The second half of April

The "big news" for the second half of April was that Storvik held its annual Novice Tournament on the last weekend of the month. We've been holding it in June for quite a few years, but we always get quite a few complaints about heat, humidity and mosquitoes. Now that we have added horses and dogs to the activity mix, it behooves us to pick a date with weather that's less likely to make the critters overheat.

This year, though, we inadvertently drew a weekend on the other end of the temperature spectrum. April 2026 has seen quite a few days in the 70s and 80s, but Saturday was cool and cloudy, with the threat of rain in the afternoon and evening. Things weren't too bad in the middle of the day, and my friend Patches was in charge of the archery range, so I went out there to shoot some arrows.

After a brief refresher lesson from a marshal-in-training -- who was named the next Kingdom archery champion during afternoon court! -- I started firing off my loaner arrows with my loaner bow. And I did not suck! It wasn't long before one of my arrows found its way into the center of the target! My instructor captured the moment on my phone camera. (I seem to be having issues with uploading the actual photo.) And more arrows hit the center zone, too! I really should be doing target archery more often.

Later in the afternoon, after I'd rested my feet for a while, the wind really picked up as the temperature dropped a bit. The site that Storvik rents for outdoor events is very flat -- it was a Black-owned airport decades ago -- and it sits next to a wide part of the Patuxent River known as Jug Bay. So when the wind blows, it doesn't encounter much in the way of barriers. Also, the various weather apps on people's phones converged on 5 p.m. as the time when rain would hit.

At many events, I stay for feast, while one of my friends (who has a number of dietary issues) eats her own food and plays the hammered dulcimer for the enjoyment of feast guests. This time around, she didn't want to expose her instrument to a potential rainstorm. And, truth be told, when afternoon court ended just before 5 p.m., both she and I were chilled to the bone (again -- I should have learned my lesson last month!) and I agreed that feasting in the rain didn't sound appealing (even though I just LOVE tacos, especially when cooked by my Pennsic campmates). So my $10 for feast became a donation to the barony, and my friend and I picked up a bucket of KFC on the way to her dry, warm home.

That's my tale of Storvik Novice Tourney 2026, A.S. LX.

Speaking of which ... tomorrow is the first day of A.S. LXI. Happy New Year, and Happy 60th Birthday to the SCA!