A song for you: The King of the Boars

This song is based on two boar stories.

One of the boars is Twrch Trwyth from Welsh Mythology.


The other is Torc Triath from Irish Mythology.

Were they the same boar?  I posited so in this song!  

Druids and allsorts!

It's autumn, but there has been hardly any rain. We're still turning out to fires, mostly ones lit by people who aren't very aware.  They light a small fire and don't put it out properly, or they light too big a fire for the dry conditions. Ah well, at least it keeps us busy.  And dirty...

...but not in a good way!

I need to talk about the Druidcamp.  It was while back now but it was most marvelous.

Damh the Bard, Cerri and Kristoffer were so lovely.  As I've said before, if you want to see what a spirituality or philosophy will do for you, look at its leaders, and you couldn't ask for for kinder, wiser, more connected beings than these three.

I learned a heap, and laughed and cried a lot, and some of the moments in the ceremonies and bardic circle and giant music session were just mind blowingly amazing.

Julie, Tamzin, Cait and I performed Savage Daughter together at the eisteddfod.

Afterward at the bardic circle, I did my new song called King of the Boars that I wrote for my new lyre, Torc.  I love this pic Michelle got of me.

I look a lot more relaxed than I

felt!

I also got to spend time with my Druid peeps!  Yay!

Selfie with Mandy, and a photobomb by Damh the Bard and Kris!  Did you ever!

On the plane with lovely Michelle and my Druid brother Dusty!

My dear druid sister Trudy!

       
And we explored a bit of gorgeous Adelaide.  The botanical gardens are lovely, as is the old architecture, and they have a lot of art and quirky bits that I loved, except the moment where I thought i was about to fall down these stairs, though it turned out there was glass over them!  The sculpture at the bottom looks a bit worried that he might have had to catch me!  

Around here, things go on as usual.  The last chicks of the year are growing up. both roosters, dammit, but being part Hamburg, they aren't very big so won't be able to bully the girls, or very loud crowers, so they might be able to stay.  Frankendotte has gone to live with mum's partner, Karl, and his hens.  He is rechristened Frank Sinatra for his singing, which Karl loves.  A lucky break for Frank!

One of the so called Hamburgs is definitely not all Hamburg.  He is rather hideous in the face right now but his plumage is pretty and interesting.  He was christened Chugly (chicken ugly) for a while but he's now called Bunky, short for Shubunken, because of his goldfish colouring.

The other one is classic Hamburg and is The Cisco Kid because of his embroidered black and white appearance.  He is super pretty, which makes Bunky look worse.

I'm crocheting a blankie for my friend Amy, and as usual Mr Kitty has to help.

He's such a lovey.

I've been passed as a driver for the big ICV in our comms brigade (incident control vehicle).   

We turned out to the late shift with our comms brigade to a large fire and got to see our brigade mates from Chidlow VBFB.  Ha, I wasn't the grubbiest for a change!  Away from the fire, it was cold out there!  It seems silly to be fighting fires while it is cold, but there you have it. 

It was hectic at first.  We arrived to find many appliances and support crews on the boards to keep track of with our very good crew ...

 ...but as the fire was blacked out, trucks were stood down, and the night drew on, the number of fireys dropped, and by the time we left at 2am, it was quite spooky out there. Just one lone guy from the water truck wandering in to find coffee and food at the blessed Salvos truck!
  

No rain, but we know autumn is here because the Virginia Creeper has once more turned.

  I found one of my books on the feature wall at our local library.  Yay!

Roo and i got to turn out to a fire together in the back of the truck.  Also yay!

Yes something weird happened to my face.  Other than me just being weird as usual. 


We had some of our Druid mates over for a Samhain night.  It was lovely getting to see my  friends enjoying playing my lyres. They're so calming to play.  
 

   

            Also Guinevere felt she should be part of the night, and Michelle got a pic of her for me.

Michelle also made me this quilt!  Squeeeee!

It has the rune Ansuz on it, for my patron god, Odin, and for inspiration and skill in communication, and the two ravens who accompany Odin, Huginn and Muninn.  I just can't even begin to say how much I love and appreciate this gift and all the work and skill she put into making it!  I love you Michelle!

This gorgeous old Jarrah tree was on the side of the track we walked one morning this week.

Look at all the liminal space, and the face too!

Michelle also got this pic of my dear Rosie, who is 11-and-a-half now and showing her age a little more lately.

My sweet sweet baby, how did you get to be an old dog so suddenly?            


      

I'm Bad...

Yep more blogging absence.  I've been so busy doing cool stuff, is my excuse, and I figure it's a good one. Only thing is, that means you don't get to see my cool stuff happening!

Ok, so this is my very cool kolrosing experiment...

Rubbing raw cacao into the carved lines of the design. 

After that, I burnished the lines back into timber with fine wet and dry.  It's amazing how it goes back to smooth wood and you can't feel the cuts any more, but the lines are still there as colour.

Not to impressive to look at yet, though...

Then, the moment of truth... Olive oil!

The first trepidatious pass.  Will it work?  Will it look good?

Yes is the answer!  Weeee!  I love it!

I'll get you a better photo for next time. this one was taken outside while it was still wet with oil.

The design for this lyre was taken from it's name: Fréowine, meaning 'noble friend' or 'wine friend' (someone you would go drinking with.)  I made a border of bees to represent the mead that the Anglo-Saxons loved to drink, and made a design of Odin's ravens, Huginn and Muninn knocking drinking horns for the central image.

The kolrosing looks quite delicate and decorative.  Every bee was drawn freehand, so they all have their own character, and the two ravens look like they are having a lot of fun. I love it!

I am still working on the tailpieces and bridges for both new lyres, plus a new tailpiece for Mondream, my original lyre. I am hand-sanding them so it takes a bit longer but I love the meditative state of hand-working wood.  There's no hurry. 

Other cool stuff? I have finished my non-fiction book on how to write first drafts of novels, the same way I do.  It is called "Wild Noveling: The First Draft."  I wrote it to be amusing and light and yet useful.  My very earliest report back from a first reader is that they loved it!  Yay!  More on that soon.

This morning we heard our very first rusty crow from our three baby roosters.  It was King Pellinore who first crowed, of course. He is half again the size of the other two.  He's a nice guy though... So far!  I hope he stays that way because he would be handful if he turns agro. He is huge!

I'll try to get you a pic for next time. In the meantime, here is Morgana the more adventurous little hen.  She's shaping up very nicely.
 

       
 The virginia creeper has been putting on its marvellous autumn show for us again.

I think this one below is my all time fave pic of it, and it also sums up how warm and cosy the cottage feels, when you approach it form the paddock on a winter's evening.

There have been some warm days, though, warm enough for picnics.

With amazing skies.

And there is still time to enjoy the extra air and space provided by our new screen door!  Yay!  The building of the verandah was aimed for this moment, and now it is here!

 
Next comes raising, levelling and paving the entry area. It never ends, does it!

 Mr Kitty would prefer that I did more sitting and crocheting. 

Sis Jen and I posted each other matching pics of cats on laps last night.  Funny!  You can tell the cooler weather is here!

Enjoy your changing season, and I'll talk to you again soon. 

 

Catching up!

I don't know, suddenly I never remember to blog. Maybe this happens to everyone who starts a blog. It's not like I don't have news.   I have lots, I just don't have the urge to sit down and write it.  the time I spend blogging could be time spent with a musical instrument, or my dogs or chickens, studying druidry, or chasing the autumn sun around the property.

Ah well, life is cycles, maybe the urge will return.   I've been collecting photos still...

The bridges for my two new lyres begin their journey.  

Lovely old jarrah cut out of a weathered old bit of 2 by 4.  This will do for both the tailpieces and bridges.   

Autumn skies over Lake Leschenaultia

Roo doing a panorama

Lovely Wandoo trees nearby

A great old grass tree.

More lake, from the other end.

A family of black swans

A coot.  They have such bizarre feet, like little rows of leaves!  

See the feet? 

My view of WA author day on the verandah at Just Add Passion

The sky fROM the roof of our friend Gogs's house.  

A cutie clydie visiting the pie shop in Bakers Hill.  

 

The lake again, on a day spent with druids.  Lovely!

The embarrassed author at WA Author day.   It was fun! 

   

The copper piggy, as Roo calls him, also known as Torc, on the lyre of the same name!  Woohoo!

After a day of Incident Control Vehicle training today, I plan on tomorrow being a day of woodwork, art, music and kolrosing.  Here is my very first bee, cut into the other lyre, Fréowine. The bees will go right around the hole in the lyre to represent the mead being drunk by the two 'wine friends' of the design that will be on the lower part of the lyre.  I'll tackle it when all the bees have honed my kolrosing skills a bit more!

When it has all been scratched in, I will rub cocoa into the grooves, then oil and burnish them.  Cocoa made the nicest colour when we did a few tests, and smells delectable too. I hope some of the smell stays on the lyre when it is all done.  :)  Another arty adventure.  I do love a challenge!  

Have a lovely weekend.   I won't promise to post again on Monday.  Subscribe, and then you'll know every time that I do a post, no matter how irregular!