 So to my paint box I did go again after what had been a busy day. And as I sipped my tea, I wondered what should I paint? A this or a that? Or maybe something else?
Not knowing at all where my paint brush would take me, I dipped it into some water and opened my watercolour journal. As soon as the water touched the page, there I was once again back into the colourful world of the Imaginary Secret Garden. As I walked along a narrow little path where the Hollyhocks grew, I seen a little Runaway Mouse. Up to the top of the hill it scurried as if it had some place to go. And much to my surprise, once there, it jumped up on an old log right in front of the Lily Lollipop Flower. Now I had never ever seen a flower quite like this one, not here, or there, nor anywhere else. And as I watched them chit and chat, and giggle and gossip about the birds and the bees, I knew that they were real good friends. And yes for sure it was a very good thing!
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 According to some of the old tall tales and folklore here on the Gaspe Coast, it has been said that there are Gnomes that live among us.
Now I know that some people say that there are no such things as Gnomes for they are just made up story book characters. But look what I found in my sewing room yesterday….yes a fine little bunch of Home Gnomes. And as I knit them each a warm little hat, many stories they did tell me, which I found to be quite entertaining, for Gnomes are really good storytellers. It has been said that a home without a Gnome is just a home that is missing something. But a home with a Home Gnome is surely a very good thing!  So outside last night I heard an owl hooting and wooing up in the forest behind my house. I have always been fascinated by these mysterious birds and wanted to see one.
Well when I came in, I made myself a good cup of tea and took out my box of watercolour paints . And sure enough as soon as my paint brush dropped a bit of paint onto a page in my Moleskine journal, I ended up back into the Imaginary Secret Garden. As I walked along a narrow little cobblestone path that took me deep into the woods, I saw something that caught my eye. There, much to my surprise, was a very colourful little thing. A thing that I had never seen before. Yes, as soon as I saw it, I knew right away that it was a Toowit Toowoo Baby Forest Owl! Oh my I thought to myself, how lucky can one girl be to see such a rare little thing like that. It seemed to have a swollen wing because it had fallen out of its nest that was high up in the Old Birch Tree. But it’s mother had picked it up and it was now learning to fly again as all baby birds must do. And as I closed my journal and put away my paints for the night, I realized that having a little bit of an imagination can sure be a very good thing!  So the first little Home Gnome showed up last night all stitched and stuffed, wearing a warm hand knit little wool hat.
These are a very special kind of gnomes because they can only be found here at the Inn. According to some of the local folklore they are descendants of the Irish gnomes that arrived here on a ship that sailed across the sea from Ireland a very long time ago. There is so much more to tell you about their story but I will leave that for another time. But like the old saying goes, a home without a gnome is missing a little something. And a home with one of these Home Gnome is for sure a very good thing!  So what do you suppose I did last night as I was drinking my cup of tea. Yes I picked up my paint box, brush and watercolour journal and began to paint because that is one of my favourite things to do.
And with the dip of my watery brush, onto a new page, I found myself back into the colourful world of my Imaginary Secret Garden. It was a beautiful day there and the sun was shining on all the sweetly scented flowers growing along the old wooden fence. I walked over to pick one and it was then that I heard a little quacking sound. Wondering what it was, I unlatched the old gate door and found myself near a little pond of the bluest water that I had ever seen. And swimming in it was a little Piddle Paddle Puddle Duck. Now I had never seen a real one before, but it did look a lot like rubber ducky toy that my daughter used to play with as a baby in the bathtub. I remember how she used to laugh watching it float around in the water. And as I watched this painted little baby duck piddle and paddle in the pond’s puddle of water, I had to smile and say that that playing with colours is for sure a very good thing!  So after a busy day of doing this and that, I told Me, Myself and I last night, that a good way to end the day would be to spend some time playing with my box of paints that I keep tucked away into an old dresser drawer.
So with my colours and paint brush in hand, I opened my Moleskine watercolour journal. And with one dip of the watery paint on the page, there I was back into my Imaginary Secret Garden. As I walked through a field of tall sunflowers, I came to a little bridge that took me across a rippling brook. On the other side I was very surprised to see the very rare, and hardly ever seen, Starlight Rabbit. Now I had heard about this wild little bunny a long time ago in my childlike imagination. But never did I think that I would ever actually see one for real. But there it was, as plain to see as it could be. And sure enough it had a cloud of magical little starlights glowing all around it. I watched it for awhile, almost mesmerized by its twinkling lights. And before leaving, I made a wish upon one of the little stars because even though I am a very grown up girl, I knew that it would still be a very good thing!  Well it looks like these tomatoes that I picked in my Tiny Patch Garden needs to be stewed and bottled up in the canning pot today so that I can enjoy them in the months ahead.
From a tiny seed they grew over the summer in the sunshine and lucky for me these ones turned red on their vines out in the garden. It is an amazing thing what a garden can give to a person who plants a little seed. And yes for sure it is a very good thing.  As I enjoy my early morning cup of tea, I can see that the winds are still blowing outside but the rain has finally stopped. For the past 2 days, Hurricane Ida gave us a heavy downpour of her wet and windy nastiness as she blew across the Gaspe Coast.
But we were lucky because by the time she got here, she had released the worst of her rage and all we got was the tail end of her angry disposition. Why Mother Nature allows these unruly and stormy characters to disrupt and do so much damage in some places is sometimes hard to understand. But the one thing that we can always take comfort in, is that no matter what kind of unpleasant weather shows up in our lives, storms never last and the sun will always come out again. And that is for sure a very good thing.  It was a dark and rainy September night, so to my box of watercolours I did go with a good cup of tea. As I dipped my watery brush into some of the paints, away they took me into my Imaginary Secret Garden, where the silliest of colours seem to come alive.
And as I slowly walked through the garden’s gate, I saw two Scraggly Doodle Bugs playing a game of Hop on Top. Although I didn’t really understand how the game was played, I could tell that they were having a whole lot of fun chasing and jumping up and down on each other’s head, as they squeaked and squawked gleeful little sounds of delight. I stayed and watched them for awhile, for they were quite entertaining in their own little whimsical way. And when it was time to close my watercolour journal, for the time had passed much too quickly, I thought to myself that having a place to go on a dull and rainy night, even if it is not so far away, can be for sure, a very good thing. |
AuthorIt is here that I share my daily early morning musings about the simple life here at Maggies Inn. Archives
March 2022
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