out flew the moon…

KayNielsen.eastofthesun29

illustration by Kay Nielsen

Now, after a while, the Foster-mother had to go on another journey; and, before she went, she forbade the Lassie to go into those two rooms into which she had never been.  She promised to beware; but when she was left alone, she began to think and to wonder what there could be in the second room, and at last she could not help setting the door a little ajar, just to peep in, when – Pop ! out flew the Moon.
~ from The Lassie & Her Godmother
(East of the Sun & West of the Moon: Old Tales from the North)

but the child is right…

“Jean Drawing” by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Children will draw pictures with everything in them … houses and trees and people and animals … and the sun AND the moon.  Grown-up says, “That’s a nice picture, Honey, but you put the moon and the sun in the sky at the same time and that isn’t right.”  But the child is right!  The sun and moon are in the sky at the same time.
~ R. Buckminster Fuller
(Buckminster Fuller to Children of Earth)

winter appointments…

“Winter Light” by Ann Crane

I frequently tramped eight or ten miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beech tree, or a yellow birch, or an old acquaintance among the pines.
~ Henry David Thoreau
(Walden)

Oh! where do fairies hide their heads,
When snow lies on the hills?
When frost has spoiled their mossy beds,
And crystallized their rills:
Beneath the moon they cannot trip
In circles o’er the plain:
And draughts of dew they cannot sip,
Till green leaves come again.
~ Thomas Haynes Bayly
(Songs & Ballads, Grave & Gay)

Water Pearl Palace

Water Pearl Palace created by Dylan & Ted Gaffney

Queen Moonstone and her sprites live in Water Pearl Palace built in the twisted roots of the giant sycamore tree.  During the day they guard this mystical gateway to other worlds, but gather every evening to dance among the great boughs of the tree and along the rippling stream celebrating creativity.  Within the many nooks and crannies of the subterranean palace, the sprites leave tokens found during their nightly travels.  Visit on a full moon and witness their grand party when they assist all who seek their help.
(Wee Faerie Village: Land of Picture Making)

Every leaf speaks bliss to me
Fluttering from the autumn tree.
~ Emily Brontë
(The Complete Poems of Emily Jane Brontë)

People must believe what they can, and those who believe more must not be hard upon those who believe less.  I doubt if you would have believed it all yourself if you hadn’t seen some of it.
~ George MacDonald
(The Princess & The Goblin)

photos by Barbara Rodgers