Getting to know Grayston

My curiosity got the better of me by this time so Grayston explained to me the reason for the pointy red hat, he was a Gnome of course. A GNOME?? How silly of me not to realize that at first. Perhaps I had just been caught off guard and wasn't thinking clearly. It was quite obvious he was definitely a Gnome all right and once I caught hold of my senses and looked I could see that.

But just what exactly IS a Gnome anyhow if not a simple garden statue? I was quite confused at this point. I had seen Gnomes in gardens for as long as I could remember. In fact...I thought they were pretty tacky looking! Sure never thought I'd ever want those ugly little things in MY garden! The paint jobs were shabby and the sculptures themselves were often plaster with chips and nics all over. Ewwwwwwww...how could they possibly enhance beautiful flowers?? And yet here I found myself with a variety of them scattered throughout the inside of my house. Mostly because a few of them resembled elfs, and I did like elfs...and then you know how one thing always leads to another. Get an elf, someone else gives you a gift to add to your collection and suddenly you realize it's not another elf, but a Gnome instead. So slowly you end up with a collection of the very things you thought you'd never have. Can't get rid of em cause they were gifts...so what else can you do but scatter them about in your garden afterall.

And then I began to notice that the majority of them were all MALES! Have you ever stopped to wonder why nine times out of ten it's the male of the species we see in the gardens ? Used to make me really wonder about the females. Did they not know how to garden?? Were they not interested in flowers and such ??Were they painfully shy?? Were there only a handful of females and dozens of males? Just what was it with them anyhow? I didn't know, ..but being of a very curious nature, I decided to do some investigating a while back and find the answer.
I hope you don't mind if I speak frankly, I pretty much write the way I talk. May not be perfect or proper English, but it's me....

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)

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??