Colorado Welsh Society. Lots of storytelling with some good audiences. It's always great to have a chance to perform, polishing old stories and trying out new ones. Performance always requires two necessary parts: the audience and the performer. Without either, only silence.

It's tomato season now, full flood. In about a weekend I'll be canning the Romas, which have been very productive this year. Only so-so for fresh eating, but good for sauce. All of the big tomatoes are ripening now too, and the sweet 100's are going crazy:



That's it for now...

-GRG

Wednesday...

Weather's a little cooler today, which is nice. Garden continues to burgeon. The few Scarlet Runner beans I managed to start are blooming now - little sparks of red among the green:



We'll be storytelling again in the Colorado Welsh Society booth at the Rocky Mountain Highland Games this weekend. Should be fun!

-GRG

Monday...

After a hot weekend, the weather's a little milder today. Good for the garden, though:



The tallest corn stalks are over seven feet high now.

-GRG

Friday...

Too busy to blog today, but here's another garden picture: summer in the cold frame...



-GRG

Wednesday...

Nothing much new... I'm harvesting the onions, which have all made their bulbs and lain down for the season. Back-filling with a few marigolds. This is the third and last batch of onions, harvested today and drying in the sun:



And this is yesterday's batch with their tops braided:



Not much progress with writing, alas, but the weather cooled off yesterday, so there's hope...

-GRG

Monday...

No writing over the weekend, which was mostly occupied with various Lughnasadh celebrations. Weather continues too hot for comfort here, but looks like we might gt some thunderstorms soon, which will cool things off a bit. I'm having trouble imagining rainy pleasant Ireland while sweltering here...

Sunflower season now:



And some of my large tomatoes are finally showing color...

-GRG

Friday...

Almost Lammas, and harvest in the garden is going great: squash, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers, beans... Here's some of what I've picked in the last couple of days (there were also two zucchinis and more tomatoes, but we ate them):



Some of the corn is seven feet high and starting to bloom... Back to work now.

-GRG

Wednesday...

We had a thunderstorm yesterday evening, which cooled things off a bit. The vegetables like the hot weather as long as I keep them watered. The cucumbers and squash are doing well, and the sweet 100 tomatoes are really getting into their stride. Still waiting for the other varieties - lots of green tomatoes, but only the black cherries (another small variety) are starting to show color.

Under these conditions, it's hard to imagine myself into Ireland with Gwernin, but I'm still plodding along. Had to pause briefly to research 6th century Emain Macha, though. Current reference for that: Armagh and the royal centres in early medieval Ireland : monuments, cosmology and the past.

Today's picture: the Magic Lantern rose is starting a new round of blooms:



-GRG

Monday...

A hot weekend, and no break so far, but at least when it's hot in Colorado it's also dry - plus it usually cools off nicely at night. I got up early today to get part of the lawn mowed before the day warmed up - front yard's done, anyway. Might be able to finish it tonight.

I've been posting a bit about my research for The Druid's Son on my LibraryThing thread, and I'm also doing a giveaway of a copy of Storyteller there.

Another garden picture from last week's series - too hot to go out and take more right now:



-GRG