October is apple season in Maine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is when the Fairy Kingdom and mankind merge together working side by side to harvest nature’s bounty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Humans unlike Fairy Folk cannot always see what lays directly before them, so although fairy folk work along side us they most often remain invisible to the average mortal’s eye.

Fairies and Gnomes and even the tall elegant Wizard can wander about undetected while sweetening and gathering apples at our farm.

It is usually children who catch a glimpse of them and of course the Wildlings.

On rare occasions an adult will come along who has not lost their magic of believing and for them the The Kingdom of Childhood, the gateway  to The Fairy Realm remains wide open.

It is these few individuals who will see the fairies who live and work by our side.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gnomes collect tender apples sweetened by fairy dust which glimmer and glow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Wizard samples the first apple picked this season for flavor, nodding his approval.

The Fairies have sprinkled the proper amount of fairy dust for taste and sweetness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After gathering  apples the Gnomes consult with The Wizard of Time regarding the weather.

This Wizard is very wise and he watches over all of the Fairy Kingdom.

He reassures the Gnomes that all will be well as they slumber through the winter months in their cozy chambers.

The Wizard knows that time moves forward and that faith is as important as the air we breathe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After our family has harvested their apples we gather bushel basket fulls into the greenhouse where we will sort them for eating and pressing into cider.

 

 

 

 

 

Home Place Fairies wheel apples to their home within the heart of an ancient tree.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trolls and Gnomes with the help of Fairy Dogs will carry baskets and sacks filled with apples to secret root cellars hidden on the Knoll.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This evening we humans will savor the fragrance of apples baking. Tomorrow we will bring them to The Magician and His Lady of The Orchards for pressing into cider.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just before departing into the Enchanted Forest the Fairies peek into our greenhouse filled with a bounty they helped bring to fruition, while a little girl in red boots dances a jig on the table.

 

 

 

 

When the sun sets all Fairies, Trolls and Gnomes have retired to their chambers and we to our cozy home by a fire; the Wizard to his tower on the hill.

This is the hour when nocturnal Wildlings awaken, returning to the orchard, meadow and gardens, where they will feast upon dropped apples, late peaches and pears.

 

A bit of Home Place Fairy Lore:

Did you know that each of the Gnomes from the Knoll has their very own Fairy Dog? Well, they do.These tiny dogs are loyal companions and like most fairy folk they have the power to shape shift and increase in size. They also posses the power of partial invisibility, meaning they can make their wings invisible and appear as any average mortal dog.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gnomes are playful folk and Fairy Dogs are too. But don’t be fooled, what looks like play is also about getting the job done. Gnomes are responsible for making sure each and every piece of fruit has been properly dusted by the Fairies for taste and painted by the Pixies for color. Then with the help of large invisible Trolls, Gnomes have the task of gathering enough fruits for distribution to the entire Fairy Realm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fairy dogs love to run and flutter following Gnomes; in the process they prevent any magical dust from settling on the ground.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Magic of twilight in the Children’s Garden of Earthly Delight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s all just a whisper and a wish away…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Magic happens in every garden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All one has to do is look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Late September, October is on the rise as summer gives way and autumn begins to fall.

 

 

 

 

 

Winter is not far on the horizon and springtime is just a memory away.

So many tiny wonders everywhere.

 

 

 

What if I fall?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, but my Darling…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What if you fly?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quote by Erin Hanson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Late  September is harvest time . The Home Place Fairy Folk and I have been busy gathering vegetables,  late season fruits such as apples and grapes as well as flowers and herbs . Vegetables are cleaned and frozen for consuming during the long cold months of winter. Herbs and flowers are gathered and hung to dry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A little bit of fairy dust goes a long way to sweeten and ripen fruits and flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Helpful children tend the gardens as Fairy’s dust sparkles and twinkles all around them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our greenhouse is filled with tomatoes for ripening just before the frost arrives. A few branches of arctic hardy kiwi rests in the foreground of this photograph. Huge kiwi vines cover one of my arbors with thousands of little fruits; they will be perfectly ripened after the second gentle frost of fall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Small children gather sunflower seed for birds and wee wildlings; tiny field mice and chipmunks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gardens are like magical kingdoms, they are filled with mystery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Home Place Fairy Folk work hard tending my gardens but always make time each and every day to dance and be merry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At day’s end when the fairies are done with both work and play, they leave the gardens, fields and orchards as they flutter and march one by one into The Enchanted Woodland.  Their home is a beautiful chamber snug and warm, hidden deep within the trunk of a grand oak tree.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I collect my days harvest as the last fairies depart for the evening and I bless the Little People, forever grateful for the loveliness of this magical world all around me .

In late July thru September until frost we harvest the lovely green wide leaved annual herb Basil tastes especially fine and we traditionally make pesto to freeze for the winter months.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I plant our Basil in mid to late April from seed in my greenhouse and transplant the seedlings come late May into raised beds nestled up to colorful Cosmos Flowers; dry seeding Hollyhocks and lettuce. We like harvesting basil to use in salads, tomato dishes, soups, stews and stir fries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preparing to make some fresh Home Place Fairies Pixie Pesto a granddaughter removes Basil leaves from their stems and sets them aside. Then we begin gathering together our ingredients.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home Place Fairies Pixie Pesto

Ingredients:

1. 4 cups packed full of fresh Basil Leaves, rinsed if needed, and stems removed.
2. 4-5 cloves of Fresh Garlic
3. 1/4 cup Pine Nuts
4. 1/4 cup Sunflower Seeds
5. 3/4 – 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
6. 1/2 cup extra virgin Olive Oil
7. Salt a wee bit to taste (and maybe Pepper)
8. Optional you could apply a small squeeze of Fresh Lemon, just a tiny nip!
9. Many folks add a tablespoon of melted butter, I generally don’t but you can

 

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients into a food processor or a blender. (I use a food processor) and blend on low speed, then medium, then high. Sometimes the basil leaves bunch up in which case, turn off your machine and rearrange the ingredients with a wooden spoon so blade will move more effectively. Blend until everything turns into a smooth paste. Presto! That’s it! That’s your pesto!

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are many delicious ways to serve Pesto. You can simply smear your Pesto on crackers or toast and top with freshly harvested cherry tomato slices. Try topping this with sprinkles of goat cheese and pinched tiny basil leaves and florets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can serve Pixie Pesto over cooked pasta, smear on roast chicken, fish or chops.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pixie Pesto can be frozen for a late winter treat. I like to freeze my basil in little heart ice cube trays, or heart shaped baking sheets, or simple ice cube trays will do. Just smear Pixie Pesto into your tray, place in freezer uncovered and wait until frozen then remove and place in freezer proof ziploc bags, return to freezer for later use.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We might toss 6-8 (or more or less) frozen or thawing hearts onto a dish of hot pasta depending upon how much Pixie Pesto we are craving.

Yum!

 

 

Fairy Tales are true stories that maybe never happened…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Magic happens in every garden, all you have to do is look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As the seasons come and the seasons go, here’s something you might like to know.

 

 

 

 

 

There are fairies everywhere!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Under the bushes, in the air, playing games just like you play, singing through the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So listen, touch and look around, in the air and on the ground.

And if you watch all nature’s thing

you might just see a fairy wing!”

(author unknown)

 

 

In September we harvest peaches from our orchard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fairy Folk and Wildlings come together with children to sample the first ripened peaches.

Little Penelope Porcupine loves peaches.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As temperatures begin to cool our Wolf River Apples start to ripen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And later our pears…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mid October is harvest time in our orchard on the north side of a small mountain in Maine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Organically grown with fairy dust our trees bear an abundance of fruit which fills our pantry, as well as supplying a food source for Wildlings and Fairies.

 

 

 

 

 

Adults and children, Fairy Folk and Old Horse,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Family, neighbors and friends,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All gather together harvesting natures bounty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Turning work into play is the Fairy way and we always take time for merriment.

Old Horse is Guardian of the Home Place Fairies as well as to a mortal girl and her younger sister.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He was long ago enchanted by fairy folk and though he ages he never grows old.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday we harvested pears, eating as we picked,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Later we delivered our pears to the Apple Wizard and his Fair Lady who along with a young wizard in training pressed them into cider.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We will dry fruit; freeze fruit, make sauces, bake pies, pastries and tarts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Pixie Pear Tart sweetened with fairy dust.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After her belly is full of peaches, apples or pears Penelope heads home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cutest little porcupine I have ever known.