I was going thru a lot of angst this past Winter ~ did I even WANT to continue this leaf casting business? I have made seven or eight HUNDRED pieces in the past six years, and the shows are a lot of physical work for both hubby and I! This is the longest I have ever continued along one path without faltering or giving up, and I do love it, but of course there's always a lot of re~thinking to do during the cold, dark months.

BUT, after my first event this season, I started to remember why I wanted to do this in the first place!

 Besides being surrounded by beautiful plants at the local Farmer's Market, I get to see old friends that stop by, and always make a couple of NEW acquaintances. And the most important part ~ I love to see repeat customers and collectors of my work, and also it's really awesome to cultivate a bunch of NEW fans!

 Oooo! Look at all those Heucheras! I have most of them, but there's a couple...

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...And for those of you who have the idea that I'm a baby hater, I had to grab a pic of my newest acquaintance, and his Mom, who is another artisan I'm buddies with on the art/craft show circuit.

I mean, how freakin' cute is this?! But then, I fall for all four month olds in dark shades!

 It wasn't crazy busy, so I had time to check out the various nurseries that were set up there.

 AND, on Saturday, an extremely nice couple purchased my largest Bird of Paradise leaf for a table centerpiece, THEN came back on Sunday and bought the Butterbur, which was my second largest leaf! Bazzinga!
They were really happy with their castings, which I'm always happy about ~ my "babies"found a good home!

Bye, Bye, Birdie! :-D

*~*~*~*Faerie Lore II*~*~*~*

The term Faerie is derived from "Fé erie", meaning the enchantment of the Fées, while Fé is derived from Fay, which is itself derived from Fatae, or the Fates. The term originally applied to supernatural women who directed the lives of men and attended births. Now it has come to mean any supernatural creature tied to the earth, except monsters and ghosts.

In Ireland, the Faeries are called the Aes Sídhe (singular Aes Sídh). Sídhe happens to be the name for the earthen mounds and hills that dot the Irish landscape. Irish mythology, legendry, and folklore claim the Faeries live under these mounds, so the term "sídhe" has come to mean Faerie in general, but it more properly refers to the palaces, courts, halls, and residences of the Faeries. However they are known by a wide variety of euphemisms, including "the Fair Folk", "the Good Neighbors", "the Little Folk", "the Little Darlings", and "the People of Peace". This is done for two reasons. The first is to avoid attracting their attention and the second is to avoid insulting them.

*~*~*~* Faerie Lore *~*~*~*

Fairy peoples are thought to have descended from the race of Elves. Elves are an ancient race of magical, slender creatures with pointed ears thought to be extinct. Unlike fairies, they lack the ability to fly, which may have made the fairies a more adaptable race. Elves were once very closely associated with the land and with nature and fairies took over many of their roles in this tradition.

Fairies are now air, water, fire and tree spirits. These are also the four points that make up a pagan pentagram (air, water, fire and earth) and the fifth point is spirit, which the fairies incarnate represent.