The world from my window

They've brought in the maize harvest now, the contractors working into the evening darkness to reveal a stubby, brown field by morning. What was once tall and serene and crying out to be photographed has now disappeared before I even had a chance to get out my camera. There'll be a Hunter's Moon in the sky tonight and it's full of foreboding. It means that my dog, Artemis, will go a little bit crazy for a while, as befits her name, which was the one the ancient Greeks gave to the goddess of hunting. Artemis was Apollo's twin sister and also a goddess of the moon.   The moon seems to have an effect on my Arty, for sure. She'll be particularly disobedient for a day or two, resisting all calls to 'come back here' after a week of being a good girl. This morning, she tears off into the copse and comes back five minutes later with a sheep's skull in her mouth. She, rather kindly, drops it at my feet. A full moon is long thought to have had an e

Like Laurie Lee, I was the baby in a big family, living on the land in a rural village. It was an idyllic upbringing and I have much to be thankful for. I was the youngest of five, brought up on dairy farm down a country lane edged with campions and gypsy lace, on the edge of a golden-stoned village in Somerset. I've been writing about family life over on The Lady Shed website. I'd love to hear your stories. That's about it. Love Maddie x

Please forgive me. I haven't blogged in over a month and it's all my fault. I can't see the wood for the trees. I've reached a bit of a crossroads with The World from my Window and I'm not sure which direction to take. I'm back from Corfu now, having been in Dorset for a few weeks and hurtling headlong into work and Lush Places life. I have to go up to the village hall in a minute to warm up some pizzas for the cast of The Ballad of Martha Brown   before going up again later on to take the money on the door. I'm way behind on updating the village website, I've got a TEFL course to finish before the end of February and I'm looking for a publisher for Good Morning Corfu: A Year on a Greek Island . I also need to think about completing my Masters' dissertation next year. Stupidly, I've registered for NaNoWriMo again this year, about which I'll be writing on The Lady Shed  website next week. So, what with that and the day job,