Well that was A Year. I started it with one arm that was incredibly painful and barely functional and ended the year with it mostly healed and, more surprisingly to me, having re-found my creative mojo. The arm, which I first damaged in September 2021, is now back at 95% mobility and merely aches when … More And that was the year that was: 2022 edition
The Rhythm of Life The Village church had rung in both Christmas and New Year, the peals echoing through the Wildwood even though the Wood’s inhabitants celebrated neither. Now the grey days of January had set in, days when it was easy to let the optimism of the December celebrations crumble in the face of … More For the twelfth tale of Flashmas the Wildwood gave to me …
Joan tells the Witch a Story ‘And it wasn’t a lie. I had spoken to the King and he hadn’t expressed any concerns whatsoever about my plan in the course of our conversation.’ The Witch grinned at Joan and topped up her mug. ‘He needs better councillors. How could they not hear what you weren’t saying?’ ‘If it wasn’t … More For the eleventh tale of Flashmas the Wildwood gave to me …
The Village Yule Ball Every year, the day before the Winter Solstice, the Village Hall was transformed into an extension of the Wildwood, decked out by the Wood’s inhabitants with holly and ivy, pine and mountain ash, hawthorn and spruce. This largess of greenery was finished off by an explosion of paper chains that the … More For the ninth tale of Flashmas the Wildwood gave to me …
Goose goes a Wand’ring Goose had woken in a terrible mood and the discovery that the first snow of the winter had fallen on the Wildwood overnight did nothing to cheer her up since it seemed that most of it was covering her front door. How was she to keep the Village safe from intruders … More For the sixth tale of Flashmas the Wildwood gave to me …
Allan Rues His Words The first glimmerings of winter had come to the Wildwood. The air fair hummed with cold, shrubs and trees glittered in the dawn light, spiderwebs looked like spun silver, and the tiny windows of the Witch’s cottage shone, resplendent with the frost-ghosts of ferns. The Witch, having dug out her winter … More For the fourth tale of Flashmas the Wildwood gave to me …
Fox’s Feathered Den The Wildwood is a real wood, with real trees and plants, inhabited by real animals and birds. And at the very same time it is The Wildwood, old beyond time, well spring of myths, legends, and folklore. If it pulls you into a story then it is the place where Once Upon … More For the third tale of Flashmas the Wildwood gave to me …
Tea and Love at Doves The Village, situated as it was on the southern edge of the Wildwood, where the river swept out from under the trees and began a wide slow meander through the fields and hills, had absorbed plenty of the Wildwood’s power. For over a thousand years it has been either a … More For the second tale of Flashmas the Wildwood gave to me …
Originally written at the start of December from the prompts sent daily by Writer’s HQ for their 12 Days of Flashmas challenge, I decided I wanted share these on my blog over the actual twelve days of Christmas (so from Boxing Day to Epiphany) pretty much as they left my keyboard at the end of … More Twelve Tales from the Wildwood
Kizzia Mildmay 