I want to marry a moonbeam and hear the stars sing.
I don't want to pretend at magic anymore. I want to be magic.

~ Charles de Lint

So in all my flitting to and fro, I caught a bit of something and came under the weather (trust me - no one wants to be under the weather when it involves April Showers!). So to do a bit of cheering, we declared a Fairy Day yesterday!

It's amazing - magickal - magnificent, how the earth wakes up after the long slumbers of winter. We're just beginning to see the awakening here - the buds are still tightly packed, but the snows have melted away, and... lo and behold... we can cavort around outside without ten layers.

This was first on my mind yesterday afternoon, as we watched The Fairy Faith Documentary... it was quite good! The filmmaker went across the big pond to Scotland and Ireland and dabbled in all the legends and myths there... we absolutely loved it~

Refreshed by the good film, we talked about a bit of this and that for a time, and then I declared myself fit enough to take a stroll outdoors.

There is a circle of pines in our great backyard... we've been craving for the weather to be sweet enough to begin our planning and building and plotting and pixiedusting... And yesterday afternoon the sunlight was warm, and the birds were happy... and the soft breezes of a brand new April blew over us both. We knew it was time!

All winter long, we've been talking over and imagining the Fairy Houses we'll build this year... and we decided to put one together right that very instant.

How do you build a fairy house? You gather up bits and pieces that look odd and wonderful and magickal. Tatters of bark, broken twigs, acorns and walnuts and pine needles and roots... but the key is to take things that have already lost their usefulness from the plant or creature before them. Never take a piece from anything living (like a branch from a tree) to build a fairy house! There's enough good materials on the ground, ready to be had and shared by all~

We found a treasure trove of offerings from the woods and pines and meadows, and we began to get to work... and this is what we built!



( Come inside for a sip of tea or two~! )

We dubbed it the "Frog Cottage," and - quite pleased with ourselves, christened it with a bit of pixiedust~

The main door stone of our own cottage didn't weather the winter that well, unfortunately - it became cracked and lost a few of its edges... so we put it to rest under a tree:



Our little fairy door and unicorn guardian came through the snows looking as lovely as when they first braved them... so we put down a bit of picket fence for the unicorn (just in case she wanted a change of scenery~).

The only life worth living is the magical one.

~ Richard Bach

When the worries and cares of the mundane world fray our wings to a distressing point, Snow and I declare a Fairy Day! What is a Fairy Day, you ask? It's a magical set of twenty-four hours where we search for magic (even more so than normally) in all things. It also usually involves Fairy themed tea parties, picnics, movies and a good measure of cavorting in the out of doors. What's not to like? XD

Tuesday happened to be one of those wing fraying days, so we declared it a Fairy Day. Upon arrival to our magical little cottage, we leashed up our pups and darted outdoors.

Thanks to this interesting little idea of Day Light Savings Time, there was actual sunlight to be seen while we walked the dogs down our favorite pathway. It's an enchanted path cut through fields and forest, deep in the country where anyone may use it. It was covered with fresh snow made dazzling by the sunlight, and though there were signs of winter all around us, still, the air was warm, and hints of spring were everywhere. The dogs leaped about, beyond excited to be in the wild, and we couldn't help but dance along with them, laughing at their antics - and our own.

We were able to find pussy willows already in bloom, little toes peeking out from buds long opened - they know about the spring! We picked a very small handful, thanking the tree for her sweet gift~



We arrived back home just as the gentle sun began to sink below the rim of the world. I paused for a moment, speechless by the splendor, then dashed inside and snatched up the camera, eager to capture one small moment of this magic for all of time~

The moon, a sweet crescent overhead, was framed by budding branches as I snapped this picture:


Clouds came and put the day to bed:


Awed by the majesty of the moment, I sketched a quick reminder of the sacred in the snow - a gift for the wonder of it all:


We tiptoed inside as the gentle twilight came to claim the world. It was time to work some kitchen witchery and make a splendid feast~!

What do fairies eat? Toadstools and, if you're an Irish fairy, potatoes! Greens and flowers, too... so I whipped up a quick batch of Scalloped Potatoes, a darling side salad (with a star of cucumbers on top for good measure!), and a magnificent helping of homemade Portobello Mushroom - on a bun! :D

Our feisty, fairy feline approved.


( Fairy Mushrooms recipe~! )

Strangely enough, I found a DVD among the plants~ Who put it there? I can not say - it was wrapped in white paper with the word "Believe" penned magnificently on top. I'm assuming Snow had a hand in it - but she wasn't telling~



And, I ask you - what better way to end a Fairy Day?