Celebrating California Poppies

This morning I caught Grace chatting with Queen AmberLynn. The topic was the poppies that have sprouted in my garden. I sat down to join the conversation. "Did you know that today is the official day to celebrate the California Poppy? It's California Poppy Day!" Grace was excited to learn more, the information sponge that she is, so I went inside to grab a newspaper article that I had just read that morning and spouted off some facts.

"The plant's full name is Eschscholzia californica. In 1903, this poppy was given the honor of being the state flower which was found to be particularly fitting for the Golden State (California's nickname) based on the vibrant gold color of the poppy. We've been celebrating the flower on April 6 since 1973."

We admired my fields of gold, both Grace and AmberLynn commenting on how happy they were with my choice to plant so many poppies and I let them know that all the poppies I have in my garden surprisingly came from merely one packet of seeds that cost me less than $3. They were especially excited to learn that I have plans to put in even more poppies within the next few months.

Do you have any California poppies in your garden? How about any other species of poppy? Feel free to send me an email with a picture and some information about the poppies and you and we will post them on the blog later this month.

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Mad Scientist's Haunted Mansion

Jezelle was invited to join Laura for tea and got caught up in some spooky gossip. Laura asked "did you hear what happened to Grace and Gwendelyn the night they were invited to the Mad Scientist's Haunted Mansion?" Jezelle almost spit her tea out! "No, tell me!"

"Well, Grace and Gwendelyn were sent an invitation to come visit a large mansion. They knew the man who owned it was a scientist but only found out later that he was mad! Okay, so they both get there, knock on the door and it opens but no one is inside. They walk in and ask "is anyone here?" but no one answered. They ask again, louder, and this time someone says "hello, thank you for coming." They don't see anyone. They call out "who's there?" and the voice replies "it's me, Dexter." Grace and Gwendelyn walked around the room and still couldn't see anyone. Grace asked "where are you? I can't see you."

"I had a little accident in the lab," the scientist said "and it turns out that I'm invisible." How crazy is that!? They reluctantly went on a tour of the house with an invisible guide and even got to see his lab with all his potions and experiments. The further up in the mansion they went, the more they feared they would be unable to find their way back out if they needed to make a run for it. Grace was worried the two of them might end up part of an experiment, or even turned invisible.

They were finally taken to a large room where a big feast was laid out. "Please, take a seat," the scientist said. Grace and Gwendelyn looked at each other, concerned, and Grace wisely said "we need to wash up first, can we use your bathroom?" He told them where it was and they managed to find a window that they could squeeze out of to escape whatever fate may have been in store for them!"

"Wow," said Jezelle. "That's scary. I guess the moral of that story is to really be careful with who you visit and make sure you know them. Good thing they went together." She slowly sipped the rest of her tea.

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Mountain Lakes - Halloween celebration

Grace and Gwendelyn joined King Edward and Queen Marlissa on their journey back to Mountain Lakes to experience the three week celebration of Halloween. Pumpkin carvings, dogs in costumes, ice skating, paddle boats, miniature golf, surfing over the waterfall and of course, dancing. The two hardly got sleep from all the dancing and the discovery of karaoke!

Above are some pictures from the event and below is a video.

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Local Happenings: First Class Is Colossal Success

Look at this happy group of people! These Fairy Garden enthusiasts enjoyed a morning of creativity and chit chat with other like-minded locals. 34 people were registered for this class and the back enclosure of Sunshine Growers Nursery was bustling. We couldn't keep the supplies stocked! Before the area cleared out, we already had 38 people signed up for our next class (more details on the next class at the end of this post). The Fairy magic is spreading!

This festive Fairy Garden was created by one of my very own Fairy Folk, a follower of this blog. Not only was she one of the only two class participants to bring her own container, she also was one of the only two to use real plants. This goes to show that these classes really do encourage you to use your creativity and utilize nature around you.

Here is another example of what can be done with a container from home, some live plants and festive decor. This garden was made by another of my Fairy Folks. Don't you think it turned out lovely? Below is a video of a handful of miniature gardens made by the class participants.

These ladies were nice enough to take a few moments to be interviewed by Grace. Thank you, Patty and Linda.

Look at our class being advertised on the big sign!

Our next Fairy Garden class will be held on November 14th at the same location, Sunshine Growers Nursery at the same time, 10am. The theme will be Thanksgiving and Christmas (we will not be having a class in December, make a note). The price has not been solidified but I will surely keep you up to date. As always, since you know the theme, you are encouraged to bring any small things from home that you think might make good fairy garden decorations. Bringing your own container from home is also encouraged but not required.

I want to send a big thank you to each and every one of you who attended the class and to those of you who were not able to attend but spread the word. I am very excited that the class was the success that it turned out to be and am overjoyed to learn about the growing number of locals interested.

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Final Guests Arrive; Better Late Than Never

One of the last groups to arrive for the King's Returning Ceremony is this bunch. You may recognize King Edward and Queen Marlissa from Mountain Lakes, along with their blue feathered friend, Pico. They were escorted by Pierre, a curious fellow from Canada, and his flock of geese who are fitted with flowered hats gifted to them by the Queen.

King Edward arrives via Goose.

Pierre is happy to arrive and meet the community members for the first time.

Queen Marlissa greets King Mac with compliments and well wishes. Czz waits patiently to introduce himself and the more Marlissa swoons over the King, the harder it is for him to hold back laughter.

Grace shows up with her notebook to interview King Edward. Pierre does his best to butt in on the conversation, hoping he will also be mentioned in the interview. Pico can be seen in the background curiously exploring the large goose.

Czz, Queen Marlissa and King Mac keep their distance from the interview at hand; the King out of respect, the Queen in an attempt to flirt with the King, and Czz due to the better entertainment value this display has.

The geese pick a quiet spot to rest in. They plan to give out rides later on in the day, but for now, they're quite tired.

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King Mac's Horse Race Track

On your marks...

Get set...

...Go! The big surprise that the fairies and myself have kept from all you Wee Folks the past few months was the addition of King Mac's Horse Race Track in the newly developed WeeWillow Brooks. Amongst the gleeful celebration, bountiful feast and interview, King Mac was in shock at the revealing of the race track. I was unable to capture the moment on camera, but King Mac cut the ribbon, signifying the grand opening of his very own horse race track - a sport he has had a passion for for many years.

Pictured above, Grace interviews Blondie, the winner of the inaugural horse race. The King is very excited about his new present.

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Grace's Secret and The King's Interview

Here is a photo of Grace when she
first arrived in our community.

The fairies made an interesting discovery recently. Do you remember Grace? She always seemed to be in the background at community events and I wrote it off as her being shy. Well, one day just after taking some new guests on a tour of the gardens, Princess Jezelle spotted Grace hidden among the greenery with a notebook and pencil in hand. Grace seemed to be writing about what she was seeing. Jezelle decided to snoop a bit and got closer. Grace must have been deep in thought because by the time she noticed Jezelle, the Princess was right in front of her!

When questioned, Grace blushed, embarrassed she had been caught but admitted that she had always loved to write but sometimes didn't have anything to write about. When she arrived here and saw how busy and active people were, Grace decided to keep a running journal about things that happen here in the community.

This caught Jezelle's interest and she asked to read through the journal. As she read, the Princess' face emitted emotions captured in the journal; some moments were sad but most were happy. Jezelle closed the journal and looked at Grace quietly for a moment before her eyes lit up. 

"Brilliant!" shouted the Princess. Grace was understandably confused but Jezelle explained. "We've never had a writer here before and I think this is just what the community needs, and what great timing! My father and brother have just returned and you will interview them, gather information about their travels and write them down for a Fairy Newsletter!"

Grace blinked a few times, processing the information. It was all happening so fast and this is exactly what she'd always wanted to do so it only took her a few seconds to jump back to reality and agree to take the job, with a big smile on her face.

Grace sits down with the King for their very first interview.

The King agreed to an interview, stating that it would be an easy way to let the community know about his journey and what he learned without leaving anything out.

He, of course, enjoyed all the fairy communities he visited around the world and took note of the differences. He not only learned about other fairy cultures, but also about the culture of other beings around the globe.

"As you see, we have so many wonderful visitors from around the world that I visited; Scotland, Ireland, England, France, Germany, Russia, China and Korea. We didn't visit every country but one can't expect to see the world all at once. I extended an invitation to every fairy community I traveled, that they come visit our community in return. It was, of course, an open invitation and while some couldn't make it for this King's Festival, I hope that they will come visit soon. But those who managed to come have all proven themselves to be wonderfully talented entertainers!"

Grace, full of curiosity and intuition, asked about the guest that the King and Prince had arrived with.

"Oh! That's Czz! He's a comedian and he comes from Russia. When I met him, he had me laughing so hard that I cried! I love that he can find humor in any situation. I'm so happy he was able to join me on the last leg of my journey back home."

Czz (pronounced See-Zee) always has a big smile on his face and hearty laugh in his chest.

Grace asked a few more questions and had many more to ask, but she knew that the King wanted to get back to the celebration and asked to do a follow up interview later before putting together her very first fairy newsletter.

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Teapot Glen

Just in time for Winter, the fairy community pulled together and managed to erect Teapot Glen for the newest arrivals; Grace, Iris, Petunia, Roselynn and Violet. I was able to take a few pictures of them by their respective homes.

There was concern that Petunia might be too young to live alone so Missy the Rabbit is going to be her housemate. This worked out well since they've already become close friends.

The fairy council took notice of Grace's shy demeanor and decided that her house should be placed furthest in Teapot Glen. The community is confident that Grace will socialize more as she becomes more comfortable with her new surroundings.

Iris enjoys the front porch of her new, brick home.

Violet and Roselynn were given the opportunity to live together in this quaint thatch-roof cottage. After touring their home, they decided to relax outside with some pumpkin chai tea, discussing what they've heard about the upcoming plans planned for the Winter Festival.

Here is an overhead shot of the majority of Teapot Glen.

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New Arrivals - December

My best friend, June, called me earlier this month with a request.

"I found five little fairies who have no place to call home. Do you think you have room in your Fairy Garden for them? They are so sweet and would be very grateful." I replied "Of course! there is always room in Grandma's Fairy Garden for new faces! I'll tell the other fairies, they will be so happy."

I drove down to Brea to pick up the new arrivals while the garden was abuzz with activity and excitement. There was also a meeting held while I was gone regarding where the new arrivals would stay and it was decided that construction on a new town would begin very soon.

Violet and Roselynn (L to R) - These two fairies were best of friends from the beginning so for them, the move was a bit easier because they have each other.

Grace is a sweet, gentle fairy who is very shy. She is having a difficult time coming out of her shell so she has spent most her time here so far hiding in the fern.

Iris is a sweet little child, outgoing and friendly. With a personality like this, she has had no trouble at all fitting in from the get go.

Petunia is the cutest little thing you have ever seen and the youngest of the new arrivals. She loves playing with all the other fairies and is excited to call this her new home.

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