Near Haytor on Dartmoor early this morning, Beltane Border Morris was dancing the sun up for another year, bless them. Up the May!
youtu.be/YKY4mZG7v-w?fe…

2 lovely photos from Sunday's shenanigans in Chagford: the Green Man (naturalist Tony Whitehead), Obby Oss (my husband Howard) & the Storyteller (folkorist Lisa Schneidau), snapped by Miriam Boy-Hackney. Plus a tender moment between The Oss and The Oss Wife, caught by Wendy Froud.

Today the Jack-in-the-Green & the Obby Oss will be dancing on Ore Hill (off New Street in Chagford) from 2 pm onward. If you're anywhere near Dartmoor, please come join us. My husband Howard will be dancing the Oss again this year. Watch out for that Oss, he's a trickster!

A reminder to #Devon / #Dartmoor folks that Chagford's Jack-in-the-Green and Obby Oss emerge tomorrow to celebrate the changing season with music, folklore and frolics, rain or shine. Meet at the Ore Hill gate, off New Street, Chagford. All are welcome. (Poster by Virginia Lee)

'In times of dread, artists must never remain silent. This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That’s how civilizations heal.' - Toni Morrison.

“Maybe it's animalness that will make the world right again: the wisdom of elephants, the enthusiasm of canines, the grace of snakes, the mildness of anteaters. Perhaps being human needs some diluting.' - Carol Emshwiller (Carmen Dog)

“There are so many unsung heroines and heroes at this broken moment in our collective story, so many courageous persons who, unbeknownst to themselves, are holding together the world by their resolute love or contagious joy.' -David Abram (Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cosmology)

Happy Birthday to Elizabeth Goudge (1900 – 1984), author of many splendid books for children and adults. Here's a post about visiting Compton Castle here in Devon, which was the inspiration for Moonacre Manor in The Little White Horse. terriwindling.com/blog/2019/10/m…

An interesting piece on little- known Welsh language hymms collected by historian Robin Gwyndaf, an expert on Welsh folklore and oral history:
theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/a…

Here is a terrific interview with Charles Vess about his work on a dream project: illustrating Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell for the Folio Society. collectiblebookvault.com/post/new-relea…

I'll be off-line for a couple of days for family reasons -- but I'll be back on Thursday in time for this event, hosted by the fine author and naturalist Tiffany Trent. Perhaps I'll see some of you there?

facebook.com/events/3890564…

Very happy to see that Kickstarter has given us a “projects we love” badge! kickstarter.com/projects/kylec… #poetry #photography #lizziesiddal

“Sorrow prepares you for joy. It violently sweeps everything out of your house so that new joy can find space to enter. It shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of your heart so that fresh, green leaves can grow in their place. ' - Rumi

Lottie wishes everyone a good weekend.

'To be 'grounded' and 'well rooted,' to be able to 'stand firm' or 'stand one's ground' and also to 'branch out' and to be as resilient as the willow's lovely sprung strength: terms of psychological health can seem like descriptions of trees.' - Jay Griffiths (Kith)

Powerful.