Erm... a post about woods, chocolate and frog Princes.... (amongst other things)

Springtime in the forest and the magic begins to unfurl. Whispers of spirits mix with the rustle of hidden creatures and beings that we sense but never see.

I've been communing with nature - here in the UK we have been blessed with endless days of not just warm, but HOT sunshine (like July temperatures), so I've been outdoors cycling, walking and adventuring through the forests near my home.

I was hoping for a glimpse of the Green Man or at the very least evidence of elf or sprite but I fear that the noise my young companion made alongside me may have sent them cowering for terror (he doesn't really come with a volume control!).

I've been working on this post for three days... which is most unlike me. My words have got stuck in a chocolate sludge... speaking of which...

Ah... that's better - cocoa on my taste buds... mmmmmm..... must visit shops for sale of Easter surplus...

Eh? What? Where was I?

Yes, deep in the woods. So anyway, there we were... the boy and I when suddenly we came upon this...

A cottage hidden right inside the forest, down an long private track - I had to check that we hadn't inadvertantly wandered into a fairy tale for it seemed most likely. Was this the house of Cinderella perhaps? If you pan back, you'd find a babbling brook breached by a rickety wooden bridge and a pond beside which a frog croaks. I would have kissed it, but some young slip of a gal called Kate got there first...

Gosh, darn it....

(I'm quite looking forward to the Royal Wedding. I'm not particularly Royalist, but I do love a good old British Occasion! We do know how to put on a show...).

Oh yes... And I really want to link to this post because this is just EXACTLY what I was trying to write about when I started this post, and before I travelled in a parallel universe via a galaxy far, far away...

Photos by me, taken in the woods while the elves looked on...

Happy spells

Well, it's Friday and tradition has it that I write a Happy Friday post.

I am sitting here with quite a glow about me. Following on from Wednesday's declaration to start exercising again I am fresh from quite a workout. My joints have been a-creaking and a-groaning but it felt so good. Those muscles sure needed a stretch. I had intended to start on Wednesday but work was a bit too busy to take time out at lunch, then we went out in the evening. Yesterday I left the house at 7.15am and returned at the same time pm and crawled over the doorstep, so no leaping about last night! Excuses I know... I shall have to be stricter with my time management and not allow complete and utter exhaustion to get the better of me! Ha! Some hope...

I remember when Fridays meant wild nights out. These days it's usually a struggle to stay awake past 10 o'clock. I can't even enjoy a glass of wine without it knocking me out.

I'll tell what put a spring in my step this week though. I was thrilled to bits to be featured on Victoria Pettella's art blog - Enchanting the Invisible. She put me in her creative spotlight. I feel quite humbled to be such illustrious company. Victoria (aka Kiki) paints mystical figures and weaves enhanchments with her words.

Have you read 'Garden Spells' by Sarah Addison Allen? I really think you should... It's quite magical - just remember never to eat any of those apples though! I've had my nose immersed in it all week just before bedtime. I could probably have finished it much sooner, but I was enjoying my nightly excursion to Bascom so much that I wanted to prolong my little holiday for as long as possible. Can anyone recommend anything similar?

I posted a giveaway yesterday to spread my happy, so do join in if you are interested. I'm inviting for you to share one (or more!) of your favourite artists to help feed my voracious appetite for inspiration and creative loveliness.

I took this picture last summer, but it seemed perfect for this post - I added a few spells in photoshop :)