May 2023 - Update #1

 In the last week I wrote chapter 27 very quickly, most of it in two days, because there was a dramatic situation I needed to resolve. The final chapter title is "The End of the Matter". After that I took a day off, only polishing it a little. I've started chapter 28 ("The Bluestones") but haven't got very far yet - after the dramatic end of chapter 27 I needed to pause for a day or so and decide what comes next (aka "let my head fill up again"). Then there were other interruptions - annual vet appointment for Blackberry yesterday followed by shopping, etc. I have a dentist appointment this morning (in about an hour), but maybe I can make some progress this afternoon. The bluestones of the title, btw, are the sites in the Preseli Mountains where the Stonehenge bluestones originated. After that, Gwernin and friends will be on their way home, with a surprise ending for Gwernin.

In other news, about half of my tiny tomato seedlings plus the lemon cucumbers seedlings are outside now in 3" pots. We have been frost-free for about a week now, and the 10 day forecast shows lows in the 40s, but it's never safe to bet on that for the rest of May. By the end of the month my little plants can go directly into their big pots in the garden.

Not much in the way of new references in the last week - it's mostly been map work and thinking, plus a little on-line research.