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4 More Years – hallelujah! Woke up at 6a.m. to listen to the acceptance speech… Mum has been very under the weather for the past week or so, a bad cold that has really taken its toll (her breathing is terrible, and she still has a racking cough), but the election result has bucked her up no end – mind you, she always said he would win, she called it… I can’t help thinking there must have been a moment late last night, when he realised that he was actually going to win, that Obama had a heart sink moment – I mean who in their right mind would want his job? Especially now… the knives will be out… but thank the gods he does want to do it….

Remember, remember, the 5th of November,
Gunpowder, treason and plot…

What a week… watching the images come in of hurricane Sandy’s devastation, not being able to reach anyone in downtown NY for 5 days, being powerless to help (thank goodness I brought sam back with me, she says selfishly) – welcome to the future – not a pretty picture… meanwhile, we had a great bonfire night down in Barney on Friday – really fabulous fireworks and the burning of the houses of parliament – all very satisfactory… now we just have to suffer through tomorrow – being 5 hours ahead means we won’t know the results until wednesday – I’m not sure I can stand the suspense… SURELY America is not as stupid as I fear… the apocalypse of Sandy is nothing to what a Romney administration would be….

Woke up to a totally white world this morning – an inch of snow on everything, with the odd rose sticking out like a drop of blood… and the clocks not even back yet (they go back tomorrow). There is still enough heat left in the sun for it not to have lasted long – mostly gone by midday – but it was very beautiful while it lasted, and even with the sun it only got a few degrees above freezing – this kind of weather I like, even if it is a bit early… Only yesterday I was thinking that autumn was well and truly here, with the leaves falling like copper rain… this part of the world actually goes in more for gold than red, the sycamores in particular giving the impression of the last of the summer sunshine. But then there are the amazing copper beeches – the beeches in general are simply stunning. Talking of trees, the news of the projected demise of all of this country’s ash trees is a real tragedy… it’s hard to imagine the countryside without them, they are one of the iconic sights of this part of the world… first the elm, now the ash… and they say the chestnuts are suffering “bleeding” conkers, and the oaks something we don’t yet understand… we are indeed in the end game of the old world….

Sam and I moved into Saltoun (the Big House) yesterday, as they were forecasting real cold, and the heating bills out in my studio will skyrocket if I have to heat it 24/7… sam is not sure about the move, the house smells mightily of old dog – but Tom never goes upstairs any more, so that is now sam’s territory. I lit a fire in the drawing room this evening to tempt him, but it wasn’t until 11pm, when everyone else had gone to bed, that he ventured down… yavash, yavash, as the persians say… good timing on the move, tho’, as the kitchen taps decided to explode last night, lucky I was here… always something…

I have written my first song from this part of the world – a rather lengthy bardic ballad, no doubt partly inspired by seeing Robin Williamson perform in Barney back in September – altho’ I actually started writing it up in Hamilton, NY, after a gorgeous walk through the autumn woods on the Colgate campus. There are also two instrumentals from my trip up to the Highlands in August, a slow air and a reel… has to come out somehow…

Today Sam had his first experience of the Great Outdoors… out the back door of the studio that leads into the garden – weeds! flowers! stone walls! wet earth! SMELLS! he made it as far as the archway door, but I couldn’t tempt him onto the lawn… It’s wild, watching curiosity and fear vying for supremacy…

And then, gilding the lily, I took him over to the Big House for the first time…. I don’t think he’ll ever be as comfortable there as he is in the studio – too overheated, and too full of dog smells and other people… but he didn’t freak out completely, and I cannot stay on in the studio indefinitely – diana is leaving any day now (none too soon, we are at each other’s throats) and I cannot leave mum alone in the house… I don’t want to leave sam alone either, so he’ll have to come with me… perhaps he can commute…

I need to mix the TWIR recordings, I need to keep working on Vagabond, I need to start work on Orfeo… I need to keep a focus on my work, along with everything else…