Small Garden Victories

Hi Everybody! Finally the gnomes have left the top of the maple dresser and moved outside. As you can see, Mrs. Gnome is pouting and Mr. Gnome is surveying his new turf. Sorry Gwen and Betty - I know gnomes creep you out. Bear with me . . .

How about fairies? I discovered that I like arranging rocks (who knew?) and I put them all in the Tinkerbell bucket and lay little walk ways and trails. It is sort of like building roads, isn't it?

I brought some raffia and ribbons outside. I might have done this a bit earlier so the birds could use it to doll up their nests, but I didn't think of it in time. I tied silver ribbons around the clay pots so if we have a windy day again, they will be anchored to the old fence. I used silver (it's all I could dig up) and I think the blackbirds will find the shiny bows very appealing.

The "tutu" peonies are about to pop. The delicate shade of ballerina pink makes my heart sing! It does!

I caught a lone love dove watching me tromp around the yard. Doesn't the blue sky match my background? Sky blue = favorite color today!

Some time ago, my friend Starry Kari from Writing Up a Storm wrote a lovely post about The Boxcar Children book #1. I ordered it, read it, and now I like to think about the way the children set up housekeeping in the woods, inside an old boxcar. In the back corner of the garden, near the lilac bush, the Virginia Creepy (I mean, Creeper) is creating a little hide-a-way. I raked it out today, did a little clipping, made a little path of rocks and snapdragons, and soon I'll put another little shelf out there. I'll go through the dish garages (hutches, cupboards, shelves) and find some sweet castoffs to rest on the shelf, buy a little straw broom, maybe lay some brick paving blocks, and then see if the grands discover it and find it charming. I hope they do!

Now, my friend Sara at Shiny Red Houses talked about (and made!) some fairy houses. I love fairy domains even though I've yet to see a drawn fairy that I agree with. Somehow I don't want them to look all sneaky and sassy. I have seen fairy dolls/rag dolls that I can accept, but my idea of fairies exists in my mind and I can't explain it. Anywho, I looked up fairy houses and fairy gardens and found a few treasures I think you'll like looking at.

Cute, yes? Don't you find that just looking at stuff often satisfies the cravings? I do. I like the "idea" of this stuff.

So on to other random things. Below, you see JP Patches. He was a morning regular on Seattle television when I was a kid. I thought he was hilarious. I think I've talked about him before, because he has made such an impression on me. I'm going to save up for the DVDs. I loved his voice. So, I've been thinking about him.

This is my grandparents church in Anacortes, Washington. They lived in a big apple-y house just down the sidewalk from it. See the stairs? We played that "hide the rock in your hand, behind your back and guess" game and if you guessed right, you moved up one stair. We did this in my other granny's cottage, too. She had rosy carpeted stairs that were very steep. We played bus and church on those stairs, too. So I thought you'd like to look at them. Isn't Anacortes Lutheran a lovely church with that fancy steeple?

And finally, another thing I've been thinking about is the story, The Wind in the Willows. My sister received the book for one of her first reading birthdays and due to its fatness, I didn't read it when I was a kid. I read it just a few years ago. I said to that book, "Where have you been all my life?" It is an absolutely delightful read. My favorite descriptions are of the little earthy living spaces and the friendly intervention when Toad goes a bit cuckoo. The colors in these pictures are so bright, clear, and happy.

I tended the dirt outside all morning. All the snapdragons are in the ground. Now it is time to sew. More on that later.

Can't you tell that I'm already reveling in summer and all its hospitality? I'm so happy you stopped in to check on me and I hope you caught a glimpse of something pleasing. Sending love your way . . .