The wonders of enchantment

There have been recent stirrings at the entrance to the fairy and gnome house at the base of
an old camphor tree I often walk past, quite deliberately, in fact. The tree, and many others like it, is located in a very special park full of flowers and gardens, to which I am frequently drawn, and which was my haven all during the worst of the pandemic.

It is an area graced with many tall and ancient oak trees, with some massive Shumard oaks, which are very unusual for this area. During recent Autumns, they have turned brilliantly red and gold, again, quite a rare sight in our warm, coastal U.S. location.

All in all, the park is not only a beautiful oasis in an old section of the city, but a tantalizingly mysterious one, also. There are times when I am wandering in it’s shady groves when I feel as if I could be in the English countryside, so old and sheltering are the many trees which adorn this place. It is a spot you can easily imagine is inhabited by little creatures quite unlike us.

A little over a year ago I posted an entry about this one particular tree, which has an opening at the base that had been painted yellow and decorated with some unusual markings.

Being curious, as usual, about whether I’d spot anything out of the ordinary at the base of the tree, I discovered to my delight and surprise a camellia and a geode, which of course, was split in two to reveal the miniature crystal cave within. To me, the opening or crack in the “door” could quite possibly lead to a small underground habitation, or perhaps to a place deeper, larger or stranger. One’s dormant childlike imagination can surely be rekindled when looking at this tree, as it has so obviously been singled out as special by some person, or some otherworldly creature.

That was in the Spring of 2021. Nothing had changed until a week ago when I noticed a piece of paper and a note in what appeared to be a child’s handwriting. Actually it wasn’t really a note but a few words, a pink heart, and the Yin/Yang symbol. At the bottom of the note was written, For You. How curious. How enchanting.

Being an “adult” and somewhat desensitized to the possibilities of magic that come with growing up in this day and age, I confess I have, in the course of the past year, failed to leave my own note or little gifts for the wee denizens of this magical land with its year-round flowering gardens and towering trees that I often look up at and photograph. Perhaps I’ll have to part with that miniature wishing well, a prized keepsake because sometimes I am jostled out of the real world and enter, or at least become somewhat aware of, this kingdom inhabited by fairies gnomes, elves, little unicorns, or tree spirits. They are mostly hidden and invisible, but maybe I venture there very late in the day, just after sunset and after a refreshing rain has left glittering water droplets on the flower petals. And then I just might see them.

Yes, I must make that visit soon.

April 2021: a camellia and a geode split in half to reveal the miniature crystal cave within.

https://flic.kr/p/2nrzTj7

Early June 2022
The tree and setting:

https://flic.kr/p/2nrFcRy

The note:

https://flic.kr/p/2nrUgxT

Old camphor tree and tree spirits:

https://flic.kr/p/2nrUpos

The camphor tree is native to Japan and Korea, but has been planted in many parts of the world. It’s oily leaves have many uses, including medicinal.

Japan’s largest hardwood, the camphor tree.

https://flic.kr/p/2nrUJHp

My April 21. 2021 entry, for background:

https://www.opendiary.com/m/oswego/a-most-unusual-doorway-5988937/

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June 13, 2022

I really enjoy your writing whenever I stumble upon it but sometimes it sounds so interesting that I don’t want to read it quite yet because I am like oooh let me save this for dessert later!

June 16, 2022

@willowoceanseed Thank you!  So kind of you to say that!

June 13, 2022

I remember that entry you wrote. I went back and checked and I did write you a note about someone who left “fairy” notes. I’ll bet you’d get a bit of a kick out of doing that. Leaving little notes signed by some little elf or something, maybe keeping your eyes open for cheap little things you could leave for some unknown child (something with sparkles, of course).

June 16, 2022

@startingover_1 I just bought a couple of fairy Knick knacks to leave at the tree, but I think the note will be gone.  I love this kind of out-of-the-ordinary experience.

June 16, 2022

@oswego Sweet! Wouldn’t you just love to be there when someone discovers it? LOL

June 16, 2022

I was so happy to see you put pictures on this entry so we could see it all.  I love it!!  I notice someone added a doorknob between the first and second pictures.  That is just so so cute and yes, magical.  Going to read your 2021 entry…

June 16, 2022

@happyathome Thank you for pointing that out. I saw that, too, after it was put there so I stand corrected, there was one change after April 2021.🥹😊😎

June 17, 2022

What a charming little door!  I love that whole miniature door world, and this year I bought a miniature door with a claddagh symbol on it for my friend with Irish ancestry, and another miniature door of wood with wood bars across it for my BFF (& one for me too).  Like you, I enjoy that feeling of being liminal — of being just ready to go through the door into another world, one that’s gentler, more loving and more peaceful.