I love these whimsy, fabulous trees of color! ....and what a great way to put all of those wine bottles to good use! BOTTLE TREES! Legend has it that bottle trees keep away evil spirits.....but since we don't HAVE any evil spirits....I just want them for their funky energy and vibrant colors!!
OHHH and those blue bottles lined along the fance.....so charming.... 
Such a great way to add splashes of color throughout the garden!!
Monarch butterflies are everywhere! I love to watch them flitting about! They are so busy...I had to make them a proper place to land! I found this little nugget of a recipe for Butterfly Mud Pie from the book Toad Cottages and Shooting Stars by Sharon Lovejoy! 
Sprinkle on a bit of table salt.
Have your child thoroughly wet the soil to make a mud pie (it will need to be wet each day as needed).
Have your child place a flat rock in the center of the pie so butterflies can land and feed and gossip about their day!
Drizzle a bit of maple syrup on part of the rock for an extra snack. As you can see, we use ONLY the best VERMONT Maple Syrup for our butterflies!!!
Place your mud pie in a sunny area near flowers...the perfect gathering spot for your happy winged friends! 
"Everyone is invited to the mud pie party!!!"
An afternoon with my Goddaughter, Macy, always leads to some magical merry-making.....
Her hard work earned her a Fairy Name given by the only person who can give a child a true Fairy Name......(her Fairy Godmother).....
Say hello to "Rhinestone Lady of the Wood".....
I took Max and a few of his buddies for a long hike at the Maquoketa Caves on Saturday. We LOVE it there...(a must see for anyone visiting the midwest)...it is a little boys playground! We have been taking Max since he was four, he knows these trails like the back of his hand...and NEVER tires of the endless adventures he finds in every cave. 
As the boys were setting up a "survival camp" I took a nature walk to see what adventures I could find on my own and look at what I found!....
WHAT a delightful little tree! What a PERFECT little home for a colony of fairies!? If only I did not have a colony of boys to keep my eye on I would have spent the entire day constructing a magical tree house for the Maquoketa Wee Folk!!
I also found this funny looking tree...looks like Aaron Neville smoking a pipe..... and then...
I came across these little darlings. ....Legend has it that to avoid being seen, fairies turn themselves into toadstools until you pass by them.....I gave them a knowing wink as I skipped past....
...and when I came back awhile later, they were gone! 
and then to REALLY turn this Full Moon evening into a delight ..... with a little something special for dessert .....
