More winter walks.

Dawn was lovely on Saturday.  Both here...

And when we got up to the block for our walk...

Saturday morning I went over and took some photos for my sister and nieces of them riding their horses.  Jen's Irish Draft sporthorse boy, Fionn, is under saddle now and beginning to learn his job, so we wanted some progress shots of him.

Niamhy and her Ollie.

 
Molly and her Mahlee.

It was fun getting photos of them all riding at once.  The kids are getting so good now, they saddle up on their own and ride independently so Jen can ride at the same time too.

Saturday afternoon we went and helped one of our older Firey members cut up some firewood.   My sister Jen took the opportunity to get some lessons in using a chainsaw while she had my smaller 'hers' chainsaw there to use.  She did good!

It is kind of scary watching the guys using the bigger chainsaws in typical blokey devil-may-care ways. I showed Jen the proper way.  :D

Terrible objectifying of Andrew here but couldn't help taking this shot of his bum looking so nice in his firey pants.  :D

We did an hour and a half and then had yummy afternoon tea. It's all part of being in the Brigade family. 

 
This morning we took a walk round the block. These are very big blocks!  Part of the walk takes you down this cutting along the old railway line that is now a walk and bridle path.  It is dark and smells very fertile and earthy along there. When passing through them, I often think of the convicts who made these cuttings, done the hard way with shovels and picks.

  
It was a nice surprise to find this little bit of environmental art along the side of the cutting.   
 

I love it when other people do quirky stuff for you to find.

It was a bit rainy but I do enjoy a winter weather walk, and the Labbie girls don't care!

Come on daddy!  Time to go!

Yesterday I had a nice peaceful day of reading, crochet, wood splitting, baking and lyre playing. Ah, a home day, just what I needed!  

People who inspire me: Charles de Lint and MaryAnn Harris

Charles de Lint.  How could he not be inspiring for someone like me?  He's not only a writer I would love to be as good as, he's also musical as well, and he's just a downright nice human being.

I'm not sure which is my favorite book of his.  Maybe Greenmantle.  I've read it more times than any of the others, if that counts.  They are all great reads, though.  I even like his short stories, which is very unusual for me.  I'm not usually a short story person.  My copy of Greennmantle has the same cover as this one. As a pagan, how could I go past it in the second hand book store?  It was the beginning of my journey of reading Charles de Lint.

It's not just that he writes fantasy. Within those fantasies, he writes real people with the sort of heart and empathy for his characters that fantasy writers sometimes seem to lack.  He also writes music into his books, which I love as well. It's like he sets the background music for your reading experience.

So. Music. If Charles can be good at both writing and music, then so can I, is what I often remind myself.  And art too. The creative urge can cross boundaries and should cross boundaries. You don't need to pigeonhole yourself.  Each creative endeavour enriches and informs the others, even if one of those pursuits is your best one. 

One of my fave songs of all time is this one by Charles.  I love to listen to it and also to play it on my guitar.  It's extra pleasurable to me because it was inspired by another one of my favorite books, The Woodwife, by Terri Windling. 

He really enjoys his music too.  I came across this one the other day while hunting up ukelele songs for Andyroo. So much fun.

Here he is with his wife MaryAnn Harris, a musician in her own right. I love her EP, especially her song, Crow Girls.

His relationship with MaryAnn is another thing to inspire me.  They work so well together.  They make music together and support each others' efforts.  They are loyal and loving.  I like to think that Andrew and I are like that too, and its good to see couples who keep making it work as the years go by.

They were kind enough to send me the chords to two of their songs, and to take an interest in my Anglo-Saxon lyre, which, incidentally, was named after my reading one of Charles de Lint's short stories.  "Mondream," an Anglo-Saxon word, meaning, "Dreaming the life of a man."  What does a musical instrument do if not that?   
 
Plus, they both adore their little rescue dog, Johnny Cash.  To someone like me, that is one of the best things.  :)

This pic is pinched from a great blog post by Terri Windling on artists and their dogs. 

Thanks for the inspiration, Charles and MaryAnn. Keep writing and making music!