Enchantment

This morning, 36 children and their parents and siblings will arrive

for a farm visit.

Along with visiting the animals and running free in wide open spaces,

I hope to offer them a glimpse into the world of make-believe as well.

Children have an innate ability to conjure the world of make-believe at will...

and for them it becomes reality.

That is the gift of an unencumbered imagination.

Somewhere along the path towards maturity, we often let go of that part of ourselves,

and replace it with the day-in-day-out thoughts that clutter our minds

and repress our creativity.

I don't know about you, but there is much of me that still feels child-like.

And though I am now old enough to collect Social Security,

it seems like just yesterday that I collected a quarter left under my pillow by 

the tooth fairy.

Not a Christmas Eve passes, that a part of me doesn't have at least one ear

tuned to the sky in order to hear the faint, distant tinkling of sleigh bells.

I was introduced to the realm of the little people and the fae when I was

a child, and have felt a strong attraction to that realm ever since.

I choose to live a life of enchantment.

I choose to call the ordinary... EXTRAORDINARY!

And though it takes a little extra work to bring it all to fruition,

it is so worth it in the end.

It was that very first tiny fairy garden that I built

that sent me tumbling down the rabbit hole into a miniature land of make-believe,

and from that moment on, I knew that I would remain there...

revisiting, improving, expanding.

Re-constructing my fairy gardens is one of my favorite spring activities.

I pushed to complete them this week so that I could share them

with my preschool visitors.

To watch their eyes light up in wonder is worth every hour put into

cleaning up winter debris, replanting tiny plants, and painting weathered

decor elements.

And even if there were no children in my life,

I would still create these tiny worlds.

They are my playground and a home for my creative side.

As I work, I become small enough to walk the tiny footpaths and cross the

arched stone bridges.

Now, it seems, I will have to be ever-vigilant, for there is a fire breathing dragon

roaming about.

This year I have three differently themed fairy gardens.

One is a flower fairy park.

One has a forest theme and is home to many of the same animals that live in our woods.

And one is home to witches, and gnomes, and trolls... Beware!

Take my hand and let's tumble down this rabbit hole together.

But, be warned.... you may never want to come back to reality.

Don't worry... you'll have company, though!

Here is a video tour of the fairy gardens for you.

If you have trouble viewing the video here on the blog,

you can follow this LINK to the video on YouTube.

We spent a few hours with these two littles yesterday...

(photos courtesy of their Momma)

On the way home, as we passed the field across the road from the farm

we noticed what looked like a turkey.

Sure enough, there was Fred... out in the middle of the field.

He's not been quite right ever since losing Ethel.

I find him alone in the oddest places.

This time, however, he was not alone... you might notice those black and white spots behind him....

the guineas.

I had to make sure he would get home safely, so I escorted him!