Samhain

Torrential heavy rain and not a glimmer of the sun, very appropriate as we enter Samhain, the darker half of the Celtic year.
A lull at around 4pm and we loped around the circuit, admiring again the crop of fly agaric that have burst forth under the spruce trees. So pretty but deadly! Himself remembers touching one as a child and being seriously ill afterwards. They are rarely fatal though and seem to have been used throughout the centuries for their hallucinogenic properties. Apparently this is what the Vikings had a nibble on before going beserk as they entered battle and here's something interesting I just read: they have connections with Santa Claus. Both wear red and white, Santa comes down the chimney and so apparently did shaman, popping down through the smoke hole lugging a great bag of the things. And reindeer like them! They get a bit frisky afterwards hence the flying. This puts a very different slant on Father Christmas!
And something's had a very good nibble on this one. And it wasnt me.