Winter fairy

 Now to talk about pretty things. Although these last two weeks have been mainly cold, clammy and grey, and my mood sinks in such weather and in the shorter days of winter, I watched a video earlier of someone making a winter fairy garden in a basket, with evergreen plants like holly and ivy, a tiny pool of water in the centre and unusual pieces of wood, stones and other material. The end result was lovely and it inspired me to tidy up my garden that gets very messy and neglected in winter.

I remember how one of my sisters loved fairies when she was little. Her favourite books were the little Flower Fairy volumes by Cicely Mary Barker. I won't put an example up here as they are still in copyright and trademarked but you can look at the website of her estate here: Flower Fairies: Meet the Fairies. 

There were many other such fairy books at home, beautifully illustrated by superb artists such as Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac, Ida Rentoul Outhwaite ...

"Fairy Islands", illustration by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite for the book "Elves and Fairies".

I loved these books, too, but I was supposed to be a boy and they were definitely only for girls so I had to pretend to hate them and I was quite nasty to my sister about them out of sheer jealousy and the pain of having to stick with gender norms. Abuse passes down the line... 

But I still love fairies. I don't believe in fairies, but I love their delicacy. As I've said before, being trans is not just about the clothes.

 

"A fairy" by Arthur Rackham; pen, ink & watercolour.

So maybe I'll make a fairy garden, too, with plants and water that might attract delicate winged creatures like butterflies or dragonflies. I do like the little animals here, mainly small reptiles. But remember,

    Newts and blindworms do no wrong, 

come not near our fairy queen.

(Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream)

Another magical thing happened yesterday. Occasionally, when the air is very clear, you can see the island of Corsica from here. It's not just a question of good seeing, though, but refraction since the whole island, even the highest peaks, are actually below the horizon, 200 km (125 miles) away and more.

Corsica, from western Liguria, January 21st 2024, by Paolo Valbusa on Facebook

Corsica is often visible in late May when the setting sun reflects off the last snows on the highest mountains and makes the whole thing an ethereal pink, like a blancmange floating on the sea. It's an amazing sight. I'd never seen it in January before.

Maybe it's true that the best things in life are free.

Weight loss

In my bid to become a fairyweight transwoman, I've lost another 3 pounds (1.36 kg) over the last week (although my bathroom scales were doing some very odd things this morning - maybe the battery's running low). That's over 18.5 pounds (8.4kg) so far, with 31.5 to go. 

You Spotted Snakes, by Will Shakespeare

You spotted snakes with double tongue,
⁠Thorny hedgehogs, be not seen;
Newts and blind-worms, do no wrong,
⁠Come not near our fairy queen.

⁠Philomel, with melody
⁠Sing in our sweet lullaby;
Lulla, lulla, lullaby; lulla, lulla, lullaby:
⁠Never harm,
⁠Nor spell nor charm,
⁠Come our lovely lady nigh;
⁠So, good night, with lullaby.

Weaving spiders, come not here;
⁠Hence, you long-legg'd spinners, hence!
Beetles black, approach not near;
⁠Worm nor snail, do no offence.

⁠Philomel, with melody
⁠Sing in our sweet lullaby;
Lulla, lulla, lullaby; lulla, lulla, lullaby:
⁠Never harm,
⁠Nor spell nor charm,
⁠Come our lovely lady nigh;
⁠So, good night, with lullaby.

"Titania sleeping in the moonlight protected by her fairies", by John Simmons

 

Sue x