In Lothlorien

  In the works of  J. R. R. Tolkien,  Lothlórien,  known for its golden mallorn trees,
is the fairest forest realm of the Elves  remaining in Middle-earth during the Third Age.

Lórien
Laurelindórenan
Golden Wood
The Hidden Land
Dwimordene

Such a magical place has many names.
It magically appeared outside my back door a few days ago.

 

Willa On the Comeback Trail

 

 

 

 

 

At the Old Mill in Saunook Village, Cherokee, NC

 

 

 

 

 

Inside the Cabin

For those of you who wanted a look inside...

Alas, my shadow is  obscuring the fireplace.

Rosemary and Maythorn would have climbed the ladder to sleep in the loft.

Simplicity . . .

The sticks of the chimney are simply scooped in a shallow depression to lie against each other while the logs of the cabin are joined with dove-tail type notches. 

 

A Visit to Cherokee

In the Qualla Boundary -- the home of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation.

 
A perfect day with the autumn color at its peak.
  
This little cabin is just what I imagined for Maythorn's Cherokee grandmother
 in my book Old Wounds.

Notice the chimney's upper part made of sticks and mud.

 

It was a magical day in a magical place.

 

More Autumn and Some Apologies and Excuses

Life has been a bit of a blur lately -- out of town friends to lunch on Friday, more out of town friends dropping in that afternoon,  a birthday celebration for John on Saturday (and this involved making a giant four-layer chocolate cake and frying three (count them , 3) chickens on the woodstove. And our nephew Jack was with me for the day. Plus our son Ethan arrived from Atlanta for the occasion and I had to catch up with what was new in his life . . .

   

Then, yesterday a dear blogger friend arrived and we talked and took pictures and talked till we separated at last to post today's offerings on our respective blogs.

Today we are headed for Cherokee -- and we'll talk and take more pictures.

All of which is to hint at why I haven't come blog visiting recently. But I will -- I promise. And there will be more California pictures (a big tortoise!) and pictures from Cherokee.

Willa, by the way, is on the comeback trail -- we've been keeping her in except for leashed excursion now and then but she got loose this evening and had a wonderful time running rabbits. I'm  relieved to say she returned before dark, stitches still intact, tired and happy.

Tired and happy describes me too. It's such fun to be spending time with one of my favorite bloggers at this beautiful time of year.

 

California Blooming

 

 

 

 

 

 

North Carolina Color

 Of course I still have lots of California pictures to share. But Autumn is upon us here and attention must be paid.  Doesn't this first picture look like Danae's shower of gold?