We drove through the lanes to the Llandeilo Book Fair on Saturday, in glorious early morning sunshine. Bluebells crammed the verges and every tree shone with new buds.

It was an exciting day. Fans arrived with books already purchased that they wanted me to sign and I met face to face, authors who I’ve interacted with online. Though nervous, I relished the opportunity to share my feelings about magical realism and had lovely feedback after my talk. Sharing with others the inspiration behind my writing was a great way to focus on the future months, the summer ahead and as the crowds faded away, ideas flooded my mind.

Beltane marks the beginning of Summer, welcoming her back after the long months since Samhein. It’s time for ideas from the spring to bear fruit and flourish and as the sun shines, we can look forward to warmer days and longer evenings.

My partner and I burned nine of the sacred woods on our riverbank while the dusk chorus rang out in the trees above us. Heron flew up from the river, red kite circled overhead and two ducks arrived to canoodle by ‘the island’. We pulled out burning logs and leapt together, renewing our commitment to each other and setting a date to be handfasted, 21st June 2018.

And we’d love to welcome our friends and family that day to the byre. With only a dry afternoon, we worked hard painting soffit board and dobbing out with lime mortar.

In the months to come as we work on our house and byre, we’ll be inspired, however tired we are, as we work towards completing our home for midsummer 2018.

Bright Beltane blessings for the Summer ahead.