Sunday...

After a run of summer-like weather, we're back to proper spring: 40's today, partly cloudy, with a strong north wind. Snow line was rather low on the foothills - close to 6000 ft, I think. A good day to stay inside and play with words. I designed a new promotional postcard for the local Druids, based on one of my Irish photos. I rather like it.



-GRG

Still here...

...80's over the weekend, and today it's snowing! Spring in Colorado...



Lately I've been writing essays for one of ADF's study programs, and have put two of them up on this site on this page. Enjoy!

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

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

Thursday...

Well, for the last week I've been busy -- first with writing, then over the weekend with Beltane celebrations; after that, with a new time sink called ancestry.com, and finally with gardening. Hopefully I can get some writing done today!

For Beltane we had two celebrations: first, our private one on Friday night, and then the public ADF celebration on Saturday in Cheeseman Park with SBGH. Chilly weather for both - Friday night we actually had a little sleet and snow, so the warmth of the leaping fire was very welcome. Saturday was dry but cold. I took my camp stove to provide hot tea and mulled wine for the potluck that follows the ceremony, and was very popular as a result!

Still getting frost most nights, though the next three days will be warmer. Time to till the tomato beds...

-GRG

Monday...

Lots of seasonal chores today - wrapping presents, going to the post office, and so forth. Saturday night we celebrated Yule with ADF in a rather low-key ceremony; so, feeling the need of more ritual, I will be celebrating the Solstice again myself tonight - and hopefully observing the Lunar Eclipse as well. So far the weather looks good...

After the first of the year I'll have a couple of public appearances: a book reading/signing (date still to be arranged) with a local venue, and on January 22nd some storytelling as part of the Colorado Welsh Society's St. Dwynwyn's Day. More on both of these later.

Still looking like a brown Christmas in Denver, although the mountains have been getting heavy snow.

Picture later...

-GRG

... and Friday

A fine autumn day here in Denver, and still warm. Tomorrow we will be joining the local ADF group for their Samhain observance, which should be fun. So tonight I'm grilling pork loin for the potluck feast that follows. Glad it's not snowing!

Druids obviously are something which has been much on my mind this year. There isn't really much information about the original ones, and all the (scanty) sources come from writers with their own agendas (agendae?). What does seem fairly certain is that there was a priesthood by this name in Britain when the Romans arrived (i.e., 1st century CE) which was then suppressed, and that there was a related group in Ireland at the time Patrick arrived (5th century CE?) which was still around to some extent and in some form in Gwernin's time (mid 6th century CE). It seems highly unlikely that their beliefs and practices, as described by the classical observers in 1st century BCE Gaul, would not have undergone some degree of change in that period. Add to that the fact that the few bits we know (or think we know) about the Irish Druids were reported by their religious opponents, and you can see that searching for particular grains of sand in a tub of mud in thick fog on a moonless midnight is a simple task in comparison to searching for the truth about the 6th century Irish Druids...



I'll just have to see where the awen takes me.

-GRG

Beltane

Saturday we celebrated Beltane with some local Druids. This came about through a chance encounter last October, when we visited Newgrange on the Irish trip. All very appropriate to my current research.

I've tentatively started writing again. I realized I was waiting to figure out the rest of the plot, and it doesn't work that way - not for me, anyway. So it's time to get back to work!

-GRG