• I should know better than to let Irish Woman loose in a farm supply store with a well-stocked seed display.
  • Apparently “Let’s start small” means I’m going to be creating at least half a dozen raised beds to accommodate her ‘small’ garden.
  • Tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, cucumbers, summer squash, herb garden, strawberry bed, blackberry and raspberry canes, and six blueberry bushes in planters made from whiskey barrels.
• Irish Woman should know better than to tell me to go away in a farm supply store with a semi-stocked gun counter.
• There were no modern sporting rifles to be had, but there were some AR-pattern shotguns, a few hunting rifles, and a very nice Ruger American in .22LR.  They also had quite a few pistols under the glass.
  • There was low-end buckshot, some slugs, and some bird shot.  A small stack of .22 was present, but was dwindling as I looked at it.  No centerfire rifle or handgun ammunition at all, although the nice lady working the counter said that they’d gotten some and had it bought in the first hour of being open that morning.
  • There were also cases of MagPul AR and AK magazines, which surprised me
• I had a nice internal conversation while standing at said counter.
  • Note to self – That .22 bolt action uses the same magazines as my 10/22.
  • Note to self – Boo turns 13 in a couple of months.
  • Note to self – A boy needs a rifle all his own
• So, to go with his Mossberg 20 gauge, Boo now has a .22 bolt action.  I think that’s a good start.
• Note to self – Dogs do not care that you were up until 4 AM working.  5 AM is time to go out and read the newspaper, and 7 AM is breakfast o’clock.
  • I was letting Irish Woman sleep in this weekend.  Poor thing got her second Covid19 shot, and it’s made her a bit puny.
  • I’ve been a bit of a grouchy zombie all day, but that’s been par for the course around here.
• We got between 4 and 6 inches of snow on top of about 2 inches of ice over the past week or so.  I was the weirdo in the neighborhood who was out shoveling while it was still coming down.
  • Better to move a little snow 2 or 3 times than to move a lot of snow once.

Laissez les bons temps rouler!

If you’re looking for an excellent overview of European culture and warfare during the Viking era, The Vikings and Their Enemies – Warfare in Northern Europe, 750-1100 by Philip Line is an excellent resource.

A fresh account of some of history’s greatest warriors. The Vikings had an extraordinary and far-reaching historical impact. From the eighth to the 11th centuries, they ranged across Europe – raiding, exploring, and colonizing – and their presence was felt as far away as Russia and Byzantium. They are most famous as warriors, yet perhaps their talent for warfare is too little understood.

Philip Line, in this scholarly and highly interesting study of the Viking age, uses original documentary sources – the chronicles, sagas, and poetry – and the latest archaeological evidence to describe how the Vikings and their enemies in northern Europe organized for war. His graphic examination gives an up-to-date interpretation of the Vikings’ approach to violence and their fighting methods that will be fascinating listening for anyone who is keen to understand how they operated and achieved so much in medieval Europe. He explores the practicalities of waging war in the Viking age, including compelling accounts of the nature of campaigns and raids and detailed accounts of Viking-age battles on land and sea, using all the available evidence to give an insight into the experience of combat. Throughout this fascinating book, Philip Line seeks to dispel common myths about the Vikings and misconceptions about their approach to warfare.

The Vikings and Their Enemies is a well-organized, thorough treatise on the culture, technology, and military art of the Viking era.  A good general knowledge of the history and geography of the 9th and 10th Century is probably necessary for the reader to be able to follow both the narrative history and the discussions of the Frankish, Anglo-Saxon, and Scandinavian cultures of that time.  Even with that, I found myself occasionally having to check the map file included with the audiobook and looking at other information sources to fill holes in my knowledge.

Robert Fass’ reading was clear and easy to follow.  He was able to keep my attention throughout the book, even when the material became rather dry and detailed.

For someone who has had a life-long interest in the Vikings and European history in general, this was a key addition to my bookshelf.

Cedar Sanderson returns to Underhill in The East Witch:

Anna’s rescue training kicked in when she tripped over the injured elf. Getting him home? No problem. Getting herself home again? That’s going to be a little more complicated.

Trapped Underhill, in the land of the fae, Anna has to remember everything she knows about fairy tales. Not the sweet happy ones: the stories where Baba Yaga boils you alive and giants grind your bones for bread. Her skills as a hunter and her good manners might be all that keep her alive. At least, if she can keep the Wild Hunt at bay!

Fans of the other books in this series are in for a treat, and so are new readers. 

Mrs. Sanderson uses her exquisite talent for painting settings and characters to good work when she introduces us to Anna and her companions as she tries to find her way home.  I quickly became entranced by the adventures, paced just right, that she and Ivan, the elf, go through as they try to navigate the treacherous and twisty byways of Underhill.

Along the way, they meet and befriend everything from giants to magical carp to Baba Yaga herself.  All of the main characters are well fleshed out, and the author has me hooked enough to hope that they reappear in future stories so I can learn more about them.

Like I said, the story is well paced.  Where necessary, the author slows down to let us get to know the characters and the world they live in, but when the story calls for action, I found myself reading as fast as I could to find out what happens next.

While The East Witch is part of a series, it is enough of a stand-alone story that a new reader could pick it up and be able to enjoy it just as it is. Readers who enjoyed the other Underhill stories will find this one as easy to slip into as a warm sleeping bag on a cold night.

If you’re looking for a good book to curl up with in front of the fire, The East Witch should be on your short list.