Mysteries of Delight ~ Camping In An Ancient Forest

 Doesn't everyone love to go camping with family ? We do . Every year we camp with family, and sometimes friends, in Iron Creek Campground. This campground is in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest near the small town of Randall, WA . This campground is in a rain forest ( allowing us to have campfires in the midst of red alert fire danger throughout most of our state ) and offered a cool respite from the extreme high temps we've been experiencing at our place since May. Look at the size of the trees in the picture above. 2 of my grandchildren posed for me to offer a better perspective of the size of this trio of trees. These trees are babies compared to many of the trees in this ancient forest, many giants over 900 years old are still towering over the campgrounds and the Cispus River the campgrounds overlook.

 The stump in the middle of this picture is taller than an average man. Humbling to be in the midst of these ancient giants, and  awesome in the true definition of the word.

 My husband took a hike along the river paths with the grandchildren and they discovered this little fairy hidden in a tree. They took her out and found a note attached to her that said "read me".

 This is the note they unfolded and read. They then refolded and reattached the note to the fairy and hid her somewhere else. Wonder who was so creative to hide a simple plastic fairy with a special note for the enjoyment of people they will never meet. Wonder who will find her and what they will do ? A mystery.

 We arrived at the campgrounds early on a Thursday and discovered this campsite was inhabited by fairies ? Well, not fairies , but campers who seemed to have enjoyed a lot of time turning a very large stump into a miniature village. The picture does not do this little village justice, there were so many details in the many little shelters and dwellings showing a great deal of creativity and many hours of work. Do you think the people who built this little fairy village were the people who left the fairy hidden in the tree ? A mystery.

 Close-up of one tiny shelter on the stump.

 We were amazed and delighted to discover the river beach was awash in tiny and large stone towers.

 MANY stone towers and piles. At least a hundred stone towers and piles. Who made these ? One busy group of people, or many ? A mystery.

 Another picture to offer a bit of perspective.( Grandson did not build this , but he built a few tiny towers of his own .)

 I discovered as the days went by that every time we went to the beach we all built at least 1 stone tower and other campers did too. So I think someone ( or a few someones) built a few stone towers and pillars, then anyone visiting the beach felt the need to build their own. Just my theory, but this is still a mystery.

 Daughter's children dutifully posed for the obligatory picture by the river . Thank-you !

We don't know who hid the fairy, built the fairy village, or made the original stone piles on the river beach. But these are all mysteries of delight we will add to another year of family camping memories at Iron Creek Campground .

Gossamer Wings Or Fairy Dust ?

 There are fairies in my herb garden !

 I hosted a ladies' luncheon one day last month and apparently while we ladies were having a good time indoors, two of my granddaughters were having a very good time outdoors, with fairies !

 My granddaughters created these fairy homes in my herb garden without any help from me. Hey , I didn't even know they were in the herb garden , let alone creating such enchanting little homes.

Imagination, creativity , fun . Who knows  who'll move into these little homes my granddaughters built ? They took their fairies home with them. But I've been keeping watch over the tiny houses and maybe I'll spy a little flutter of gossamer wings or burst of sparkly fairy dust  the next time I peek into one of the tiny doors or windows....just maybe .

Terrarium Inspired by Real Life

 I was given 2 terrariums for Christmas , thank-you Jim ! I restrained myself and asked for only two. I love terrariums and knew I would easily fill them with plants , moss, and whatever else struck my fancy to add to them. Ever since I can remember, glass containers of any kind with even a hint of greenery or a small wiggling creature contained within just drew me in and captivated my attention and inspired my imagination. They still do. As you can see ( above ) from my planting table where I have unused pots & outdoor stuff waiting for me to put to use, moss just crept in and made itself at home, as it is wont to do in the western part of the Pacific Northwest I call home. Moss is magical to me because it thrives in almost any indoor planting , and if it doesn't , I can go outside, grab some more and replace it. ( Did you know dried moss makes a great fire-starter for the woodstove ? )

 Here is a miniature garden I made almost 3 years ago with my granddaughters. I leave it outside all year and it sits by the fire-pit near the pond. The plants are getting so large I might need to replace them  in the spring. But look at the moss that moved in with the fallen leaves.

 Here is a birdhouse that sits on a very old Cedar stump overlooking the fire pit and surrounded by the branches of a young Cedar tree that has probably sprung up from the tree the stump used to be.

 I found this little mouse in the front yard. It was already dead, probably played to death by our resident mouser, Miss Marple . I don't know what kind of mouse this is, but it was a very cute mouse with extremely large pink ears and the most exquisite feet. Each dainty foot had such pretty toes and fine, almost invisible silver-white fur covered the legs. I could not get a picture of the face to do it justice, but for a mouse, it was a very pretty face. She ( for it was a she ) probably left behind a lot of little mice hungry for her milk , but what is that to a cat ?

My treasure hunt around Cedar Pond garnered me many little treasures and a lot of inspiration. I gathered moss, plants from outside, soil, rocks, a little resin mouse, my terrarium, and happily set about creating a terrarium . If you are interested in the finished result you will be able to see it in my next post.

Fairies Need Houses Too !

 I had the blessing of two granddaughters spending a few days with me while my husband took their two brothers over the mountains for a visit with cousins and some fishing. These granddaughters love to think about where the best places for fairies might be and they love even more creating little houses for fairies. Here they are rowing our little boat around Cedar Pond, I know they love to tie the boat up at the little island and explore. Maybe there are fairies there.

 Look at what she made for the fairies from a cardboard box, twigs and leaves, and bits & pieces from my craft room !

 I think a fairy is already checking out this little house in the tree.

 This granddaughter not only made a pretty pink house, but she made lawn furniture to go with it,

 and carefully arranged it for the fairies.

 Looks like a fairy is interested in this house too. I hope the fairies move in.

"A child's world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement. It is our misfortune that for most of us that clear-eyed vision , that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring , is dimmed and lost even before we reach adulthood. " Rachel Carson