Samhain

The year turns: I've always been thrilled by Hallowe'en/Samhain (and not just because of the proximity to my birthday!). As a little girl I thrilled with genuine terror (and secret longing) at the thought of witches, insisting that Ma and Daddy should put horseshoes up at both the front and back doors, and sleeping with an extra horseshoe by my bed for luck! We lived in a new house built on what had been farmland, so (usefully) we turned up the odd horseshoe in the garden, as well as fascinating remnants of clay pipes...and whilst my little sister played at schools (she was always the teacher, I had to be a pupil along with the dolls), I used to play at shops and (more relevant to this post!) museums, featuring lots of exciting finds from the garden (and even rudely rounding Ma up as one of the exhibits).

I don't need to worry about evil witches/thunderbolts where we are living now, as a houseleek appeared in our driveway last year, and a thoughtful bird or squirrel has seeded a rowan for us... But I still believe in magic!