Two New Books and a tawny owl in a pear tree

It’s a beautiful day in mid Autumn on Skye and I’m not sure where the year went. This house came with an enormous walled meadow, which my neighbours use to keep their sheep in, and an ancient orchard. About seven years ago the orchard was flooded, and we lost all the currants and gooseberries and rhubarb and such, but most of the trees survived, and there are apples and plums and pears still growing on them.I’m very aware that on Skye, beautiful weather can be replaced by weeks of rain, and gale-force winds, so I went down to the orchard and clambered up a ladder, and picked all the pears I could reach, disturbing a tawny owl, who flapped off somewhere it wouldn’t bothered by people randomly climbing its trees.And now I’m sitting and writing this outside. It’s too chilly really to write outside, but it’s possible, and it won’t be possible soon, and that means a lot.There are two new books out — one came out last week, one comes out this week.PIRATE STEW just came out, illustrated by the genius Chris Riddell. Here’s me reading the opening and talking about how the book came into existence…
It’s only out in the UK and UK-related territories (like Australia and New Zealand) right now. (It comes out in the US in December. This is, oddly enough, because of Covid.)This is Amanda with Pirate Ash (she read Pirate Stew to his school for today’s Dress Like a Pirate Day). After many months of trying to be able to return, it’s looking like I’m going to be able to get back to New Zealand to be with them. If it happens, it’s still many weeks away. Fingers and everything crossed.And the other book (published on Tuesday) is:This. 
And this
The UK edition is the blue one, the US is the grey one. Both are beautiful books, and otherwise the same.
The nights are getting shorter, here on Skye. I’ve been here since April, and things are looking hopeful for getting back to my family (Amanda and Ash are still in New Zealand. I wasn’t able to get back to them, as only New Zealanders are allowed in. That’s loosening up, and they are starting to permit families to reunite.)It was a friend’s birthday the other day, and I asked what they wanted, and was told, a voice message, “Something that makes you feel better when you’re down”.This is what I sent them… And I thought, well, there are a lot of us who need cheering up right now, so, with permission, I’m putting it up here. This may work, although I’m still blogging with Blogger, which these days is a lot like blogging with a charred stick and a section of bearskin, for all the functionality it gives one, so it may not.(It’s an Audio file, as is the one after. Play them both, one after the other, and perhaps they’ll cheer you up too…)
And this too.read more