Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Preparing for my History Lesson



I lay there on the stone path completely mesmerized by this wonderful little creature. Listening intently to every word that poured out of his mouth. He was dressed in denim overalls with a long sleeved shirt and of course his pointy red hat. He had a small tool belt tied around his waiste and a hanky sticking out of a back pocket. I wasn't quite sure who this fellow was, but I was completely fascinated.

So let me just tell you that this particular morning was certainly one of surprises for me. Grayston talked freely about who he is, where he came from, how and why he came to be in the garden...along with the small wheel barrel of rocks and stones!


He quickly explained to me the reason for the pointy red hat, he was part GNOME, of course! How silly of me not to realize that right away! Perhaps I had just been caught off guard too quickly to think clearly. Afterall it was quite obvious that he was definately a Gnome type wee being and once I collected my wits, I could easily see that.

But again, I've taken enough of your time for one morning, so if you'd like to join me again, we'll come back another time and I'll fill you in on all the basics. Of course I realize you're probably asking yourself..."WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH FEMALE GNOMES???!! "...but just trust me a bit longer and in the end you'll understand. After all, you can't just toss the boat out into the lake, sometimes you need to launch it from the shoreline!

So until next time...

Like old friends


I can't begin to describe to you the warmth that flooded my body when this little fellow smiled. It was as if he were a part of me. A part that I knew to the very core, a part that had always been deep inside of me and now had finally taken an identity of it's own.

This strange but humorous little character before me, grinned as he picked up the stones I'd knocked out of his little cart.

He spoke in a deep base tone as he called me by name. Startled by this, I wondered what else would catch me off guard with the wee being as he tipped his hat and bending over ever so politely introduced himself as Grayston. Obviously he was not at all surprised at my presence,... not nearly as surprised as I was at his!
( It seems our mutual friend, King Wolubnauv had already mentioned my " daily visits" into the Garden of Dreams)

Friday, August 15, 2008

and on with the story...meeting my first Gnomelfay


As I recall I was telling you about the little gray haired fellow with the wheelbarrel full of stones....and how embarrassed I was when I tripped over it that particular day. When the chuckling finally stopped and my face had turned back to a more natural color, the little fellow rather cautiously stepped from behind the hosta.
He tilted his head to one side as if he were sizing me up and then he quickly walked right up beside me!
The top of his pointy hat loomed a bit ominously above my forehead and he stared me straight in the eyes with a now menacing expression. ( Of course you should keep in mind...I was still sprawledout on the path at this point, and the only thing about me that was upright was my head and shoulders!)
In reality he was probably only about a foot and a half tall if that much. I'm sure he realized at that point that it was not " I " that was any kind of threat in the situation. His eyes checked me over from head to toe and then instantly his expression changed from one of sterness to one of the kindest smiles I'd ever seen. There was definately nothing ominous about this little fellow after all! Not even the point on the tip of his hat!

THORNWOOD HOLLOW

Thornwood Hollow is ruled by a small elfin King called Wolubnauv. He's a true fantasy king that has been with me since childhood. I know him personally and have learned to trust in those things which he shows me.

Although the King himself rarely has time with his busy schedule to sit and talk with me, his daughter Nellybur is often present in the garden. As a matter of fact, she is the kingdom's Fairy Godmother and watches over the entire sanctuary.


Hopefully by giving you a little knowledge of some of the inhabitants living within the Garden of Dreams you may better understand the stories that are about to unfold with the Adventures of the Gnomelfays.

How I met the Gnomelfays..continued






You see I love my garden and often refer to it as my own personal sanctuary. When it's in full bloom it's my favorite place to hang out. I spend as much time there as possible during the warmer seasons. I have several gazing balls and lots of wonderful statues of Angels and Fairies that greet me as I stroll around the path surrounding the fountain and the bird baths. Of course they don't " really " greet me, but I sometimes pretend they listen and talk back with me.
Anyway I won't bore you with my ramblings about all the things in my garden, but I will tell you quite frankly that my little sanctuary and all the land surrounding it are what make up Thornwood Hollow.





How I met the Gnomelfays


It was here back in the early months of 2007 while working on my path that I quite unexpectedly tripped over a wheel barrel full of tiny stones. As a matter of fact, the whole wheelbarrel was pretty small to begin with. Immediately of course, out of NOWHERE came this little voice and yelled at me for being so clumsy!
I can't begin to tell you how startled I was when a plump little gray haired fellow in a pointy red hat stepped from behind the leaf of a hosta and slowly began to smile at me!
ME.....sprawled there on the stone path looking as if I came from outer space or something! And him??....working himself into a full blown chuckle over the whole incident!
Now I ask you how embarrassing is that??

The Garden




If I recall correctly as the end of May 2007 rolled around, the weather became increasingly hotter. It had been a mild winter and spring arrived early. The weeds throughout the garden grew twice as fast as the flowering plants.
I was so busy working on my new stone pathway that I barely found time to keep up with all of my necessary chores. I was determined to complete the walk along the north side of the garden, regardless of the heat and humidity.
I mixed concrete and poured it into a stone mold maker early of a morning while the weather was still bearable. By late afternoon and evening the stones were hardened enough to place in a continuing pattern inside a trench that wound around the central flowerbeds.
Covered in concrete dust and dirt, I sat down along the trench beneath the shade of the largest old oak to rest and contemplate on my next days schedule. The path was coming along slow, but nice and my effort was beginning to show some worthwhile effects.
I was pretty pleased thus far with the fruits of my labor and closed my eyes just long enough to imagine the path completed.

I could hear the tinkling of tiny wind chimes as a gentle breeze crept through the garden around me. Relaxed and completely at peace with myself, I watched a butterfly dance about the blooming clumps of flocks, iris, impatients and dianthus. It fluttered toward the fountain in the center of the flower bed for a drink while the sun played tricks on my eyes in the dribbling streams of water as it spilled down from the top tier into the pool below.

History of The Gnomelfays

In the Sanctuary Garden of Dreams here in the land of Thornwood stands a mighty oak tree. It was near the base of the massive trunk that a whole new race of very special " Gnomes" were discovered in the year 2007.

Contrary to popular legends ( which will ALWAYS tell you...Gnomes do NOT intermingle with other species, the females in particular wear very drab dark clothing and mostly hide underground, while the male of the species do minimal garden chores and appear during daylight as statues in our world)...have I got a surprise for you!

This particular species HAVE intermingled with fairies and elves, pixies and trolls for years, and it wasn't until early in the spring of 2007 that they began showing themselves and openly entering into the garden. So trust me when I tell you...even the regular Gnomes aren't hiding underground anymore, at least NOT HERE!
They call themselves The Gnomelfays...?? Weird you think? Perhaps, but it just about covers all their ancestrial lineage in one word.

( oh and by the way I was quickly set strait on the pronunciation of it-- so you may as well know from the beginning it's pronounced....NO_MELF_AYE.. not quite as difficult as it looks now is it? )

Well.....I say it's about time those poor little female gnomes were allowed out of their dark homes and into the daylight! In my humble opinion...they were WAY overdue for a change of venue in their lifestyles! I'm not really into women's lib and all of that, but really now....enough is enough don't you think??

Honestly, I just don't know how they took it all those years, the females that is, staying hidden beneath ground all the time while the males of the species snuck out at night and roamed the world, playing in all the gardens! Planting and enjoying all the wonderous sights and smells above ground!

So now that it's been a little over a year I have made friends with most all of them that enter through my Garden of Dreams. I must admit I am totally amazed at their quest for knowledge and their enthusiasm and zest for life.

At first it was quite by accident that I even met them, but now I meet newcomers all the time.
They are quite an adventurous group of little characters...and I truly love knowing them.

So stick around and I'll introduce you to a few of them...and their adventures! I should warn you ahead however..they ususally insist on a formal introduction when meeting other humans....