At the Entrance to Midsummer Month

Hello, Dear Faeries and Fauns, Satyrs and Selkies, and Fey Folk of All Sorts,

I am writing you this missive on the cusp of the month of Midsummer. This is the month of surprise magic from the sight of the first firefly flashes. (I saw my first one last weekend! I may or may not have jumped up and down and clapped my hands with giddy glee.) It is also the month of so much celebration: Pride events full of rainbows, glitter, and queer joy will be happening worldwide, and the faeries will be dancing and making merry on Midsummer night. (Being someone who was born right before sunrise on June 22^nd, I will be celebrating that too.)

What a beautiful, liminal time this is right now, right on the edge between spring and summer. I don’t know about you, but my Beltane month was simply beautiful. Even though global weather patterns seem to be increasingly forgetting about spring and autumn, I am pleased to report that at least in central Ohio, we had a legitimate vernal time in May, full of beautiful “just-warm-enough” days, soft rain showers, and nights warm enough to open a bedroom window, yet cold enough to snuggle under the covers the next morning while you listened to the dawn birds singing joyful melodies.

My hawthorn bloomed, my clematis blossomed, the poppies lifted their ruffled heads on long twining stems. I discover new lessons and see new beauty in my garden almost daily. One morning a week or so ago, I discovered that when morning glories first emerge from the soil, they wear the shell of their seed like a little cap. I couldn’t help but pop the cap off a couple of them, letting the leaflets spread freely, and I almost giggled with the utter charm of it. I wonder if there is a wee pixie whose job it is to pop the seed casing off the seedlings. … Oh dear. I hope I didn’t upset them too terribly.

Once spring is in full swing, and all through summer, a good portion of my creative outlet shifts to all things blooming and tending, planting, weeding, watering. But of course being my quirky self, I have to do it with a whimsical spin. My morning garden duties include brushing any debris off of the hag stones around Lady Hawthorn, whispering cheerful and encouraging words to any new blooms that emerged overnight, and wondering how many of the flying beings I see in the flowers are bees and how many are secret sprites.

There are a few new energies I sense around my land. I am wondering if any of the fey beings who made their home in the tree at the library that fell in a storm a little over a month ago took me up on my offer to find a new home in my garden. If so, I hope they get along with all the faerie friends who already live here. I think at least one of them might be a bit of a trickster, as I’ve started finding little piles of mulch on certain border stones in my garden beds. No matter how many times I brush them clean, the mulch piles return. I would blame squirrels, but I see no signs of anyone hiding nuts or acorns. I suspect a new faerie, and welcome ideas for how to gently make it stop!

I suspect they might look a little like this creature on my t-shirt, so maybe wearing it will appease them.

A little over a week ago, a sweet little raccoon seemed to also be drawn to the energy of safety and love I try to give our small outdoor space. When I went out to water the window boxes in the morning, I saw a round ball of brown fur the size of a small soccer ball in the middle of my yard. When I made some noise toward him, he was able to move away, but not far and not quickly. I’m pleased to report that eventually he took sanctuary in our picket-fenced back yard, and a volunteer from the Ohio Wildlife Center was able to capture him to take him for treatment.

Now, having said all this, that doesn’t mean that no other creative work has been getting done! For one thing, last Saturday was the first Faerie Faith and Folklore meeting at the Magical Druid in Columbus. The night before, I set out a delicacy as a faerie offering: a miniature strawberry cream pie decorated with rose petals and violas, set on a lovely saucer from my grandmother’s antique set. The next morning, the entire thing was gone. It’s the first time I’ve ever had a whole offering taken. (Usually my faeries just take the foyson and leave the husk.) I took that as a good sign.

And indeed, despite a tech imp trying to play tricks on us at the start of the meeting (we just couldn’t get my chromebook to pair with the television despite having the right plug) we had twelve show up for the gathering, and it went quite well I think! My friend Sylvia Call, who I mentioned in my previous newsletter, did a section of the presentation on how to find hag stones, and she had brought enough with her for each person to leave with one of their choice. Our next meeting will be July 29th, and the topic will be "Building a Life Respectful of the Fey." We will also (hopefully) be decorating flower crowns! So bring any supplies you want to use to make one of your own (hot glue guns/hot glue/silk flowers/wire cutters).

Since the last time we spoke, I've shared two more new blogs on my website. One is the guided meditation I wrote for the faerie faith event, shared in both written and audio narrated format.

The other is a compiled list of (and a bit of information about) offerings to the faeries. I love how both of them turned out, and I hope you will check them out too.

As always, I also wrote a short story and three micro-fiction pieces along with making three ACEO artworks for my Patreon patrons in May. One of my patrons was gracious enough to allow me to share his banshee art with you all here. I am also working on a couple of other fun personal projects I will share on Patreon.

I'd like to try adding a new section to my newsletters called

Faemily, Friends, and Recommends

in which I share new tidbits from some of my talented friends, and anything I’m reading, watching, listening to that I especially adore.

First, my lovely friend Shveta Thakrar has a new adult short story available exclusively as an audiobook on Audible. I was able to get a sneak preview of this, and it's incredibly good and immersive. 

Second, my friend Meenoo Mishra has a brand new website for her jewelry brand, Minou Bazaar. I own many of Meenoo's pieces, and I love every single one. I especially recommend her fern earrings, but that's just my favorite! There's plenty more. 

Third, my friend D.M. Anderson is going to be vending at the New York Fairy Festival for the first time this year! She makes mind-blowingly gorgeous fey accessories like light-up mushroom hats, faerie wings, and my favorite...troll tails. I will own one of her troll tails someday. Her darling cat is going through some medical issues, and she sure could use some financial support. So even if you aren't attending NYFF, consider checking out her Etsy page.  

Last, I just had the opportunity to read an advanced e-book copy (thanks to NetGalley) of the second Emily Wilde book by Heather Fawcett. Last December I was able to read an ARC of book one, and immediately went out and virtually shook my Facebook friends by their collective shoulders saying "you must read this, immediately when it is published!!!" Let me tell you now, as much as I loved book one, I enjoyed book two even more. I wish I could say more, but suffice it to say it's a series that is well worth reading. Now I have to wait and hope for another ARC of book three sometime in 2024 after the second book is actually published in January next year. 

And that's it for my recommendations this month. Do you enjoy the idea of adding this to my newsletters? I'd love some feedback.

So what is coming up for me? Well, for one thing it’s June now, which means it’s high time I switch my décor to the Midsummer Night’s Dream theme I do for summer time. I'll probably be adding greenery, moss, and faeries everywhere and packing away (some) of the rabbits sometime in the next week or so. Also I always buy a new dress for my birthday celebrations and love the one I bought for this year, but Tom is planning the day for me and I have no idea what will be happening. It's rather exciting. I'm sure to be taking some summer-moody pictures in the new dress though and can share them in the next newsletter. Or to see them immediately feel free to follow my public page on Facebook. I’m also continuing to work on my short story about a winter frost market, which is helping to keep me cool on these increasingly warm days. And of course I’ll be visiting with the flower faeries in my backyard over and over again in June as well.

I very much hope your garden is filled with the sort of faeries who gently pluck little seed caps off the seedlings, and not the ones who throw around mulch piles. Although honestly, there's a bit of charm in both kinds of fey. Just don't tell the mulch faerie I said so: I don't want him to think I'm encouraging his mischief. 

With Faerie Wings and Magical Things,

Grace Nuth