Winter

Well it finally rained here, to help us welcome in the Winter Solstice in the correct spirit.  The walks this week have been lovely.

I love the slanting, golden light of the Western Australian winter.

Cheeky dogs!  Have no idea what they had seen or sniffed.  Roos or Quendas, I'm guessing.  Blimey they took off after some big grey roos this morning in the forest and I thought they'd get lost, but luckily the roos went so fast that the dogs gave up quickly.  It is good to have middle-aged dogs!

This was the neighbour's place yesterday afternoon.   The pecans go this amazing yellow as they finally lose their leaves, and they catch that winter light so well.
 

 
I've been crocheting the latest afghan in the evenings.  It's looking good.  Very warm and earthy.  Mr Kitty was sitting by me waiting for a chance to get onto my lap, and he was placed so that I kept pulling out extra yarn and putting it over his ear by accident.  Apparently he didn't mind, because he let it stay there each time.

At lunchtime, I've been enjoying reading this book by fellow Aussie Druid, Julie Brett.

It was a great little read and full of good ideas, looking at Druidry as a form of spirituality that could be applied to people of any religion, or none.   If you ever wondered how to connect better to where you live, I recommend it.

It's an eternal question for white Aussies, of how to walk that fine line between appreciating the history and traditions of the the lands of our ancestors, and finding ways to the connect to our new lands, all while being sensitive to those who were here before we came.   I think Julie and her friends have found a very good way to work within all of these concerns, and that what they have learned would certainly apply to other countries as well.

I will certainly be using some of what she teaches in my own practice, and I can't wait to try out some of the group activities when we next get some Druid-minded people together, which will be very soon!

What else?  Hmmm, well, the week has been very "Gimpy," with me working feverishly on five of my older novels to get the cover spines looking snazzier.   This is how Land of Fire looks now.  It is not quite as good as the more recent designs that go right across the cover, but I think a smaller version of the picture off the front cover, plus a nicer font, should be enough to tweak the imagination of anyone seeing the spine in a row of books.      

 
I hope so, anyway.  And now it is back to working on my author portal site.  Phew, getting back to writing will seem like a breeze by comparison!  Ghost is calling to me.  He wants a new story.  I want him to have a new story too.