A Shadow Thought!

Tea Time with the Nameless Nix!

photo by ana traina, 2011

Just then the Water Nixie forcefully waved his speckled like mackerel tail, and disappeared behind a furious spray of tiny bubbles that clung so closely together it made the deep blue-green waters look as white as snow.  Blinded by the running foam, I swiftly came to my senses...a much darker thought than tea occurred to me... “What if this enchanted creature really did want to lure me to my death?” With that Stygian thought, I quickly turned and swam for shore, and with each stroke I took, I comforted myself with the opinion that there was absolutely no shame in self-preservation.  Many would be frightened at seeing such a man who could live in the water like a fish or a duck.
It was amazing how fast one could swim when one had recently acquired a tail of one's own. The pebbly strand was just an arm's length away, when the amused Water Nixie reappeared holding a very large cup n’ saucer and a rare coral-colored rose.  He came very close, and stared up at me with such a surprisingly warm expression in his misty green eyes.  His whole being shined with a virility. Silently, he lingered for a few seconds as my tail tangled with the nearby root vegetation. It tickled, I blushed. “Do you really want to leave?” he asked. I cautiously nodded my head, yes, and with that my tail disappeared and I was clothed in the lightest silk and wearing a bonny bonnet of sea blossoms. “We are always afraid of the unknown,” he whispered.  Then he turned, and started to swim away. “Wait!” I called after him, but it was too late.

photo by scott cohen, 2011

Of course, it had all been a dream, I thought as I leaned back, bonnet-less, on the rocky beach, shivering a little from my wet clothes.  I couldn’t help but laugh at my wild imagination, until, I spied the coral-colored rose sparkling in the water...

photo by ana traina, 2011

A Shadow Thought!

photo by ana traina

Stepping into a new world!

Strikingly Strawberry, Revisited!

freshly picked from ana's garden ~ 2011 ~

 If you have never tried an Alpine Strawberry, than I can say with full confidence that you are truly missing out on the taste sensation of your life! Their zesty bouquet sends shiver up and down your delicate taste buds and perfume your breath with the scent of sweet roses. This thought keeps me going, even through the darkest winter, till it is Alpine Strawberry picking time once again. Tis the season, now, so go and find yourself an Alpine Strawberry patch today! And enjoy!!!

ALPINE STRAWBERRY, Fragaria species -- Wild strawberry, F. vesca, is a member of the Rose family. By the 1300’s strawberries were beginning to be taken into gardens and cultivated, so that by 1580 Thomas Tusser could mention it with confidence as one of his Five Hundred Pointes of Good Husbandrie:

Wife unto thy garden and set me a plot

With Strawberry rootes of the best to be got.

Such growing abroad, among thornes in the wood

Well chosen and picked prove excellent good.

photo by ana traina

Some Legends and Lore of Strawberries:

In provincial France, strawberries were regarded as an aphrodisiac. Newlyweds were always served a cold strawberry soup.

The strawberry was a symbol for Venus, the Goddess of Love, because of its heart shapes and red color.

Have you every eaten a double strawberry? Legend says that if you break the strawberry in half and share it with a member of the opposite sex, you will soon fall in love with each other.

In parts of Bavaria, people still practice the annual rite each spring of tying small baskets of wild strawberries to the horns of their cattle as an offering to elves. They believe that the elves, who are passionately fond of strawberries, will help to produce healthy calves and abundance of milk in return.

Queen Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII had a strawberry shaped birthmark on her neck, which, some claimed, proved she was a witch.

To symbolize perfection and righteousness, medieval stone masons carved strawberry designs on altars and around the tops of pillars in churches and cathedrals.

The strawberry, a member of the rose family, is unique in that it is the only fruit with seeds on the outside rather than the inside. Many medicinal uses were claimed for the wild strawberry, its leaves and root.

Did you know that the American Indians were actually cultivating strawberries in 1643?  They crushed the strawberries into a mortar, mixing them with meal to make a strawberry bread.

According to the Doctrine of Signatures, strawberries were noted as a cure for the heart. Lotions and gargles were prescribed for the mouth, throat, eyes, and ‘to fasten loose teeth’. Richard Brook wrote: ‘To ladies, and those who wish for good and clean teeth, there is nothing better than cleaning them with strawberries. Linnaeus claimed that wild strawberries cured gout.

An excellent tea was made from wild strawberry leaves, or from an infusion of strawberry and woodruff. The leaves were used as a lotion for the complexion and as a bath additive for those who suffered with ‘grievous aches and pains of the hips’. 

A recipe for a face wash, from The Good Housewife’s Handmaid, 1585, combines strawberries and wild Tansy distilled in 3pts of new milk.

A cordial water of Sir Walter Raleigh

Take a gallon of strawberries, and put them in a pint of aqua vitae, let them stand four or five days, strain them gently out, and sweeten the water as you please, with fine sugar, or else with Perfume.

A Shadow Thought!

drawing by ana traina ~2011~

Not tonight...

A Daylily called Jean McDade!

photo by Elizabeth McDade, 2011

The other day, I was perusing the home page of Facebook when I happened upon this stunning and most alluring profile photo from my friend Elizabeth Mcdade. Of course, I had to tell her how much I loved her new profile pic! Here is the incredible and moving short story she wrote back to me. Although, it’s a very short story, it powerfully speaks volumes!

Thanks Ana! These lilies are called Jean McDades. After my mom passed away in 2004 I stumbled upon these flowers bearing her name. When I called the nursery I explained why I was ordering them. The woman on the other end paused and said quietly, "You know these flowers were not named after your mother, right?" Yeah, I know, but it sure is nice to have an entire driveway lined with them... xo

It’s a beautiful story to find a flower that bears the name of your mother... who else can possibly say this?  However, I find it maddening that the woman from the nursery felt compelled to dash this beauty in Elizabeth’s musings.  Why must some act as the thieves of great and powerful thought. 

Speaking of remembering moms, here is an old-fashioned dessert recipe for Tapioca from my Grandma Rose with a bit of a dash and a twist...

A Daylily Cup O’ Tapioca

        3 tablespoons minute tapioca
        1⁄3 cup sugar
        3 cups milk
        1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla beans
        6 open daylily blossoms (or squash blossoms) the dash and twist!
        Fresh raspberries (or sliced strawberries, or blueberries or blackberries or any kind of berry)
        Small edible flower blossoms (Johnny-jump-up, violet, pansy, gem marigold, etc.) an optional dash and twist!

Mix tapioca, sugar and milk in a medium-sized, heavy saucepan; stir well and let stand 5 minutes. Cook over medium flame, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and keeps bubbling even when it is being stirred. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and let cool 20 minutes. Stir, cover and chill thoroughly.

To serve, fill bottom of 6 parfait glasses with tapioca. Remove stamens from the day lilies, trim off the base and place open blossoms in the tapioca so that they stand up. Fill day lilies with tapioca. Garnish with fruit and small edible flowers. Serve immediately.
For finding the day lilies, If you can only find [unopened] daylily buds, place the bud in water. It will open in 1-2 days and they are best used immediately. Be sure to sample the petals. Some are delicious while others may be bitter. Also, be sure no chemical sprays have been used.

Tir-fa-Thonn!

photo by ana traina, 2011

Nevertheless, I can tell you this, as the Nameless Nixie’s glitter sparkled around my hair, I saw a beautiful forest situated under the sea, which reminded me of an old Gaelic tale I once read, about an enchanted land sunk at some remote time, and is still to this day under a spell.

photo by ana traina, 2011

I believe it is called, Tir-fa-Thonn, the land beneath the waves.  I have heard tell that this lush land, with its green-sided valleys between woods of fair scented pines and plains that giggles with gillyflowers and buttercups of every hue, appears only once every seven years... “Lucky me!” As I gaped around at the marvelous underwater landscape, I became acutely aware that there was a distinct tingling sensation going on in my toes. I gulped, and not-so-calmly looked down at my new... found.. tail!-- "Holy something on a POPO!" Then, somewhere between the panic and the hysteria, it dawned on me, “Yes, this must be Tir-fa-Thonn! I am in Tir-fa-Thonn and I have grown a tail?” Yet, before I could say, "put my feet back where they were!" The Nameless Nix had invited me to tea with him at the local watering hole! Now, despite his great charm, I was particularly wary of his intentions, yet, I followed him deeper into the foam. And oddly enough I was not thinking how very strange this all was, but I found myself wondering if the tea would be something civil tasting like... Earl Grey, and not assorted seaweed!

Finding a Wish-Fulfilling Tree!

photo by ana traina, 2011

Yesterday, I went a tootling around the Berkshire’s Botantical Garden, and immediately I was drawn to the enchanted children’s flower patch, where I happened upon this gentle sight, “A Wishing-Fulfilling Tree” which are very common throughout Ireland, England, and Scotland. However, I have never seen one here in the states. So you can just imagine my delight as I stood there reading all the sweet wishes of the children... I was particular fond of this one!

photo by ana traina, 2011

It read ~ I wish to always be grateful. 

Wish-fulfillment Trees are individual trees upon which “folk magic”, “folk spells”, “faerie offerings”, or “prayers” are offered.  The practice usually involves petitions or offerings made to the tree, a nature spirit associated with the tree, a Saint, a God/dess, Fairy or the ancestors with a request for a wish to be fulfilled.  Even Charles Darwin recorded a “wishing tree” in his travels in Argentina called “Walleechu” which was treated by the local inhabitants as a Deity. It was littered with offerings such as cigars, food, water, and cloth hung from the branches by bright strips of colored thread. Come to think of it... I did find a bit of moldy cheese by this fairy dwelling... which was probably an offering to the tree fairy

photo by ana traina, 2011

 as it is a commonly known fact that fairies love dairy!
FOOT NOTE ~ I thought it wise not to photography the moldy cheese as it was quite unsightly!

photo by ana traina, 2011

Now, here is the topper, I was most fortunate to fine that not only was this tree a Wishing Tree, but a Clootie Wish Tree as well!  These trees are usually found next to sacred wells. When you find one, the normal practice is to tie a piece of cloth, called “clouties”, “clooties”, or “cloughties” to ask for a answer to a prayer, a wish, and/or a petition. One of the most well known “wishing trees” is the Madron Well in Cornwall. With the Madron well, a sacred well of healing, it is believed that as the cloth rots, the ailment that one is seeking a cure for disappears.



Last Bits of Odds and Ends ~ Ashen tree, ashen tree, / Pray buy these warts of me was a rhyme one had to sing whilst sticking a pin first into one's warts and then into the tree.

Popular wishing trees in Hong Kong is the “Lam Tsuen Wishing Tree” near the “Tin Hau Temple” in Lam Tsu where paper tied to an orange and thrown up in the trees that stick will grant the petitioner a wish.

The Wishing Tree or Kissing Tree were made at Yuletide before pine trees were introduced by Prince Albert in 1840. An evergreen bough was hung with apples, sweetmeats, and candles and decked with ribbons representing wishes...

Along with my wondrous find of the Wishing Tree, I thought I would mention this interesting tidbit about this month of July ~ From the Shropshire Star of 12 July: "July has five Fridays, five Saturdays and five Sundays this year - something which hasn't happened for 823 years. The same happened last October."

For more info on Wishing-Fulfillment Trees see... “Oh the wonderful wishing tree!” in the history of zingertalesandmore!

Yes, I do believe that was a very good wish, so I too, would like to make wish... to always be grateful!

Bastille Day!

drawing by ana traina, 2002

The Boy on the Moon rose
and while snacking on a bit of his cheesy nose
glanced down upon the military parade
prancing all up the Champs-Élysées!

He quickly thought to himself, “Ah, Viva la France!”
Then he happily fell into to a very naughty trance...
dreaming of Adéle, Aimée, Amélia and such
their wondrous interpretive belly dance he loved so much!
Ah oui, Viva la France he snored!
As the day broke over the land of Amore!
 

 Wishing you all a very Joyeux Bastille Day with lots of summer hugs from Zingertalesandmore!

Who was that Masked Bird!

photo by ana traina, 2011

The other day, just after my sixteen year old son, Liam, left for Stanford, I was washing my morning dishes, and feeling a bit blue. When I heard this trilling bird tune, I gazed out my kitchen window to see if I could find where the song was coming from, and spied a very curious feathered and masked creature upon my chokeberry bush. In all the years that I have lived here, I have never seen a bird as wondrously goofy as this one, with its pink plumes, punk tuft-out hair and sporting a mysterious black mask. Or, have I ever heard such a trilling call - to which some bird experts say is reminiscent of 'sid-little'. So, of course, I had to dropped everything to see what I could discover and uncover about this funny masked bird. Here is what I was able to stumble upon ... First, this polite bird is called a Cedar Waxwing. Their secondary wing feathers have red waxy "fingers" -giving them their name.  Berries are their favorite food. They are also very fond of rowan, hawthorn, cotoneaster and rose. They also have such a lovely and I think very civil custom! Before mating, they pass a fruit back and forth several times. When one bird eats the fruit, they... copulate.

There is an old Eskimo word for waxwings literally means "killer of small birds". Eskimo lore has it that the red tips were the clotted blood of the waxwing's victim.  No one is quite sure of the function of the red waxy tips that gave these birds their name. Perhaps, the bright tips are saying, "stick with me and I'll show you where the real red fruits are". However, some researchers think the red tips are "badges" of old age and success, identifying the best mate prospects.

Hmm, interesting, but one question still remained humming around the empty corners of my mind. Why had I just now, noticed this particular bird? Surely, they had always been here hovering and fluttering around my chokeberry bush. One interesting thing that I have learned from reading is that masks are tools for transformation.  So, if a  masked cedar waxwing comes into your life, perhaps, he can show you how change and transformation can occur as gently and easily as you desire. He shows you how to use masks, head gear, and paint to create a doorway in the mind, a threshold that you can cross to new dimensions... And as I watched my new pal's sweet, loopy antics and wonder... I was indeed stung by a thought! Ah yes!! Perhaps, just perhaps, this kind masked bird had come a trilling to help, (if only to distract me for a little while) with my burdensome blues about my own little bird, Liam, who had left the nest and is now, flying far, all the way to his future. 

photo by ana traina, 2011

All I can say is... thank you masked bird, whoever you are!

Adventures in Mushrooming!

photo by ana traina, 2011

Some days, surprises are just the natural order of things, and today was one of those days for me.  It all happened this morning when I went out on my porch to take my morning try at mastering the fine art of hula hooping, (inspired by Laura Dinnerman) and I spied my discarded Pearl Oyster Mushroom kit.  It had bloomed or flowered, no it had “shroomed”!  I was over the hula hoop with joy! You see, it was a completely unexpected sight because I had bought this kit several months ago, and according to the directions on the box, I should have had some “shrooms" after ten days. I did not, even though I had followed the directions to the letter. Yet, I could not bring myself to throw the kit out completely, so I carelessly tossed it under the azalea bush without a single hope that it would ever “shroom” for me. Now, here is the rub, my nearly forgotten Pearly Oyster Mushroom kit had ultimately “shroomed” but my azalea bush which, like I said, my Pearlies sit under, is utterly tangled with deadly nightshade! So let's just say, although, I am thrilled with my Pearlie Oysters, I will not be making this tasty recipe, unless, I go out to the supermarket. Or... Perhaps, I shall just order another kit...

Oyster Mushroom Chowder

Serves 4 as a first course 

A robust soup for an air conditioned  night.
    •    4 tablespoons butter
    •    1/2 pound oyster mushrooms, coarsely chopped
    •    1/2 cup minced onions
    •    1 cup cubed peeled potatoes
    •    2 cups milk, scalded
    •    Salt and pepper to taste
    •    Dash of ground mace
    •    Dash of Tabasco sauce
    •    Pinch of dried thyme
    •    2 egg yolks
    •    1/4 cup dry sherry
    •    1 cup half and half
    •    Bread cubes browned in butter and drained well
    •    Minced fresh parsley

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large saucepan. Add the mushrooms and onions, and cook for 3 minutes or until tender. Remove with a slotted spoon and keep warm.
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter to the pan and slowly cook the potato cubes for 10 minutes or until tender. Gradually stir in the milk. Add the salt, pepper, mace, Tabasco, and thyme. Allow this to come to a boil, then remove the pan from the heat. In a mixing bowl, combine the egg yolks, sherry, and half and half and slowly blend the mixture into the chowder. Add the onions and mushrooms and heat almost, but not quite, to a boil. Taste to correct the flavoring.
Serve at once in soup plates. Float the bread cubes in the soup and sprinkle with parsley.
--Kitchen Magic with Mushrooms

Angel's Breathe Reflecting Rainbows!

photo by ana traina, 2011

A Shadow Thought!

what lies ahead...photo by ana traina, 2011

Going for a Walk in the Woods...

drawing by ana traina, 2009

To gather my thoughts, I will be back after July 11th...

In the meantime, be bathing beauties!

oxoxo,
Ana

Dear Zingertale Readers!

photo by ana traina, july 3, 2011

Wishing you ooodles of bubbling blueberry pie, feisty fireworks and lots & lots of summer hugs!

photo and pie by ana traina - july 2011

Bloomin’ Blueberry Galette

INGREDIENTS
 
        44 ounces of  pie dough, rolled into a round
        1/4-inch thick
        2 cups blueberries
        3 tablespoons flour
        1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar
          Lemon rind
        Pinch of salt
       
PROCEDURE

    1.    Stir the blueberries together with the sugar and pinch of salt.
    2.    Preheat the oven to 175 degrees C.
    3.    Roll out the dough, and place it on a baking sheet.
    4.    Add the flour to the blueberries, and thoroughly mix.
    5.    Mound the blueberries in the center of the dough, and fold up the edges to make a sort of open-centered pie.
    6.    Bake for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. The crust should be golden, and the blueberries bubbling.

The Nameless Nix!

photo by ana traina, 2011

Believe it or not, for I, cannot even believe my good fortune! You see, as far as I can recall, it happened just a few days after Midsummer’s Night, it was a mild Monday, I remember, by the Verti-tum-ti-tum River, near Great Barring-ting-tum, Massachusetts. I was sitting in my secret spot by a rather babbling part of the river, trying to listen to the cookie-coated chirping melody of the cedar waxwing birds, while simultaneously eating a delightful peanut butter and raspberry jelly sandwich, when to my surprise, I got the most curious feeling that I was being watched.  It was not a gripping goose-bumpy feeling but somewhat odder than that. It made me very curious. I looked all about me, up, down and all around, twice, while all at once the trees stood silent and the cedar waxwings went mute. Finally, after a long back and forth battle with my wits, I told myself it was nothing. I tried to focus my thoughts on more pleasant things, like, the whooshing sound of a zooming hummingbird passing by. Settled, I went back to eating my now sand-soaked sandwich. Then, just as I remarked, “Life does not get any better than this!” I happened to glance towards the sparkling verdurous river, when I spied two glass-green eyes peering at me.  This was cause for a definite double blink and one good squint. “No, it was nothing,” I told myself as I turned to my squished and sand-soaked sandwich. Then something even stranger occurred, I heard music, the wooden trees started dancing, the gushing waterfall stopped and listened.  It was the most enchanting melancholic music bubbling up from the river itself.  I kid you not... Right about then, just like Ebenezer, I was thinking this melodic mirage must be the direct result of a bad raspberry seed, or even several that I had digested.  Then something even queerer came over me, I had a great desire to go swimming in the icy June river.  So, I took the plunge and like I said earlier, believe it or not, under that friget fast water, I ran smack into a very beautiful Nix, or a Nix who APPEARED to be very beautiful. You see, it is very difficult to describe the actual appearance of the Nix, as one of his central attributes are thought to be shapeshifting. Perhaps, he wasn’t exactly showing me his true colors or perhaps, he did not have any true shape at all. Nevertheless, I held my nose and proceeded with extreme caution as I had read that if a Nix wanted to be malicious he would attempt to carry you off by calling your proper name; this, in fact, would be the death of you! So I did not share my name with him, nor did he share his with me.


I had also read that the Nix, normally, prefers playing the violin in brooks and waterfalls, naked. Whereas, my Nix, or as I like to call him,"the man in the rapids," was wearing more or less elegant clothing and playing a small broken umbrella. Thank goodness for small miracles.  Again, I also read that if you brought the Nix a treat of three drops of blood, a black animal, some brännvin (Scandinavian vodka) or snus (wet snuff) and dropped them into the water, he would teach you his enchanting form of music. Needless to say, I had none of these tasty treats handy! Now, what happened next, I am really not at liberty to say at the moment, so, I shall just say this... to be continued!