Dew Drop Villas created by Cathy DeMeo ~ 10.12.12 ~ Old Lyme, Connecticut
Dewey Greenleaf is the faerie in charge of droplets of dew that appear early each day on the garden’s flowers and plants. He knows that Impressionist artists love to paint the reflections of light, sun, and sky captured by delicate dew and soft mist. So each day at dawn, before any painters arrive, he collects and freezes the glistening drops that form on his multi-level home to preserve their beauty for everyone to see. ~ Wee Faerie Village: Land of Picture Making
The fairy poet takes a sheet Of moonbeam, silver white; His ink is dew from daisies sweet, His pen a point of light. ~ Joyce Kilmer (Fairy House Handbook)
Tym-Brrr is the faerie of tree stumps and dead wood, a subject often depicted in the foreground of landscape paintings. Twisted and broken trees suggest the awesome power of nature; the aftermath of a lightning storm or strong winds. Tree stumps, on the other hand, humanize an otherwise wild scene. Tym-Brr eats and plays in one cave, sleeps in another, and stores his sailboat for seeking out driftwood in the third. Clues to how trees become “never green” are burned into the outer walls. ~ Wee Faerie Village: Land of Picture Making
10.12.12 ~ Old Lyme, Connecticut
Fairies are invisible and inaudible like angels. But their magic sparkles in nature. ~ Lynn Holland (A Faerie Treasury)
Mihashirano’s Tea House created by Anita Walsh 10.12.12 ~ Old Lyme, Connecticut
Mihashirano, the faerie goddess of green-growing things, works hard alongside her mom, Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess, to help things grow along the river. The plants work hard purifying the air and water as well as supplying food and shelter for many creatures. Their work also benefits the artists in many of the same ways, including natural beauty that inspires their paintings. The location for Mihashirano’s tea house was chosen by a bird. ~ Wee Faerie Village: Land of Picture Making
10.12.12 ~ Old Lyme, Connecticut
Janet, all bundled up to brave the elements, located the mystical bird and Mihashirano’s sailboat at the tea house out on the water by using binoculars provided by the fairies on the shore. It was a very wet, raw and windy day especially down by the river.
We didn’t feel anything here in southern Connecticut, but last night at 7:12 pm there was an earthquake centered in Maine, 4.6 on the Richter scale, which was strong enough to shake homes as far south as northern Connecticut. Auntie is supposed to come home from the hospital today – I wonder if they felt the tremor up north there last night… And today would have been my mother’s 81st birthday – Happy Birthday, Mom!
The Green Is King Factory created by Tammi & Sean Flynn ~ 10.12.12 ~ Old Lyme, Connecticut
The Moss family loves everything green. Kelly and Hunter and their children Willow and Sage own the Green Is King Factory. They turn their precious blue and yellow finds into, you guessed it, green. It’s hard to keep up with the demand. Artists use a lot of green! From the gentle yellow-green buds of spring to the deep shades of the forest, the Moss family can have an artist’s favorite green within 24 hours (and yes, express delivery is available). ~ Wee Faerie Village: Land of Picture Making
10.12.12 ~ Old Lyme, Connecticut
So, the wondrous fairies have a factory in their village, too! Did you notice the cog railway for bringing the yellow down to the factory?
10.12.12 ~ Old Lyme, Connecticut
What a blessing our in-home caregiver, Chelsea, has turned out to be! She spent Monday in the hospital keeping Auntie company. Thank you so much, Chelsea! You are truly a godsend!
On a somber note, I received some sad news yesterday, my cousin Matt called to let me know that his mother, my Aunt Betty, died unexpectedly Friday evening. She had enjoyed her last day of life, taking a wonderful long walk with her husband, my Uncle Dave, and seemed fine. But after dinner she collapsed and the paramedics were summoned – she was 80 years old. Matt and I talked for over an hour on the phone, shedding a few tears and sending hugs back and forth, sharing what happy memories came into our minds. Tim & I had sent her some organic roses in May for her 80th birthday and she told us their fragrance reminded her of romantic rose gardens from the past on Cape Cod. Aunt Betty was a woman of strong faith, a lovely, gracious, lady.
If I were to walk this way Hand in hand with Grief, I should mark that maple-spray Coming into leaf. I should note how the old burrs Rot upon the ground. Yes, though Grief should know me hers While the world goes round, It could not in truth be said This was lost on me: A rock-maple showing red, Burrs beneath a tree. ~ Edna St. Vincent Millay (The Wood Road)
Windwood Faeriegrounds created by Jennifer L. Johnson & Edward Johnson 10.12.12 ~ Old Lyme, Connecticut
Everyone needs a playground … don’t they? Even the wee faeries of Old Lyme need a whirl or two on the Faerie Wheel to keep their spirits spry. Three good faerie friends decided to get together and create an amusement park for their pixie peers. Chinook, Squall and Leveche are wind faeries and have built fun contraptions to share their love of breezes. Pixiechutes, TumbleTwirls, and the Swing-n-Wings keep the pixie dust flying. ~ Wee Faerie Village: Land of Picture Making
Well, this post was supposed to be added on Sunday, but an early morning phone call changed the course of the day. Auntie fell at 3 o’clock in the morning and had to go to the hospital to get stitches in the back of her head. The doctors admitted her. She has stopped eating again and seems only strong enough to move her arms. Our spending the day at the hospital with her did not seem to be helping much and I came home with a terrific headache.
We had just visited her and my dad on Saturday. Auntie was a wisp of her former self, lying in a dark bedroom, complaining about the dark and the household noises, but refusing to allow her curtains to be drawn open. She grabbed my hand and wouldn’t let go for the longest time. I read to her for about an hour and then left her bedside to visit Dad in the living room. We had a little apple tasting party – McCouns are still his favorites – and then showed him our latest photos on the TV screen. Block Island, the giant seagull, and the fairy village. He seemed to be enjoying the visit.
And now something seems to be the matter with my blog. Instead of a place for comments at the end there is a message saying, “This content cannot be displayed in a frame.” Huh? So I do apologize – I have no idea what is going on!!!
Anyhow, I love the Faerie Wheel above – it may be my favorite thing from the whole exhibit!
Button Up Cottage created by Chris Blackshaw and Justine Lavigne 10.12.12 ~ Old Lyme, Connecticut
Button Bella and her family have nestled their home in this thick green ivy patch. Button fairies are a rarity and to view a button faerie dwelling is an uncommon gift! Button Bella and her family have scooped up scores of buttons, some most likely from the artists, to adorn their home.
~ Wee Faerie Village: Land of Picture Making
Last October, Janet and I went to see a temporary outdoor exhibit at the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme. This year we visited the museum’s gardens again to see a new and different installation, Wee Faerie Village: Land of Picture Making. Janet’s mom, Liz, joined us this time around and treated us to a delightful lunch at Café Flo, where we were seated with lovely views of the Lieutenant River.
This year there were thirty-three whimsical creations to enjoy, and at least five extra fairy dwellings not on the map, marked with an FF flag. The FF stands for “fringe fairie.” We were enchanted!
In the garden we found this fruit (below) and have no idea what it could be. Can anyone possibly identify it?
10.12.12 ~ Old Lyme, Connecticut
Liz asked me to take this lovely picture for her, of raindrops on the underside of a leaf lying on the grass…
If you can see the magic in a fairy tale, you can face the future. ~ Danielle Steel (Silver Linings: Meditations on Finding Joy & Beauty in Unexpected Places)
In an utilitarian age, of all other times, it is a matter of grave importance that Fairy tales should be respected. ~ Charles Dickens (Household Words, October 1, 1853)
Fairy tales were a kind of magic that protected me as a child. Not my body, bruised and battered, they protected my spirit and kept it alive … Fairy tales were not my escape from reality as a child; rather, they were my reality — for mine was a world in which good and evil were not abstract concepts. Like fairy-tale heroines, no magic could save me unless I had the wit and heart and courage to use it wisely. ~ Terri Windling (Inviting the Wolf In: Thinking About the Difficult Story)
A few more fairy tale birdhouses at the Florence Griswold Museum…
#49. “Fun Galore on the Top Floor” by Barbara Stevens & Barbara O’Connell, based on Eloise at the Plaza. I was not familiar with this story so Janet filled me in. Later, on Netflix streaming, I found and watched Eloise’s Rawther Unusual Halloween…
10.26.11 ~ Old Lyme, Connecticut
#35. “A Sweet Piece of Real Estate” by Robert Nielsen & Billie Tannen, based on Hansel & Gretel. This creation was made of clay – amazing!
10.26.11 ~ Old Lyme, Connecticut
#23. “Home Sweet Dome” by Sandy Garvin, based on Aladdin & The Magic Lamp. Can you find the tiny magic lamp?
10.26.11 ~ Old Lyme, Connecticut
10.26.11 ~ Old Lyme, Connecticut
Not to be outdone by human creations, Mother Nature’s flower show was held over for a few extra weeks…
