In late July the lovely green wide leaved annual herb Basil tastes especially fine and we traditionally make pesto to freeze for the winter months.

I plant our Basil in mid to late April from seed in my greenhouse and transplant the seedlings come late May into raised beds nestled up to colorful Cosmos Flowers; dry seeding Hollyhocks and lettuce. We like harvesting basil to use in salads, tomato dishes, soups, stews and stir fries.

Preparing to make some fresh Home Place Fairies Pixie Pesto a granddaughter removes Basil leaves from their stems and sets them aside. Then we begin gathering together our ingredients.

Home Place Fairies Pixie Pesto

Ingredients:

1. 4 cups packed full of fresh Basil Leaves, rinsed if needed, and stems removed.
2. 4-5 cloves of Fresh Garlic
3. 1/4 cup Pine Nuts
4. 1/4 cup Sunflower Seeds
5. 3/4 – 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
6. 1/2 cup extra virgin Olive Oil
7. Salt a wee bit to taste (and maybe Pepper)
8. Optional you could apply a small squeeze of Fresh Lemon, just a tiny nip!
9. Many folks add a tablespoon of melted butter, I generally don’t but you can

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients into a food processor or a blender. (I use a food processor) and blend on low speed, then medium, then high. Sometimes the basil leaves bunch up in which case, turn off your machine and rearrange the ingredients with a wooden spoon so blade will move more effectively. Blend until everything turns into a smooth paste. Presto! That’s it! That’s your pesto!

There are many delicious ways to serve Pesto. You can simply smear your Pesto on crackers or toast and top with freshly harvested cherry tomato slices. Try topping this with sprinkles of goat cheese and pinched tiny basil leaves and florets.

You can serve Pixie Pesto over cooked pasta, smear on roast chicken, fish or chops.

Pixie Pesto can be frozen for a late winter treat. I like to freeze my basil in little heart ice cube trays, or heart shaped baking sheets, or simple ice cube trays will do. Just smear Pixie Pesto into your tray, place in freezer uncovered and wait until frozen then remove and place in freezer proof ziploc bags, return to freezer for later use.

We might toss 6-8 (or more or less) frozen or thawing hearts onto a dish of hot pasta depending upon how much Pixie Pesto we are craving.

Yum!

Magic Happens in Every Garden.

All you have to do is look.

Helping the Home Place Fairies spread fairy dust on lovely June Poppies in Maine.

A hot July afternoon is the perfect time for hosting a fairy tea party.

Home Place Fairies are generous and kind.

They know that gentle acts of kindness reach far and wide.

What touches one, touches all.

“If you want to go fast

Go alone.

If you want to go far

Go together.”

African Proverb and Fairy Proverb too!

Hidden somewhere deep within an Enchanted Forest on the north side of a small mountain in Maine,

An ancient oak tree grows.

Deep within the hollowed heart of this tree lies Sacred Chambers,

The secret home of the Home Place Fairies.

At her base an alter stands holding precious stones, feathers, tokens and gems, all gifts from believers to the Fae.

If you are out searching for Fairies I do not think you will find them because they are always one step ahead of you and looking your way.

Home Place Fairies possess the ability to shape shift, which means when the occasion suits them they can increase in size to that of mortal children.

They also possess powers of partial and total invisibility.

Often times they choose to make their wings invisible to the human eye, this way they can walk among mankind undetected.

If you should go seeking Fairies some fine day just remember they are out there and watching you!

Old Horse with Nightingale and La Rosa.

June is a time of jubilation as the gardens have awakened,  alive and abundant.

Foxgloves are a favorite flower of the fairy folk.  Sprinkled with fairy dust they sparkle and glow.

Old Horse in the meadows looks over the Poppies and Fairies alike. He is friend and Guardian of all the Home Place Faires.

Fairy Folk gather, they sing and they dance.

Magic happens in every garden

All one has to do is look…

Late June through July is when Foxgloves bloom here in Maine, a favorite plant of the fairy folk.

Tall, lovely plants they are biennial, which means they bloom the second year when started from seed and then their life cycle is completed.

Here at the farm I gather seeds once the blossoms have dried on the stem, sprinkling them here, there and everywhere.

The scattered seeds settle on the ground; when  summer draws to a close fairies gently tuck them into the soil where they will rest through the winter. The seeds will “slumber” beneath dried leaves and deep snow, sprouting the following spring.

The first year foxglove seedlings will grow lush green foliage but they will not produce a single flower.

It is during the second year of their life cycle that Foxgloves grow tall bursting into full blooms.

The fairies all the while continue to sprinkle them with magical dust, nourishing and encouraging the plants to grow.

Into the garden the children dressed as fairies go

Happily making wishes they follow wee little fairy lights…

Fairies believe that if you can dream it, you can do it. But they also say you must remember all good things take time. Like a garden grows so do dreams and wishes which must be nourished and properly tended and cared for.

Home Place Fairies highly recommend sharing your hopes and dreams with grown ups you love because you never know, that grownup might share with you their own childhood wishes and tell you how they came true!

So plant some dreams and wishes today no matter how small; carefully nourish and cultivate the ones of most importance and they will grow.

Lula Belle is the tallest of the Home Place Fairy Folk and because of this one fact she is the first of the fairies to emerge from their winter chambers each and every spring.

Her job is to determine exactly when the spring winds are just right for sprinkling  fairy dust on the blueberry fields here in Maine.

Today the sun came out from behind the clouds as a gentle wind blew in from the north west. Lula Belle determined these conditions were perfect for dusting the fields.

Lulla Belle calls out to her fairy companions,  “Come, sprinkle fairy dust to help encourage the blueberries to flourish and grow. ” The other fairies are feeling rather shy after spending the long cold winter in their cozy chambers. They’ve not once opened their wings to flutter or fly all winter and are feeling a bit timid and shy about doing so after all this time.

The smallest of the fairies, being the most curious sets off, following a sparkle of Lula Belle’s fairy dust which leads to a cluster of human children who’ve heard the fairies whispering and seen their twinkling lights.

The fairies chose to shape shift, increasing their size so they can play with the children while they work their magic. This is a privilege allowed to fairies on a single spring day each and every year for one a single hour.

A little girl leads the fairies to the Sacred Cairn of Rocks where another child waits.

Everywhere the fairies run is illuminated by sparkling fairy dust twinkling and bright.

Together with the children by their sides the fairies look over the magnificent countryside and honor the vast landscape which lay before them. Being fairies they find they are eager not only to run with the children but to soar across the fields and fly!

The fairies continue playing with the children as they sprinkle the blueberry fields all alight with their magical dust. When twilight sets in they will shape shift back to their original sizes, say goodbye to their human companions and fly back to their magical chambers as the children walk home.

Lula Belle will be the last of the fairy folk to leave. She is happy how everywhere she looks is now sparkled bright with fairy dust to nourish the blueberry fields all through the springtime, twinkling and shimmering each and every night.