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Big Bark, Fairies And Spring?

February 7, 2017 By Kimberly A. Cook 3 Comments

by Kimberly A. Cook (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Last Saturday at my fiction critique group, my author buddy Cindy Hiday surprised me with a gift. When I unwrapped the item, it was a humongo piece of bark. Score! She felt it might be perfect for the Fairy Rock Garden. It fell off firewood she and her Air Force veteran hubby were unloading.

What a beautiful bark piece. It’s drying out in the front foyer, watched over by garden bunny. This may become a fairy diorama…

Cindy’s husband joked if she needed any bark. “Yes, for Kim,” she replied. He’s learned just to go with it when these events happen and my name comes up. Very smart man.

Another writer in our group puzzled by the bark present wanted me to explain my Fairy Rock Garden. Most Fairy Gardens are little scenes in the garden with plants and mini-furniture and houses in pots or tucked under trees.

In my case, I decided to make a Fairy Rock Garden so I don’t have to deal with the plants either. I have the start of an entire development; more rocks, less plants to water. My fascination with Fairy Gardens started while attending Camp Fire summer day camp at Camp Nadaka.

We split nut shells to make fairy bowls and put them on top of tiny wood tables we made in the forest. That’s all it took for my imagination to take flight. Also explains why “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is my favorite Shakespeare play; fairies rule.

On the way home from our fiction critique group, I stopped at Joann Fabrics to pick up some bead craft containers. When I walked in the door, this is what I saw to my right.

Flipping Fairy Garden gear everywhere! On sale too!

I almost screamed. Fairy Garden booty as far as the eye could see. I immediately began taking photos. The thirty percent off tags were very tempting, but I only bought two things. Think I was so overwhelmed with joy I couldn’t shop. Hard to believe, but true.

Or lawn swings and camp fires and Welcome doors.

Or a chicken coop. They even have rabbit hutches.

I had to buy the Fairies Welcome sign on the left. Then I purchased a little round wood table with cookies on a platter and a pink tea pot. Priceless.

If you want to get some Bloom Room Littles, then Joann Fabrics is the place to go. But not before I get back to clear out some fairy garden stock. I have coupons for Thursday. Good thing I’ve got a Subaru Forester for hauling.

Got Fairy Garden furniture and accessories? Let’s all get ready to play in the dirt!

P.S. Checked online and the Camp Fire Organization sold the former Camp Nadaka in 1995 to the city of Gresham, Oregon. It is now the Nadaka Nature Park, 10-acres of natural area and a 2-acre neighborhood park on the former Nelson property.

Check out these clean-up and construction pictures which just happen to show some big fairy houses. Told ya! http://friendsofnadaka.org/photos/

Rolling Rocks In The Garden?

September 13, 2016 By Kimberly A. Cook Leave a Comment

by Kimberly A. Cook (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Back to the rocks! This past weekend I finally got to put rocks in the Fairy Rock Garden. This might seem pretty straightforward, but in the end I needed three different types of rocks. So far.

Bags all lined up like soldiers. That was as far as I was going to haul them.

First choice was to use white rocks. Researched them at Home Depot and did not like the look. Shopped online and found a landscape company close by with rocks to be used in fish aquariums. Got a five-gallon bucket of those. They are so pretty I want to use them for jewelry.

Decided the aquarium rocks would be used to simulate a pond and then I would go with decorative river pebbles. When I bought the six bags of river pebbles, the pond pebbles looked nice too. Bought two of those bags.

There was not one place on those rock bags that said how much they weighed, but I knew it was more than thirty pounds of kitty litter. Used my Air Force Reserve flight gloves, since the nomex with leather grips really help grab plastic bags. Full of rocks. Wet rocks.

Thursday loaded the rock bags from Home Depot into Subie. Friday unloaded the rocks from Subie to the garden. Saturday I decided it was not rock moving day.

Sunday it was time. The rocks spread pretty well but I almost forgot about the aquarium rocks, but I remembered in time to make the rock pond.

Get your freshly washed rocks! See the agate aquarium rocks for the rock pond?

They were drying out and looking dirty, so then I had to wash my rocks. About this time I figured I was doing play therapy and I could not have been happier. Whatever floats our boats!

Even found the piece of black obsidian Mom brought over from her yard and gave it a good scrubbing and added it to the landscape. Then I started moving things around. HGTV in the rock garden!

Pretty rocks in my own rock garden. Fabulous.

Then I began finding fun rocks in the Fairy Rock Garden. Started pilfering my own pebbles. Once a rock hound, always a rock hound. Still have a bucket of aquarium rocks left too. Priceless!

Then my new Fairy Houses 2017 Calendar by Sally J. Smith arrived. The pictures are what dreams are made of and where fairies truly live. There is a Fairy Garden industry!

But now I have to order the doors for the Fairy Houses, get ready to put a roof on the stump with pine cone pieces and unleash the hot glue gun. Plus move the elves in to guard the perimeter.

It’s not easy being a Fairy Rock Garden developer, but I’m having a blast.

Whatever play therapy works for you, have fun!

Who Is Building A Fairy Rock Garden?

July 5, 2016 By Kimberly A. Cook 3 Comments

by Kimberly A. Cook (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

I am! It decided last Fall while looking at the tired corner of my backyard that’s overgrown with raspberries who refuse to grow in pots. Plus other cast off pots with blackberries. And the dumping area I use for my old potting soil; aka my backyard fence corner.

I’m getting lazy and want more time to enjoy the patio and potted flowers instead of weeding all the time. On our trip to the Richardson Rock Ranch last Fall I even brought back a good selection of Rose Quartz for the Fairy Rock Garden. But it appears you actually have to take action to make this kind of thing happen.

So on Saturday of the long weekend it was time to charge the backyard mess and go for it. The ugly before picture a case in point above. I moved aside all the pots which will be downsized and then replanted The Fairy rose from a small pot to a bigger pot then moved/dragged it to a better position. The rose had a dirt and root clump the size of Nebraska. That was an interesting exercise in gymnastics, let me tell you.

Next up was weeding and considering the lay of the land. My hairdresser and I discussed using a raised bed on Friday for the garden. Figured I would need to level out the ground, which sounded like work. Went online for some ideas Friday night and got distracted on Pinterest. Found out there is quite the Fairy Garden underground, which was good for ideas.

While putting down the landscape fabric on Saturday afternoon, it dawned on me I could use some of the ideas from Pinterest and keep the lump of potting soil. Yeah! It would be the hill of my Fair Rock Garden with a Fairy home on it plus no digging dirt. Brilliant.

My goal is to use stuff/things I have and repurpose them. The stump in the middle of the Fairy Rock Garden will get a roof from my former cedar fence boards. I might even put roof shakes on from the pine comes left from the holiday wreaths.

Then I remembered my neighbor had given me a bunch of clay pots and those would make perfect Fairy Houses. (See Pinterest for rock, glue and Fairy house door construction on clay pots) Another old garden pot is the perfect shape of a large bee hive and I can spray paint it yellow. It appears I’ve become a Fairy Rock Garden real estate developer. Perhaps I do need another vacation, but I’m having fun!

The Fairy Rock Garden development construction site in progress. Now to get white rock,

I’ve made good progress but ran into trouble since I decided to go with white rock instead of river rock. Doing the rock math I need about a half yard. It comes in 50 pound bags at Home Depot. Good gravy, I have enough trouble hefting the 30 pound kitty litter bags. I need about thirteen bags! Nobody’s gym workout is that good. Must see about delivery……

Stay tuned for updates. Guaranteed this project will take years. Have you built a Fairy Garden?

Back To The Rock Shop?

June 14, 2016 By Kimberly A. Cook 4 Comments

by Kimberly A. Cook (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

A great joy of my recent vacation was sharing the Richardson Rock Shop and Ranch with my Mom. She’d heard the stories and seen some pictures, but it’s not the same as being there. It was our second stop after driving over Mt. Hood; had to fuel up with pancakes at the Black Bear Diner in Madras first, before heading to the rock shop. Another excuse to carbo load!

Enough to make a girl swoon, the geode rock pile!

Upon arrival at the rock shop what to my wondering eyes appeared ? A virtual mountain of Moroccan geodes, mine for the picking. Before there had been a small pile of these uncut beauties at the end of the rock slab shopping table. Now it was a virtual mountain. Be still my little geode lov’in heart.

After a tour of the premises to show Mom all the great rock areas, it was time to get on with the geode shopping. Ever helpful handsome cutter guy told me the best geodes were lightweight. With his help I then proceeded to hand weigh and compare about half that rock pile. Almost. My Mom enjoyed the serious nature of this geode picking business from the shop.

Cutter guy tried to get me to break protocol by peeking into some of the geodes which had small broken holes so you could look inside. Told him there were no peeking guidelines when it came to picking the perfect geode. Finally decided on three to try for cutting after deciding only one would not do.

Fabulous geodes on the half shell! And now for the rock glue geode puzzle to put together.

Ended up with three great specimens, except when the largest one was cut in half, part of the geode broke on the final cut. Sweet sea biscuits! I gathered up the pieces anyway so now I have TWO geode halves to try and piece back together with the special rock glue. Which means when Gate Girl and I head back this Fall to do some serious digging, I’m going to have to go for another large geode to cut. Good thing we’re taking her truck next time. I may need to load up the back with geodes.

Guard rooster defending the petrified wood block. Notice the committed look in his eye.

Orlando: Hugs and prayers to all the families, friends, law enforcement personnel, emergency responders and medical staff in Orlando, Florida and across the United States affected by this tragedy. Let’s all hug our families and friends and make memories today.

Making rock shopping memories with Mom. Priceless. And she puts up with me!

Getting Dirty, Thundereggs And Following Your Bliss?

October 6, 2015 By Kimberly A. Cook 1 Comment

by Kimberly A. Cook (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

I never get tired of playing in the dirt, especially when there are treasures to discover. Weekend before last I snatched my rock buddy Joann from her husband and we went on a four-day girl’s shop and rock trip to Sisters, Oregon.

: Heading out to the thunderegg beds! Luckily I’d just put new tires on Subie.

Stayed at our favorite place, the Best Western Ponderosa Lodge, complete with a killer outdoor hot tub, free breakfast and llamas to feed. Liv’in the dream.

We packed up our gear, filled the gas tank then headed eleven miles North of Madras to the Richardson’s Rock Ranch to hunt thundereggs. I’ve never dug for thundereggs before and this ranch is the mother lode. We also love to buy pretty rocks and geodes here.

Signed our waiver, got our map to the digs and we were off on the gravel road eight miles to the beds at a not-speedy five miles per hour. Takes about 30 minutes to get out there with the gravel road and opening three gates along the way. Since I was driving Subie, Joann became gate girl.

The weather was perfect, 84 degrees with a slight breeze and we were alone at the dig beds. Heaven. It was so quiet. I’ve been living in a neighborhood construction zone the past several months and this was a treat. Complete silence except for a little wind, an occasional bird and my digging.

Happy me sitting in the dirt digging thundereggs. Priceless!

We only had an hour to hunt before we had to hightail it back to the shop, since they close at 5 p.m. We’d moseyed into the day and ended up getting to the ranch later than we expected, so we had to dig fast.

The thundereggs cut in half with the agate showing in the middle. Treasures!

Thundereggs look like clumps of dirt or stone. I followed the directions from the “cutter” at the shop and went two feet out from the cut wall. A girl in the dirt. Happy.

Came across several I wasn’t sure if they were dirt clods or thundereggs, so I tapped them with my garden weed puller. Ended up with about 20 or so round orbs.

Back we tore to the shop, just in time to get several of the thundereggs cut. I picked the large one I dug out of the ground, one that looked like a double and a medium-sized orb. Mr. “Cutter” took them in the back and brought them out wet in the sun for us to see. Fabulous.

It’s like finding gifts inside a plastic Easter egg but better; these natural agate gifts are made by Mother Nature. We ran out of time to have more thundereggs cut, so I may need to find someone here with the skills. Or maybe we need another girl’s road trip to Richardson’s Rock Ranch? Yes!

Close-up view. So exciting. Buried treasures. Must learn how to polish them. — Close-up view. So exciting. Buried agate.

And I need to wet polish them. Another craft project, I do believe.

www.richardsonrockranch.com

Story of the thunderegg

http://www.richardsonrockranch.com/story.html

Big Bark, Fairies And Spring?

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Rolling Rocks In The Garden?

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Who Is Building A Fairy Rock Garden?

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Back To The Rock Shop?

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Getting Dirty, Thundereggs And Following Your Bliss?

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