I slept with the windows open last night, listening to the rain. For the first time in weeks the owls were quiet, the coyotes were quiet, the raccoons were quiet. Autumn arrived on little cat feet. It was peaceful.

It would have been more peaceful if I’d been able to sleep, but I couldn’t. Hild is pouring through my head at the moment, and at one o’clock in the morning I gave up, got up, and wrote down about 500 words worth of notes. Things are getting exciting: marriages, pregnancies, treachery, assassination attempts, family betrayals. At last–yay!–I can (literally) get the knives out.

So my presence here might be a little erratic for the next few days. I’ll be posting, and I’ll be reading comments, but I’ll be returning comments with reduced frequency. Meanwhile here’s a pic of moody Bebbanburh (okay, actually a pic of Bamburgh, made to look, y’know, medieval–I forget where I found it; it’s been on my hard drive for ages; I’ve been trying to figure out for ages where it’s from, who should get the credit; if you recognise it, please let me know). And do, please, talk amongst yourselves…