The enchanted park I visit just keeps getting curiouser and curiouser in Daydreaming on the Porch

There is enchantment right in front of you, waiting for you to notice.

Janet Luhrs

It’s a fact that for years now I’ve become overly sensitive to the goings-on at my favorite park where I sometimes walk two or three times a week.

It’s becoming more and more an “enchanted” park because of the little mysterious, rather magical, things I encounter there on occasion.

It all began about three years ago when I came across one of several large camphor trees that was evidently inhabited sporadically by what we might call the “wee folk” or fairies, gnomes or other such creatures, trying to be more clear about what we’re referring to.

Here is what I mean:

https://www.prosebox.net/entry/1447235/

And now this Fall, there has been additional activity just in the past couple of weeks at the fairy house. I tend to think the wee folk are back there for this coming holiday season and will be gone in January.

What I saw in this set of photos coinciding with their latest visit, is unlike anything before. The figurines and objects placed in front of the house and in cracks and crevices (openings?) are getting more deeply mysterious, as you can see here:

https://www.flickr.com/gp/camas/C6839C6H51

The last two photos show the front of the dwelling, not so hard to spot, but I’ve never seen anyone else there peering at it in amazement like I do. The other photo shows that I think is the back entrance, totally innocuous and unremarkable. Camphor trees are noted for all kinds of openings such as this.

The fairy figurine to me is a bit unusual, even unsettling, and seems handmade, unlike those very common tiny fairy and gnome figurines you can get at Dollar Tree. Obviously there is some significance to this type of figurine which escapes me. Those who are knowledgeable about such things surely know what that is.

The small purple crystal-like substance that resembles a precious stone of some sort, is also something I’ve never encountered there. I am open to any suggestions as to what the objects are and also why the door is painted the way it is. Quite unusual and beautiful in its own magical way..

If that wasn’t enough to fire up my imagination on these gray, rather somber November days, a couple of weeks ago at dusk, as I was concluding my walk in the park, I spotted a remarkable sight: an illuminated mushroom forest in an area near the rose garden.

The first time I saw it was such a baffling jolt that I actually thought they were real, over-size white mushrooms that had popped up after a rain. But then I saw the artist who had created them and chatted with her a while, expressing my surprise and admiration. She, too, was well aware of the fairy house and the things there I described. So then I guess it’s all part of some grand little design, spearheaded by the wee folk who visit that one camphor tree dwelling, and the humans who interact with and enjoy their company?

Alas, I have not yet had that opportunity. But I believe nothing’s too out of the ordinary to experience first hand. Patiently I wait.

Enchanted and illuminated mushroom forest:

https://www.flickr.com/gp/camas/57wyv56NMJ

It’s a beautiful world beyond the gateway, but getting there entails work, patience and a very open mind.

Last updated November 28, 2022