Archive | September, 2023

Thank you, my Webster neighbors, for the cowbells

2 Sep

My personal thank you to everyone who came out for Friday night’s First Responders 5K. This annual race takes runners on a 3.1-mile course from Webster’s Fireman’s Field through east-side village neighborhoods and back.

As usual, I ran the race — it’s one of my favorites since it runs right by my house — and am always appreciative of the families who set up lawn chairs and sit along the route to cheer us on, many with cowbells in hand. (I love cowbells. You can never have enough cowbells.) I especially like it when I can get children to give me high-fives as I pass; they always give me an extra boost of energy.

There were also plenty of volunteer road marshals, which I was happy to see since the call had gone out a few days earlier about the need for more volunteers. They were all smiling and friendly, cheering us on as they directed us down the next street. This race could not happen without them, so thank you very much to all.

I joined my friend Dave again this year for the race, and we both did very well. Could have been the perfect weather, could have been having a good friend at my side pushing me along, but I managed to beat my time from last year.

As usual, my husband and some friends set up a water and beer refreshment stand in the driveway, which I understand many runners took advantage of. The beer especially is a welcome distraction for a lot of participants near the end of the race.

I’m already looking forward to next year.

(Thank you to my friend Karen for the photo above.)

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(posted 9/2/2023)

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There are fairies among us

1 Sep

I first noticed the fairies a few years ago.

I often head down Dunning Ave. in the village on my morning and evening walks. Shortly after we moved to the village, I began to see fairy doors propped up against several trees in front of the house at the southwest corner of Dunning and Elm, complete with fairies frolicking on the doorsteps. They charmed me so much that two years ago I mentioned them in one of my blogs, where I also wrote about the porches, flowers and other beautiful and whimsical things that make our village so charming.

It wasn’t until a year or more later that I found out the fairy doors are the work of a friend of mine, Peter Elder.

Peter described the fairy-door-making project as an “evolution” which began several years ago with his decision to ring all of his trees with soil and stones. The next step was to plant flowers and various other growing things in the rings. As those gardens matured, he had another idea.

“There are these legends in Irish and Scottish folklore about fairies coming through trees,” he said. So, “I thought it would be a cool idea to do fairy doors.”

That was about five years ago, and the doors stood by themselves for a few years. It was actually his wife Pam’s idea to place fairies near the doors.

What was just a few doors back then has grown to a fairy village of ten doors. Most of them are propped against trees, one is actually nestled in a knot about head-high, and one adorns a butterfly bush in the side yard. Some of the trees have doors on two sides, and most of the doors have fairies in front of them, much to the delight of the adults and children who walk by each day.

Peter tries to get everything planted and set up by Memorial Day, and takes the fairies in at the end of October to protect them from the winter. He’d like to continue adding more doors, perhaps placing a second one at each tree that doesn’t already have two, and finding more hollows to tuck small doors into. There’s always room for more fairies, too.

So keep an eye on the fairies as you make your way down Dunning, because their little village will continue to grow.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Instagram and Threads (@missyblog)

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.

(posted 9/1/2023)

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