Happy New Year!

 Hello friends!

I hope you all had a merry Christmas and relaxing lead up to New Year. Here in Bluebell Oaks it has been very hot! The villagers are all trying to keep cool by seeking shade and spending time down by the River Ripple (stay tuned for an upcoming story), paddling and swimming. 

My favourite place to take photos of Sylvanians has always been outside! I love nature and I feel I am better able to capture their connection to nature too when outdoors. There is never any stress over backgrounds or lighting, just capturing the scene as it really is, and for me, that freedom is the most enjoyable part, as well as showing the Sylvanians in their 'natural habitat'. This evening I decided to take advantage of the summer sunsets we've been having as some of them enjoyed New Year's Eve. 

* * *

None of the Sylvanians in Bluebell Oaks go in for parties or wild celebrations on New Year's Eve. Instead, traditionally it has always been a quiet time to spend with loved ones, counting your blessings and enjoying the beauty of nature, which isn't hard to do as New Year is always in Midsummer here!

Heath Buckley relaxed with his baby son Oscar as the sun slipped over the fields. The year had been a typical busy one for the Buckleys, but enjoyed and appreciated nonetheless. With six children in the house, there is never a day that goes by without laughter and joy. 

Briar Wildwood took a quiet moment to reflect on the passing year. Her art business has grown more over the last 12 months and there was even rumours that one of her paintings might be selected to be displayed in the National Gallery. 

Though it is just the turning over of another day, one of the things Briar likes most about New Year's is that it is a chance to stop and reflect on what you have achieved and everything you are grateful for. There is much to be thankful for, she thought as she admired the golden sunset.

And I am grateful to you, too, each of you for reading my blog or leaving comments, despite my terrible lack of posting! I hope to change that this upcoming year. 

Barley and the rest of the villagers of Bluebell Oaks plan to be back in 2022 with more adventures and stories!

A very happy New Year to you all, and best wishes for the future, from me and everyone in Bluebell Oaks!

"Every second brings a fresh beginning;

Every hour holds a new promise;

Every night our dreams can bring hope,

and

every day is what you choose to make it."

Autumn with the Honeyfurs

I hope you have all been having a pleasant autumn or spring! 

Some of you may remember the Honeyfur family, who I wrote about a couple of years ago here. I thought it was time to catch up with them again, especially because I wanted to do an autumn themed post.

It has been nearly three years since the Honeyfur family traded their settled lives in the village for a life of travel and adventure in their gypsy caravan. Their days spent journeying and exploring the woods are always full of anticipation, but for the winter they usually find a safe place to settle down for the chilly days ahead. 

Velvette likes to keep plenty of food in their store in preparation for the wintry months. Even though they are able to get out and travel to the village if they need to, it is in her instincts to stock up. Not to mention the fact that her family are voracious eaters. 

Most of the food in her supply came from the Village Store, owned and run by Cedric Walnut. It has been a part of village life for so long that Velvette doesn't know any different to having the convenience of the supermarket; however, she can remember her grandmother telling different stories. 

Granny Vixen, as she was known, used to reminisce about a time when the only supplier in the village was the Thistlethorn family, who still to this day, ran the Mill, producing all kinds of flour. Apart from them there was the daily milk provisions, delivered daily to each garden gate by the trusty old milkman. Everything else, according to Granny Vixen, was either grown in your own garden or reaped off the woodland. Every spare ounce of food or vegetable was either pickled or squirreled away for the winter. In her words 'Nature provides...it always does.'

Nowdays, Velvette doesn't have to rely quite as much on the woods to provide food for her family, which she supposes is a relief. However, they still like to enjoy the bounty of the land.

Juniper, Barley and Pumpkin had just arrived back from a successful morning's foraging. 

"Look Mama! We got a whole basketful!"

"Wonderful, my darlings!" Velvette peered into the laden basket. "We can have mushroom and pumpkin pie for dinner tonight and you can help me make apple crumble for dessert!" 

Pumpkin licked his licks. His mama's apple crumble is one of his favourites.

Pumpkin's favourite season is autumn. He loves all the pretty colours, and the leaves are very fun to play in!

Living in the forest means that everything is already wild, so there is never any need to rake leaves up! Pumpkin thinks he likes it much better that way!

Autumn, growing cooler in the lead up to winter, is the time of year when Pumpkin begins to keep his special blue blankie closer to him than usual. Velvette knitted it for him last year and it fast became his most treasured possession. 

Unlike most children his age, Pumpkin doesn't have alot of toys, but that fact seldom seems to bother him. As far as he is concerned, he has just as much fun exploring the woodland with his brother and sister, or sitting up beside his daddy at the reins as they travel, watching the world passing by. 

Evenings are the children's favourite time, when, if it isn't too chilly, they sit outside snuggled in their sleeping bags, listening to their father's latest stories as the autumn sun sinks below the trees. Glen has written a novel, along with other non-fiction books about plants, and he is always brimming with new ideas. Some evenings, he reads to the children his day's work from his latest manuscript. Other times, he dreams up a story for them on the spot. The characters from his book become almost like friends to Juniper, Barley and Pumpkin.

"Tell us a story, Papa."

"Hmm... let's see. Once upon a time there were three young cubs..."

The children think that surely there is no better thing in the world than having their own papa tell them his very own stories, listening to his voice and the sound of nature telling its own story as it beds down for the night, with the rustling of the trees and singing of the thrush in the oak tree above.

I hope you enjoyed this little story. I'm afraid I have been a bit quiet on this blog the past year or so. I have simply been lacking in inspiration as well as motivation to take pictures and write stories. I guess it isn't unusual to take breaks from hobbies or lose enthusiasm from time to time. Hopefully writing this post might help to get me more inspired... What do you do when you go through a time of demotivation with Sylvanians?

Have a great week! 

Happy Valentine's Day!

 Hello friends,

Valentine's has long been an excuse in Blubell Oaks, not for Cedric Walnut in the Village Store to sell bulk chocolates and wine (although that does occur), not for the Cottontail's flower stall to sell about half their year's worth of stock and make a huge profit (although again, it is a very good time for the Cottontails), but for celebrating and showing appreciation for loved ones. Family members, children, friends, and of course spouses and sweethearts are gifted with presents, cards, or just simple acts of love.

Christopher and Jane Appleblossom don't really get alot of time to themselves. They own the Watermill Bakery, and from the time Christopher's alarm goes off before dawn to the moment they shut the bakery door in the afternoon, they are busy in a flurry of activity. Shaping dough, baking, serving customers...the days are always busy. However, when the last customer leaves the bakery Christopher and Jane can close the shop for the evening and stroll back through the woods to their home. The routine is the same every day; regardless of Valentine's or not, it is their special time together.

"I'm sorry I couldn't take you out for a fancy dinner tonight, my love." Christopher said.

"Never mind Chris, I've got you-and Jasmine-and that's enough for me." Jane smiled, thinking about their daughter who would be on her way home too now, from school.

While some couples celebrate many years of love and devotion...

...for others it is just the beginning of a new journey. For Eddy and Cassie Splashy, today is their first Valentine's Day as a married couple. They are actually quite new to the village, having moved here a couple of months ago after their wedding this summer. Eddy once visited Bluebell Oaks on holiday as a child, and when he got engaged to Cassie (short for Cascade) he brought her here for a visit too, hoping that his fiancee would be smitten with the village too. Needless to say, they both agreed that it was the perfect place for them to settle down and begin their life together.

Eddy has taken a job as village plumber, and at the moment Cassie has been enjoying setting up their home and being a housewife. They have settled into the village as if they have lived here all their lives. 

Valentine's Day is especially special for Holly and Fred Golightly, because it is also their wedding anniversary. Tonight their three children are at a friend's house so Fred and Holly can enjoy some time alone together. After a lovely dinner out, they are taking a stroll through the village gardens. The evenings are long and warm at the moment, so twilight is just beginning to fall. Fred bought Holly a bunch of roses from the Cottontail's Flower Stall as they passed. 

"Do you remember when we met, Fred?" Holly asked as the strolled through an archway. 

He smiled. Fred and Holly met at a ballroom dancing class-in fact, it was one where young Fred was the teacher. Holly, attending the new class for the first time, was without a partner and so the kind teacher offered to dance with her. Holly would remember that dance all her life. Fred just about swept her off her feet-literally. Turned out, Holly would never need another dancing partner again. They were inseparable and Fred proposed six months later. 

That was many years ago now. Today is their fourteenth wedding anniversary.

"To many more years, Holly!" Fred said.

Happy Valentine's to you all! Have a great week!