Sunday, July 25, 2010

Liam McSpinagain


Out past the garden where the green cabbages grow, beyond the embankment where the tall grasses blow, is a wooded area, a sanctuary to many animals that live just so.
Some say that aside from seeing the masked faces of the raccoons, the possum snoozing upside down, the silky feral cats and a red fox or two, they’ve also seen the muted shades of green (worn by the wee people) flitting from a mountain of black berry brambles to duck behind a maple tree with star shaped leaves.
I never believed such stories, although I thought it would be wonderful if it were true, until one morning when I looked out my kitchen window and saw something hanging from a wooden stake that was propping up a lush green tomato plant. As I swung open the little, white gate to my garden, I could see soft gold tones, pale pinks and lovely blues that matched the cloudless sky. I never would have guessed how this beautiful hand spun came to be in my garden if it hadn’t been for the handwritten note attached to it. In a spidery scrawl that looked like it had been written using a sharpened stick, the note read: From one artisan to another; I have a small flock of rainbow colored sheep and goats that leave wee bits of fleece shaped like little lamb tails, stuck to the brambles. Please accept this small gift of hand spun “lamb tails” and share it with other like-minded folk.” The note was signed: Liam McSpinagain. I’m still in shock and can only hope this little person will be back!