Gulls

Clouds flow in the pre-dawn sky
grey & tattered
trees bend and sway gently
calm in the eye of the storm
and above them, dark shapes
slipping & sliding through the air
silent & graceful
moving without motion
circling and rising in perfect concert
feeling their way gracefully
through the currents and eddies
invisible to us poor earth-bound mortals

Midwinter

OK, technically it's tomorrow.

But tomorrow is going to be a little hectic.

So I'm taking this chance to wish you all

A blessed Midwinter/Solstice/Yule.

As the earth grows colder,
the winds blow faster,
the fire dwindles smaller,
and the rains fall harder,
let the light of the sun
find its way home

(anon)

Winter

 Winter

The Cailleach speaks,
Cruel & cold
"This land is mine,
to have and hold"
Iron earth
Frozen water
Harsh & strident,
Winter’s roar

I must admit that the Cailleach's been pretty mellow up until now,

(down here anyway, the Scots may disagree).

All we've had is a couple of early morning frosts

and a few windy days.

But I'm sure we'll find out soon enough when her mood changes.

In the meantime I'll carry on planning for the great Midwinter feast next Saturday.

Somehow I've finished up with 14 people coming.

Which is great.

Except my dining table only seats 8.

or it did.......

Oh well, at least there's some creativity this week :D

(art stuff has been mostly packed away,

which means I now have lots of ideas!)

Betula pendula

aka Silver Birch.

This is the piece that I started on the last day of AEDM

and I've slowly added to it this week.

Although the trees are the focal point at the moment,

they'll actually just be part of the background

when I finally get the whole thing finished

(don't hold your breath)

Finally, for those who think I am a caring, sharing individual

and all sweetness and light,

you may like to know that I am conducting psychological warfare

against my youngest daughter.

For some reason I am feeling more Christmassy than usual this year

(which means I have actually taken note of it).

I found a very cheap, tacky light-up snowman

and announced that I had decorated my desk at work.

This was met with sarcasm from said off-spring,

so I am now on a mission to be as clichéd as possible for the festive season.

So far I have window lights,

festive music, 

mince pies

and Christmas cards

ticked off the list.

When I spoke to her earlier she was sounding slightly concerned,

and muttered something about four horsemen.

The tree is going up tomorrow!

Mwuhahahahahahaha!