We've had scorching days all week (finally real summer weather!), and the garden has been parched as a result. I've been trying to get out twice a day to water. Today was a treat though! When I went out I found that I wasn't alone in the garden. This wee one was having a sun bath in the fresh evening air. Standing there, garden hose in hand, I watched her for a bit trying to be as inconspicuous as I could. After a few moments she noticed me though and ducked down a little but didn't fly off. I caught a slight flicker on her back and realized she was missing a wing. Poor thing! I wonder what happened. I put down the hose and coaxed her onto my hand. I've brought her into the house and made her a shoe box home with a little bed from my fabric remnants. She still hasn't said a word but she seems happy to be here, she's curled up and fallen asleep the dear little thing.
Aoife and the Swans
Aoife lives on the quiet little island of Inis Ni. Her house is perched on the edge of a small pond, hidden from human sight by a great old willow whose branches hang in a curtain over the water. Every morning she takes her boat out to tend to the water lilies, dragonflies and other small creatures that dwell there. One morning she awoke to find two swans swimming outside of her home. They wore beautiful crowns of gold. When she asked how they had come to be there the swans told her that they were brother and sister, prince and princess from the faery kingdom across the sea, but that a wicked fairy had cast a spell on them that they should live as swans for one hundred years. "Come then, and stay with me," said Aoife, "we shall be friends, and I will take you to see Old Turtle, she is wise and as old as the water itself. She may know how to break your spell."
You can find her in my Etsy shop.
Isoke and Imari
The beautiful fiery Isoke with her gentle companion Imari. It's rare to catch a glimpse of these two. They travel the borders of faery land ensuring that no human ventures beyond into the realm of fae.
