A Fanciful Twist

The Mad Hatter & Me {A Tale of Whimsical Adventure Revisited}

Floating in a virtual abyss of cosmically romantic proportions live endless memories and moments in time.

Moments we forget about as we swiftly propel into the future.

Until happenings of the past are but dusty memories.

In a quest to accomplish a project, I find myself dancing into some of those moments in time.

Thanking the virtual depth of this curious ethernet for holding that space where memories float about amongst the stars.

And so, with best frock upon person, we go...

Back in time.

And so the story goes....

In continuing the tale of where the Hat, the cupcake and the Mad Hatter led me, I shall remind of the day I "borrowed" the hat, offered a cupcake for any hat related inconveniences, and was coaxed into a stay in Wonderland by the Mad Man himself. 

(Oh and, might I hint at the existence of a wee film at the end of this tale...?)

    

So there he was, pondering the happenings of Wonderland on the day I snuck his hat back into the garden. 

He seemed like he had something very very important on his mind.

    

He had just returned from a grand voyage, and I was peeking through the trees, watching.

    

I noticed some sparkles appearing around him - magic for certain. 

I heard the fairies in the trees whispering something about an enchanted tea party on his mind...

Always.

    

Just then, he heard a noise. 

It was me crunching the leaves on the ground while I was spying.

    

He quickly spun around, and spotted me!

    

So, I emerged from behind a tree and introduced myself, bowing my head and curtsying.

    

Whilst offering a grand cupcake, and attempting to scurry off.

    

But, the Hatter insisted I stay.

    

He spoke of a treasure, a gift that he had chosen just for me while on his voyage.

    

For me? I asked... 

"But sir, you don't even know me...?"

He replied, "Why, of course I know who you are, my pretty..."

He reached out in his enchanting manner, urging me to not be afraid...

   

His kind and comforting eyes, with a twinkle of sure madness, drew me in. 

I took a deep breath as he reached into his suitcase and produced a gift.

    

"In this box lives a gift of pure and endless magic, a gift of infinite internal youth and imagination.  Take it, and it shall be yours..." 

    

I couldn't resist.

As I reached for the box, he said-

"Be warned, once you accept this box filled with boundless imagination and wondrous magical creative abandon, you can never ever ever go back to the life you once had, to the girl you once were..."

    

I didn't have to think long - I wanted to open the box, and share what was inside the box...

Then he said "Go into the woods and ponder what we have spoken of.  If you return, this journey shall continue, and the box shall be yours..."

I found a mossy spot by a great big tree, and sat, pondering.

I could not think of any reason not to accept the box.

I returned to the Mad Hatter, with my decision and one final question...

  

As I opened the curtain I asked, "May I share the contents of this box with my friends?"

    

He responded in song, emerging from his wagon, while playing the most curious little tune on a beautiful mandolin.

"Of course, share it with whomever you choose, and celebrate ~ clink tea cups, twirl, dance, smile, laugh..."

    

And with that, he ran off...

   

Beckoning me to follow him ~

And so, I did...

   

I kicked off my shoes, and skipped to catch up to him...

And through a corridor of trees he played and sang.

    

A plan to invite each and every one of you, to be true, to you.

    

And always, no matter what, find your way back to your own personal wonderland.

   

So we danced and celebrated at the thought of a life long tea party beyond our wildest imagination.

    

 

With that, I opened the box, and let the magic float out - it should be reaching you just about now....

A sure reason to dance and be silly in the garden on this lovely evening. 

Join us, won't you?

 

 

Whew, that was a fun little voyage, wasn't it?

 

Love, V

 

 

 

Rainy Mountains + How to Pollinate Pumpkins + Jewels

Massive rain storms came to visit last weekend.

It was unreal, glorious really.

Thickest clouds filled with lightning and thunder and huge rain drops.

Those are the Santa Catalina Mountains (Arizona).

I see them from my house, but this is a shot driving down the main highway.

The buildings you see are our local bank, grocery, fast food, gas etc.

I live on the other side of those buildings a few miles east towards the mountains.

You can imagine what rain storms looks like coming over the tops.

It's dreamy, and when the moon comes over, well it's just spectacular really.

The mass rain has the pumpkin vines going bonkers.

They just grew sooo much in a few days it's mind blowing.

So did the weeds, which I mowed for 3 hours last night.

I wear a mask so that I don't turn into allergy disaster central.

Rain brings endless chores and growing things and green green green in the desert!

Is there anything more charming than pumpkin curly cues, I wonder?

I know a lot of folks have been telling me they are worried about not having pumpkins this year, since the bees don't seem as plentiful.

I see bees here working along, thank goodness.

But sometimes, I give them a little help with hand pollination.

So, here's a little how to Hand Pollinate Pumpkins in case you forgot or were wondering.

 When you grow pumpkins the vine will grow for a little while before you see flowers.

Vines have both male and female flowers.

The first series of flowers you get will be all males.

The male flowers have a stamen (straight rod) in the center as you see below.

The stamen in the male flower produces pollen that looks like yellow powder, and covers the stamen.

If all works out in nature, the pollen is carried to female flowers by bugs and bees.

Then you have pumpkin babies.

A couple weeks (sometimes longer, sometimes shorter) after you get a handful of male flowers you will begin to see a few females developing, as seen below.

The female flower has a distinct little tiny pumpkin formation behind its flower.

The center of the female flower is called a stigma.

This is a female flower ready to be pollinated below.

The flower has bloomed in hopes of being pollinated and will only be open for a few hours once, early in the morning.

If you don't see bugs n' bees helping you out and you get worried that you won't have any pumpkins, all you need is a small paintbrush, and you can help pollinate the female.

Also, this can only be done early in morning when all the flowers are open.

The flowers tend to close up around late morning.

(If you don't see pollen on a stamen that means the bugs have taken it all to do their jobs)

So, take your paintbrush and gently collect a little pollen from a male flower's stamen.

It will easily stick to your paintbrush.

There's a bee in mine, but that's okay.

Double help won't hurt.

Plus, ants and other little bugs will carry pollen around also.

As you can see I barely touched the pollen and it came off onto my brush.

Then all you need to do is very gently brush the pollen into the center of the female flower's stigma.

Some people pop the whole stamen out of the male flower and push it into the center of the female flower's stigma and just leave it there, which you can also do.  But I personally like the paintbrush method.

You will know by the next morning if your pumpkin was pollinated as it will slightly plump up.

If it starts to shrivel up and die it did not get pollinated.

Just 4 days after being pollinated this fairy tale pumpkin has grown 4 times its size, the flower has dried and will drop off on its own in a day or two.

It's safe to say, it was pollinated and a pumpkin babe is now growing.

Wasn't that soooo easy???

Our glee with pumpkin holiday makings sent us off to drive around our neck of the woods.

Miles hanging out the window in the wind, Matty sitting inside quietly looking ahead.

(Matty would never think of hanging out of a window, no sirree)

Glorious rain cloud times we had.

I just love this place madly.

The desert is such a beautiful place, especially after the rains.

There is a forest at the top of those mountains.

The cacti are looking healthy all around, and it's time to start harvesting my prickly pears.

If you wondered where I ran off to the last few days?

I was filling some jewelry orders and playing in baubles.

Oh deliciousness.

I love jewels and mud alike.

Is that acceptable?

;-)

The temps are back up and sun is in full effect.

Everything is growing as though there is no tomorrow.

 

I have jewels strewn everywhere.

Clay sitting on a bench.

Sparkle sparkle all around.

 

All sorts of things happening at once.

Jewels and creatures and faces galore.

 

The madness that is my life I suppose.

 

Oh my!

Must get back to work.

 

How are theee?!

 

Love, V

 

 

 

 

 

 ps:  For ooooodles of pumpkin pollinating info and more, go here.

 

 

The Fortune Teller in the Gypsy Garden...

Hi there!

I have been working on a few projects that are utterly autumn related.

Going through many photographs of autumns past.

And while we aren't ready to part with summer quite yet...

I have been enjoying it sooo much, that I thought I would bring you along for a smidge.

Wanna come?

Jump in my garden for quick sec, won'tcha?

I was on a hunt for some fave magical autumn moments.

Some of those are definitely from the gyspy wagon at Halloween.

There were sooo many photos to choose from throughout the years.

Oh my!

I grabbed a few to relive with you today.

Fortune Teller Halloween....

These pics are inspiring me for the months to come as well.

I have had so much fun these last few years in the blogosphere with you.

These pics are a constant reminder of all we have conjured.

Haven't we had such great times?

The gypsy wagon all spookified.

I have such fun out there I tell ya.

I love when Mister Lovee joins in and becomes the fortune teller.

Oooooo!

Sooo creepy.

Offering me a wee treat.

He does all his own costumes and is soooo into the spirit of it all.

He quite surprised me that year when I saw an old witch rifling through the bushes.

Eeeeks!

He even acted in Old Tucson in the 80's.

He's got endless tricks up his sleeve, that one.

What does the crystal ball tell you?

What a wonderfully magical time.

I can almost smell the caramel apples and popcorn.

The candles, the pumpkins.

I am sooo inspired to have the best autumn ever.

What about you?

There is such magic that swirls in with the rains of late summer.

We had one of the hugest storms ever on Friday night.

Soooooo much rain, it was amazing.

Yesterday the whole place felt like a swamp, and the gypsy wagon was extra mysterious.

Odd when the desert turns to swamp on rare flooded monsoon moments.

With vines crawling all around the wagon.

Cool breeze sweeps into our crazy heat wave of endless days of 100+ degrees.

Reminding of what is to come.

My mind flutters with ideas and things I want to do.

Sooo many things.

All have to do with playing of some sort, of course.

 

As I get older I feel younger.

I am not sure what exactly is going on.

Is this normal, and should I feel this way, I ask you?

I have more frolic and skip in my heart than ever before.

 

Is growing up a choice?

 

I don't know any of these answers really.

But what I do know is that I want to make each day as wonderful as can be.

Live in the moment.

And, most of all, have a blast!!

 

(More photos from the gypsy garden Halloween here)

 

What sort of delicious shenanigans do you think we should plunge into?

 

Love, Vanessa

 

 

 

 

Summer in the Vegetable Garden...

The vegetable garden...

Residing way in the back of our property, unruly and wild this year.

August always brings taller and greener growings.

But still, I think, August?

How can it be?

It seems spring was only here yesterday.

As time loops and looms its way deeper into the future.

The future I have not yet caught up with.

And so, as the days of summer tic by, it becomes increasingly important to one's psyche to stop and admire the offerings of its heat and long days.

Boys sniff together.

I get ready to forage and collect.

As you may know I replanted my garden several times this year due to gophers.

(even though the beds are lined with sturdy wire mesh, eeek!)

I lost all my tomatoes and bell peppers.

But tomatillos....

Tomatillos self seeded and are turning jurassic.

They grow inside perfect little lanterns.

Sticky until you wash them up.

Fairy tale pumpkin vines are looking pretty lovely I'd say.

So exciting!

I spy a few babies on their way to flowering.

Sometimes I hide inside the domed garden.

I lost all my beets and radishes in there to birds.

But they haven't bothered my summer crookneck squash, yay.

I think what happened this year as that all the wild life around here figured out that I have a buffet going on for them.

They outsmarted me.

Despite my best efforts.

The good thing is that I learned that there is nothing more liberating than taking a deep breath and saying, oh well.

Ooo, another baby.

The good news, some wild zinnias exploded throughout most of the veggie garden.

And I have to say, it's a pretty decent compromise from nature.

The hummingbirds and yellow belly finches are delighted.

Silly hummingbird.

Those yellow bellies are ferocious.

They pull the petals off of all my flowers before it's seed time.

Cute and rotten, all rolled into one.

The strawberries have been gifting treats all summer, even in mass heat.

There is also lots of basil as usual, which I am always grateful for.

The zinnias and the basil seem to get along very well.

All sorts of shapes and sizes of zinnias, but all hot pink.

Curious no?

Gobs of zinnias really.

So how can one complain?

I think not.

Even giant wild cosmos are coming along.

All in the veggie garden, can you believe it?

Some lovely lil' pumpkins are intertwined in there too.

Even a brussels sprout plant turned up in this heat, odd I'd say.

But, yay!

Hello bird.

It has been a tough critter summer, but the best way to cope was for me to give in...

And say, the weeds and grasses and critters are winning.

And it's okay.

Then all of a sudden hoards of zinnias and pumpkin vines turned up.

So, I guess the garden always has a message/lesson doesn't it?

It's always an interesting journey.

Me and my garden.

It's a ton of work, but always worth it.

Even after I throw a gopher fit.

It's still worth it.

 

 August always reminds me of that.

 

Happy August.

Can you believe it?!

 

Love, Vanessa

 

 

 

 ps:  How excited are you for this?