It seemed very quiet at the faerie house after the friends from Scotland left for Winnipeg. They did hear from Edden Beara, Owl, Tyne the Terrier and Fox. They LOVED their faerie house and felt very welcome in Winnipeg. They said they were very busy settling in and would send a story when they could.
Dog, Hedgehog, Frog, T1 and T2 tried to find their groove without the hustle and bustle of guests.
There was the garden to consider. Dog and Hedgehog took the lead on that, discussing what to plant. Their interests tended in different directions: Dog liked vegetables and Hedgehog liked flowers. Of course, there was room for both.
Frog listened with half-attention from close by, shielded from the sun by a shell that was a gift from Edden. It is not clear that it was meant as a hat, but it served that purpose well. Frog, as the main chef, wanted to put in a word for a variety of vegetables, but decided to wait to see what Dog came up with. Seeds had been ordered during the winter when all the friends except Dog were hibernating.
T1 and T2 were also out enjoying the warmth. T1 had another shell from Scotland, worn, if you can believe it, on top of T1’s own shell. T1 felt it added a bit of pizzazz to T1’s usual unchanging appearance.
The vegetable garden was planted in mid-May, and with careful watering - it was a very dry and hot spring - the seeds sprouted by early June.
Hedgehog went to a greenhouse for some flowers and planted them in a few spots.
By mid-June the garden was properly up. Dog continued to manage the watering, preferring to do it in the early morning. The sun was now rising by 5:00. On June 12th, it rose at 5:04, if you are interested in particulars. (Winnipeg days are a little bit shorter. The sun rose at 5:19 on June 12) T1 was super happy to do the weeding. Truth be told, T1 ate the weeds. Can you see the little green leaves in T1’s mouth? T1 found them delicious!
Dog had engineered a new patio for the friends to gather on summer evenings. T1 had ordered sun shade umbrellas. Dog hoped they would be ready for the evening of the solstice.
“I wonder why we celebrate the long days at the evening end of the day,” Dog said, “There is more light at the beginning of the day too.”
No one was really listening.
On the morning of the summer solstice — the day with the most daylight in the year —perhaps at the exact moment of the solstice ( 8:58a.m. Edmonton: 9:58a.m. Winnipeg) a willow wreath was delivered to the faerie house.
Frog, who was quietly reading a cookbook, heard a gentle whoosh and plop sound and went to check.
Frog found the wreath and hung it up on the door. A little bit of sap held it firm. Frog stood back and admired it. Lovely things happen sometimes that can’t be explained and it is just as well to enjoy them.
The day grew hot. T1 announced that the sunshade umbrellas had been delivered the day before and asked for help to put them up.
Frog, and the turtles put one up close to the house.
Dog and Hedgehog installed the other one over the new patio. They all felt so chuffed with their improvements.
While the friends were a bit snoozy, enjoying the shade and the warmth, a small package was delivered.
Dog woke with a start, and ran to see what had come.
“Oh Yay!” Dog shouted, startling everyone else, “Our copy of Friends for a Faerie House on Garfield Street has arrived!”
“What excellent timing,” said Hedgehog, “Now we have something special to read together this evening for summer solstice.”
“Yes,” said T1, “I have been thinking rather a lot about Edden, Owl, Tyne, and Fox.”
“Oh, there is a wee note from them in the envelope too. Shall I read it right away?”
There was a resounding ‘YES!”
Dear Dog, Hedgehog, Frog, T1 and T2,
Thank you for welcoming us so warmly when we arrived in Canada. It helped us get over a feeling of homesickness.
We are so happy with our new home and the lovely people who are in the yard. We include 2 photos with the letter to help you see our new life.
We hope you are all well and that your garden grows. The tomatoes here in Winnipeg are amazing!
We hope you enjoy our story.
Love,
Edden, Owl, Tyne, and Fox
“Going on a hike”
“Around the side of the house”
As the day cooled and the sun got lower in the sky, the friends met on the new patio to read their book.
“Why don’t you read it Hedgehog,” Said T2, “You read aloud really well.”
Hedgehog opened the book and began, “This is Edden Beara….”
While Hedgehog read, the friends started to notice changes. There were bright pink things popping up all over the faerie house yard.
“What are these?” asked T1.
“You might not believe this, but I think they are dried pears,” said Dog. “Those faeries can be funny sometimes!
“Is this a solstice treat?” asked T2.
“It must be,” said Frog, “and I bet the faeries aren’t done yet.”
Hedgehog put the book down to be able to feel the energy and joy without distraction.
The next thing they knew, the air smelled sweet, and they were surrounded by flowers.
“Ahhhh….beautiful!” They all said together.
They scrambled to the edge of the yard to be able to have a bigger view.
After a while they returned to the new patio to finish the story. Some of the friends wanted to stay up as late as it was light, which would be after 10:07p.m. when the sun would go down, but not all the friends were good at staying up late. Dog jumps up early in the morning, and has a particularly hard time with staying up late at night.
“With these long summer days, I am just better suited to being active in the morning than the evening.” Dog explained. “It is light a long time now.”
“Yes,” said Hedgehog, “There are 17 hours, 2 minutes, and 45 seconds of daylight now (16 hours, 21 minutes, and 9 seconds in Winnipeg) and no one can be alert all that time."
Dog and Frog, another early riser, decided to call it a day. Hedgehog, T1 and T2 enjoyed the cooling evening air and talked about things that made them happy, like the smell of peonies, fresh lettuce and stories about friends.
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