Update #4 - April 2026

 Chapter 3 is nearly finished at last, bar a couple of linking bits. I'm borrowing material from the  Storyteller books - Gwion's first harp lesson is much like Gwernin's, and a couple of his interactions with Emrys mirror Taliesin's later interactions with Gwernin. I've also added a story Gwernin tells in The Ash Spear after Taliesin teaches it to him, but here it is told by Talhaearn and Gwion learns it. Chapter 4 will include the search for gold for Arthur's crown as Talhaearn tells it to Gwernin, and Arthur's crowning. Then we launch into more new material, wrapped around stories Taliesin told Gwernin in The Old Gods Endure and The Well of Wisdom. Progress at last.

Last week's snow and overnight hard freeze - mid to low 20s, I think - was dreadful for some of the trees which were just leafing out. Some of the ash trees lost all of their young leaves, and the hackberries were also hard hit, as were the young buds on the oak tree. On the other hand, the silver maples are OK, and the elms didn't even seem to notice. Summer will have to reboot.

Update #3 - April 2026

 A little more tinkering with chapter 3, which I'll be working on today and tomorrow now that taxes and weekly errands are done. I've decided to put the "search for the gold for Arthur's crown" in chapter 4 along with a description of the crowning itself, although not exactly the one in Storyteller. Then I can move on to some new material.

After a few warm days, we are now expecting/hoping for some snow today, followed by a couple of frosty nights. My two rosemary plants, which had been outside enjoying the warm sunshine, are now back in the garage with the flourishing geraniums. Most of the trees are either leafed out or budding - the oak tree is always the last - so I hope the snow won't be too heavy, much as we need the moisture. Spring is not over yet!

Update #2 - April 2026

 A little more progress on chapter three, tweaking the first bits and adding things which have occurred to me. However, I'll also be removing the bits where I was planning to insert Talhaearn's and Emrys' search for the gold for Arthur's crown, so I'll have probably a lower word count than I did a week ago. That's writing.

Spring is progressing slowly, with some of the trees leafed out quite a bit while others are still thinking. Only a trace of morning frost earlier in the week. I've brought my two rosemary plants out of the garage; we might get a bit of light frost this time next week, but they're tolerant. This is being an early spring, but still very dry. My normal frost-free date over the 29 years I've lived here has usually been mid-May.  Farmers' Market starts May 2nd, when I'll have to decide if it's too early for tomato plants!

Update #1 - April 2026

 Not much actual writing this week, but a good deal of thinking and planning. I had been trying to figure out how to use Talhaearn's story of the quest for the gold for Arthur's crown as he told it to Gwernin in Storyteller and Gwernin himself told it in The Old Gods Endure, but it just wouldn't fit. The first part of that tale is set at Samhain, the second part in the summer, and the third part at Samhain again after a summer spent building a magical boat on Ynys Mon. Gwion/Taliesin isn't mentioned in it, and when Gwernin tells the tale, Taliesin says Arthur was crowned exactly two years after Talhaearn and Emrys found him. So they must have been on their way back from the third part of their quest when this story begins. That story may fit somewhere later in this book, but only as something Talhaearn tells Gwion. So onward... Trying to make pieces fit from six previous books spanning fifteen years (and written over 30) is complicated.

More normal spring weather the last couple of days after a rather warm weekend. Most of the trees are leafing out; we finally got a little rain last night, followed by light frost this morning. And one of my daffodils which haven't bloomed in years is blooming.