Saturday, December 1, 2012

An unusual house tour







The Flowers

All the names I know from nurse:
Gardener's garters, Shepherd's purse,
Bachelor's buttons, Lady's smock,
And the Lady Hollyhock.

Fairy places, fairy things,
Fairy woods where the wild bee wings,
Tiny trees for tiny dames-
These must all be fairy names!

Tiny woods below whose boughs
Shady fairies weave a house;
Tiny tree-tops, rose or thyme,
Where the braver fairies climb!

Fair are grown up people's trees,
But the fairest woods are these;
Where if I were not so tall,
I should live for good and all.

~Robert Louis Stevenson

It's December first and, this morning we woke up to snow! Perfect!!! =]

As I say goodbye to autumn and happily step over to the newness of winter - the restart button to the year - I wanted to share one last festive autumnal celebration with you.

...an unusual house tour in the next town over from us - quaintly picturesque Grafton, Vermont.








On the particular day that we visited, though, there were heavy clouds and the rain was barely holding itself back. We wended our way through and past the village proper because this house tour was at the Grafton Ponds nature museum.

Please note barely discernible bubbles flying up over the museum in the upper left corner and, in the lower right, Toby (who graciously said that he would escort my mom and I) with his Nana.






Yes, this tour was of the woodsy homes belonging to the wild cousins of the garden fairies from the poem and as we went through the archway, across the meadow and into the woods, there was folksy hammered dulcimer music floating on the air and bubbles, magically, endlessly flying everywhere.




Once in the woods, we followed the nature path as the rain started to patter on the leaves but we were safe under the canopy...



 ...and this is what we saw...

















Alas, we only ever heard the curious whisper of the fairies, felt the brushes of their wings and saw one very golden frog hiding in the roots of a tree. And, so, we emerged from this magic woodland and followed the path back to reality just as it started to rain in earnest - back, just in time, to the warmth of the tavern to sit by the hearth and muse over our adventures over paper mugs of warm apple cider ale as the heavens really let loose and the rain outside poured down!









xo




11 comments:

  1. This put the biggest smile on my face, and I can't imagine seeing it in person! Thanks so much for sharing this delightful tour with us. You're the best!

    XO,

    Sheila :-)

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    1. =D and THAT just put a big smile on my face! =D Thanks! =D =D =D

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    2. (Why am I always smiling sideways?? =/)

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  2. Loves the fairy houses. I have several and Abby thinks she can catch a fairy just like she thinks she can catch a squirrel...

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  3. Well aren't you a sweetie, spreading that fairy dust all over the world! What charming homes and what an enchanted post.

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  4. What dreamy magical wee houses and yards Katy! Can't you just picture the little fairies living there? Going about their daily lives. Or perhaps it's little gnomes that live there. Cute cute!

    I hope you are enjoying your snow fall. You are a funny girl. We had freezing rain last night. Had to strap on the ol' skates to go outside today. ;)

    xo Catherine

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  5. Dear Katy,

    I have been over to see your blog three times now without leaving a comment...just enjoying it very much!! Those fairy houses look enchanting. There must be people with a lively imagination in Grafton :-). It must be your beautiful surroundings. A city girl like me can only dream of it.

    We had our first snow this weekend. It looked just beautiful! It didn't stay for long though. Rain has taken it's place already :-(

    Looking forward to see your tree. It must be fun having one of your own. Our house is too small for that. Annebelle and I decorated our tree yesterday. We used old, new and handmade ornaments. All in silver and white. We both like it very much and I believe the others do too :-)

    Wish you lots of fun decorating yours!

    Have a lovely new week!

    Madelief x

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  6. Un lugar con mucho encanto, muy bonitas las imágenes, gracias por compartir,
    tienes un interesante espacio un placer.
    si te gusta la poesía, la palabra inaudita te invito a mis blogs.
    felices fiestas.

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  7. Fabulous! I used to build these when I was a child. Never imagined they were still going somewhere. Lovely.

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  8. Just checking by to wish you a merry christmas! xo

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