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Ohm, Fairy Advisor and Printer of the Fairy Gazettes |
"We miss Ohm. Our printer, technical advisor, Dearly Beloved and everlasting friend, has left on the Great Journey that even fairies must take and for now we are parted.
Ohm, in the mortal world, is the unit by which electrical resistance is measured. One "ohm" (Ohm is very good at explaining this) is equal to the current of one ampere which will flow when a voltage of one volt is applied. "Turn up voltage and get more ohms". But for us there is only one Ohm, shining bright and constant. Every flicker of light reminds us that we will meet again."
Here are some fairy garlands for the month of May. The May Pole Dance is from the Spring edition of the Fairy Gazettes, where it is accompanied by an article on the etiquette of folded wings. Should it be "Wings Up" or "Wings Down"? Just ask Fairy Faux Pas!
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Spring Garland, © Frances Tyrrell 2016 |
Above, a fairy garland woven from the spring flowers that have naturalized in my garden - forget-me-nots, lily of the valley, and primroses. The flowers of the poem won't show up here until June.
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Snowdrops, © Frances Tyrrell 2016 |
The snowdrops are gone by now. The scillas still abound in wide blue drifts. And here come the trillums, crimson and white.
"A blessed and enchanted Spring to fairies everywhere"
An upcoming vintage fashion
event is completely sold out. It's finally "in" to be Retro and to wear a Daisy Buchanan dress or a cloche hat shaped charmingly like a bluebell ...
... a look that never goes out of style in fairy land.
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Twenty-third day of Advent |
Finally, an English Robin. This one has come from the "Sleepyhead Feast", a party for the hibernating creatures, described in
The Illustrated Fairy Gazette.
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Twentieth day of Advent |
"This is the season of Goodness, Beauty and Truth, both in the Peaceful Realms and in the mortal world."
The Illustrated Fairy Gazette, A Christmas Celebration
My computer crashed this morning and it seems new equipment or parts are needed. Bad fairies. But the good fairies will still be at our annual
Midsummer Magic art show at Sovereign House, and preparations are still going forward...
even if I have to resort to paper and scissors.
I am also teaching
art classes at Sovereign House this summer, painting scenes of the house and garden.
This beautiful Tiger Swallowtail was in the garden while we were painting last week. Despite a very damaged wing (look closely, top left of butterfly) it was fluttering gamely from flower to flower.
From a few$2.99 seed packages in May, these delights: Nasturtiums in a swath across the front bed for end-of-summer glory, and Shirley Poppies that have bloomed for weeks, silken and lovely.
And I am enamoured of my pear tree, only a couple of months ago in blossom...
and now laden with ripening fruit.
Alice in Wonderland-like, one idea threads unexpectedly but logically to another. "Creative re-purposing" leads to fine china being stuffed with pencils and paintbrushes, and vessels re-purposed leads to domestic economies. Not the economies of nations, but of one household, in the spirit of environmental conscience. Leading to the concept of Magic Thinking, which is not generally considered to be a compliment to anyone's intelligence.
It began with wanting to continue to enjoy a nice deep relaxing bath every day, but not wanting to waste water. How about having the baths and saving the water to pour on the garden, which has to be watered anyway? One could use the plastic jugs that otherwise go to recycling - the kitty-litter and liquid laundry soap containers. The benefits immediately presented themselves to be listed on a satisfying check-list -
bath (check)
wise water management (check)
flowers watered! (check)
nice arm muscles from carrying jugs up and down stairs (check)
who needs a Stairmaster! (check)
and so on, virtue upon virtue.
In June I started saving the plastic jugs instead of sending them to be recycled. I filled up about 10 of them after a bath, ran out of jugs and there was still water in the tub. Tsk, tsk, the waste. The next morning I carried the jugs downstairs and emptied them over the flowers. Very hot day, with thunderstorms in the evening. Flowers very well watered indeed.
Ran not such a very deep bath the next night, saved the water afterwards, and carried the jugs downstairs. The flowers didn't need watering, they were well soaked from the previous night
and the next band of thunderstorms was on the move. The full vessels sat there on the front deck, and so the pattern continued through July.
Now for the "magic thinking": I didn't even have to fill up the jugs any more, I just stood them at the front door and uttered my intentions to the sky. It has rained almost every day and the garden is very green indeed.
Ah well, I don't need the exercise after all. I am supposed to Do Nothing for two weeks after next week's surgery, then the summer will be over. The lawns and gardens are marvellously green and the pear tree is heavy with fruit, faintly gold (delicious pear-tart recipe
here).
I have nearly finished up the next fairy book, helped by the memory of the little fairies who came to visit earlier in the summer at Sovereign House:
the stylish,
the small
and best friends,
observing every detail,
and undeterred by weather.
Best wishes, fairy followers all.