Fairies that Rock

I did not have to work this year on the 4th of July which provided for some nice unstructured time with Anya and we took advantage of it.  The morning included some vigorous dancing in the sunken living room and in the afternoon she headed out into the backyard.  I resorted to reading a book after lunch, but would peek out the windows from time to time to see what she was up to or sit out under the gazebo on an adirondack chair.

She gathered lettuce leaves from our garden for her giraffe "Gigi" and swung from the old mulberry tree swing by pushing off with her feet.  When I got to the end of a chapter, I joined her under the tree where she was gathering flowers she'd plucked from the trumpet vine and other flowering plants in the backyard.

She pointed up to a part of the mulberry tree where a large section had broken free in the past and been removed, leaving a scarred and empty space.  "Hey Daddy, that looks like where the fairies rock out."  This is the fairy tree with a small door in its base to prove it.  I looked up to the familiar scar and saw her point.  the indentation left was like the curved roof of an outdoor amphitheater and the base of it was flat where someone had used a chain saw to free the large broken branch.

I got the idea that we should further develop the stage for the fairies to "rock out" on and sent Anya to gather small sticks.  After a few collapses of the miniature structure we succeeded in creating a stage partition and decorated it with flowers.  When we were finished she excitedly pointed out that the leaves growing from its base were the seats that the fairies sat on to watch the performances.  

These are the types of projects that I used to enjoy doing with Elias when he was younger.  Now that he has turned into a surly pre-teen, Anya has stepped up as my new creative partner.

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