“ A New Year Promise - The Golden Thread Week 52

This is week 52 of the Golden Thread challenge. Final one, whooo!!

A year-long drawing challenge I have been participating in called the "Golden Thread," organised by Jehane Ltd.

This is the last theme of the year: "A Forager's Tale" and this week's prompt "New Year Promise"

I decided to make a story with each illustration as a thread woven into the weekly prompts.

Here is the final chapter:

At last the three friends — Squirrel, Moth and Ladybird — were back home.

They all said together "Hooray, we are home! Thank you, Owl!"

The Orchard looked so different in the winter darkness. The trees were bare and covered in snow and ice. The trees had fairy lights in them.

Lots of forest creatures came to greet them.

As they jumped off Owl's warm feathery back, they were hugged by all their friends who had missed them.

They all said "Welcome home and tell us of all your adventures!"

"But first we have a surprise. Look at the sky."

So they all looked at the sky at the amazing fireworks.

They wished each other a "Happy New Year."

Yes, they were back home and a new year begins full of promise for the future.

What will the new year bring for our three travelling friends? Nobody knows…

That concludes my story of "A Forager's Tale" for the Golden Thread.

I do hope you enjoyed it — it was fun to create text with the prompts and an image.

Wishing you lots of New Year Promise in 2026