The First Flower....!

A Beacon In The Dark....

Perhaps you have Noticed, Dear Readers, that here in the North, the Dark is gaining strength! Every day is shorter than the one before.... and the Storms and Cold Winds are not far behind! I spent much of my weekend trying to put my RL house in order for the oncoming Winter... and the chief task is to bring all the house plants in from the porch where they happily spend the Summer. This by itself is no difficult task.... except that in their absence, the doll houses.... Cottage, Palace, Conservatory, Park, have all taken up residence in the Sunny window space..... (well, I do Love the way the Sunlight brings so much life to my mini worlds!).... and now must be relocated to make room for the plants. And there lies the rub! It is a veritable juggling act to find the right place for the houses.... because my RL house is Not large... and I might possibly maybe have a few more Doll houses than would be ideal... if you wanted to be able to Sit down anywhere that is! (I assume there are one or two of you out there that share this affliction and can sympathize!) The doll houses are here to stay... if there is a shortage of space.... the plants might have to go.... or I could just have Mini plants!!!  I know I have been saying Forever that I need to start to learn how to make mini plants... and with many of you out there as Inspiration and guides.... I have purchased some tiny punches and a few flower kits to get me started! And I know this will sound silly, but the punches arrived Really fast and the kits are still on their way.... and I could Not wait any longer! So I tried my hand at a flower. Just One Flower! I had also recently bought some crepe paper and thought it would make the perfect petals for a poppy....

And a bead on the end of some florists wire would make the flower center.....

When I shoved the bead onto the covered wire, 

it separated the threads and made them look like stamens....

I painted them black along with the bead.

(I forgot to take many pictures because I was just experimenting....)

I cut some leaves with my new punches... 

and cut slits into the edges of the larger leaf groups....

then I deliberately wet them and wrinkled them....

I glued them to the foam base....

covered in tea leaf "dirt"...

And added the smaller fern leaf pieces farther up the stems.

It is getting so dark out.... 

it is really hard to photograph this!

But I think it turned out quite well!

This morning as I was rushing off to work 

I noticed that Brother Beorn 

had "found" the flower outside the Cloud Palace on the Terrace...

He was ever so Excited! 

He has been trying to establish a few "planters"

on the Cloud Palace Terrace all Summer...

but it seems the conditions are a little challenging...

It can be quite cold and too sunny for some plants!

And they need to be watered constantly.... 

because there is no rain on Top of the Clouds!

He thinks it a Great Omen to find such a beautiful Specimen...

In full bloom....

appearing as if by magic overnight!

He has not decided yet whether it is Papaver 'Orientale', 

or Papaver 'Somniferum'....

He is fairly certain it is not Papaver 'Croceum' 

in spite of the Arctic conditions it is growing in...,

because the scale is too large for such a bloom!

I think he has been watching it all day!

But I am sure that What you are really wanting to hear more about 

is the Adventures of Tiny Bear, Dear Readers, 

so I will reward your patience and tell you that

Sir Orion and Tiny Bear rode like the Wind on Thunder....

They raced past the Castle and the Lovely Old Dollhouse,

and didn't even pause as they passed The Folly!

They rode on and on, but they saw no sign anywhere of the two tiny dolls!

 

 

 Eventually they came to the Distant Briar Moors...

 

And Rose Thorn Cottage.

 

 

There were two large dogs keeping watch on the porch.

But Thunder was not afraid of them.

He knew they were the Hounds of Artemis....

known as Madame Durant.

 

 

They often played with him, racing across the Wild Moors!

 

 

 Sir Orion jumped off Thunder and turned to thank him 

for carrying them so effortlessly on their Quest.

He knew that the Wild Moors were Thunder's home....

He would come again and they would ride together....

but for now, Sir Orion would travel on with Tiny Bear alone.

Tiny Bear was more than Happy to stay perched on Sir Orion's shoulders!

Sir Orion turned to speak with the dogs,

but Tiny Bear seemed to have lost his voice altogether!

"Good Evening, my friends" said Sir Orion.

"We are searching for two tiny dolls..... 

have you seen them anywhere?"

(Sir Orion was not afraid of the dogs.... 

but they did look a little bit hungry!)

"Did they look like.... small... warm... dinner?' 

growled one of the hounds.

"If they did...." growled the other....

"we haven't seen any. Dinner, that is."

"In that case," replied Sir Orion,  gruffly,

"We will be on our way."

 

And he turned to climb the Briar Moors behind the Cottage....

 

 And he explained to Tiny Bear that from the top of the Moors,

it was just a short flight to the Cloud Palace....

And Tiny should just hold on tight.....

And be sure to Not look down....!

It wasn't Too Far.....

But it was already Dark by the time 

they landed on the Terrace at the Cloud Palace.

 

There was a single lantern lit to Guide their way...

Or perhaps it was lit so that Brother Beorn 

could still see his Beautiful Poppy Flower....

But whatever the reason, Dear Readers, 

it was a welcome Beacon for the Weary Travelers!

Sir Orion went straight inside 

and Blue was there to greet him.

"I have found a little Traveler" he said.

"His name is Tiny Bear."

"I am pleased to meet you, Tiny," said Blue.

"Welcome to the Cloud Palace" she added.

"If there is anything you wish for, just speak up...." she said.

But Tiny Bear was at a loss for words. 

He was not sure if he was Dreaming this entire Adventure!

He had just escaped fierce Hounds....

and Flown on the back of a Warrior Bear up to the Clouds....!

And there were  More large Bears up there....

And a Palace?? 

He could no longer remember why he had set out in the first place!

He was, understandably, a Little Overwhelmed!

Sir Orion set him down in a Cloud chair.

"There's no need to say a thing, little fella" said Sir Orion.

"Just rest here as long as you like."

"And if you think of anything you need.... just say the word" said Blue.

But Tiny Bear was already fast asleep!

And Brother Beorn is still keeping watch over the 

Mysterious Poppy flower!

 

I don't know about you, Dear Readers, 

but that First little flower is like a Beacon in the Dark for me...

Showing me that maybe Someday I will have 

a mini Garden full of Tiny Flowers!

The Adventures of Tiny Bear

Lost And Found......

You will probably not believe me, Dear Readers,when I tell you that I really had No intention of telling this tale! None at All! But Sometimes, as I think you all will agree, things just don't go according to Plan! Such was the case when Tiny Bear woke up and realized that the Little Dolls were gone! He had spent Forever, it seemed, sitting on that bench with the two Little Dolls, and he had become accustomed to not being alone. Now the house was very quiet and he wondered Where they could have gone! He carefully got off the bench, something he had never done before... and started to look for his Little friends.

He went into the bedroom but they weren't in there.

He thought he would try to have a look out the window....

So he climbed onto the bed......

And crawled over the covers to the window so he could see outside.

But he didn't see them anywhere out there.

So he jumped off the bed and 

decided to have a look downstairs.....

He didn't remember Ever going downstairs before....

And certainly not on his own.....

The rooms looked so Big.....

And it was Very Very Quiet!

There was no one in the Kitchen....

And no one in the Living Room!

He was All Alone!

Where did the Little Dolls go... he wondered?

Then he noticed that

The front door was open just the Tiniest bit....

He gave it a little push and poked his head outside.

Everything looked Very Very Big!

He stepped to the edge of the porch and looked around...

But he didn't see the Little Dolls anywhere.

They must be somewhere nearby, he thought...

Perhaps he would just look around a little bit.....

He jumped off the porch 

and slid down the small embankment in front of the house....

there seemed to be a small path... 

so he followed it along....

And before long he came to another House.

The front door was just slightly open....

So he poked his head inside....

There was a large Bear sitting in a chair just by the door!

Tiny Bear cleared his throat "Ahem..." he said.

"Excuse me, Sir, but have you seen any Tiny Dolls come this way" he asked?

"Oh, Hello!" said Teddy Bear.

"Tiny Dolls, you say? No... no Dolls at all!" he said gruffly. 

"But there are Cats," he added. 

"There are too darned many mangy old cats!"

"You better watch yourself....." he added. 

"Those cats will scratch your eyes out if you don't run fast!"

"Ah!" said Tiny Bear.... 

"I see....!" he added as he headed quickly for the door.

No need to say hello to the cats!

So he wandered on.... 

and after a little while he came to the door of an Ancient Castle.

It looked as though it was undergoing renovations.

And once again, the door stood just a little bit open....

Ever mindful of the Possibility of cats, 

he carefully climbed the last step.

He found himself in an ancient Guard Room!

There was a guard standing on duty.

Tiny Bear cleared his throat again....

"Ahem..." he said, not sure the guard would see him at all!

"Excuse me, Sir, I am looking for two Little Dolls..." he said.

"Have you seen them come this way...?"

"Dolls?" said the Guard, clearly puzzled.

"Do you mean Mannikins?"

"There are none here.... Never seen any myself!"

"But you might want to watch out for the Owls..." he added.....

"They are about ready to go out hunting for dinner..." 

Tiny didn't wait around to hear what else the Guard had to say....

He ran back outside and hurried off towards the woods nearby!

But he suddenly wasn't at all sure What direction he should go....

Or which direction he had come from!

"Oh dear," he thought....

 "Who could have thought two Little Dolls would be so hard to find!"

Just then he noticed a Truly Tiny fellow going quickly by.....

It was a Tiny Fairy riding a Racing Snail!

He'd never seen anyone That small before!

"Excuse me," he called out....

"Would you by any chance know where two Little Dolls might have gone?"

"Not a chance, Dear Fellow... not a chance!" the Fairy called back.

"So Sorry... I must be off..... it's the Snail Marathon, you know!"

And before Tiny Bear could reply, he was gone!

So Tiny Bear marched on Alone.

He had come to the edge of the Forest.....

And he couldn't decide which way to go.....

The World was So Much Bigger than he had ever imagined!

Perhaps he was just a little bit lost....

Searching for his Little friends.... 

who he thought were Lost.....

All of a sudden he heard a loud rumble of thunder....

And then he saw an Enormous Black Beast 

come rushing straight towards him....

And it stopped just before running him down!

Tiny had never seen anything so Huge....

And it seemed to have Two Heads!!!

 But then one of them climbed off the other one....

And suddenly Tiny Bear could see that it was just a horse and rider....

But he was still a little Alarmed....

 The Largest Warrior Bear he had Ever seen was standing in front of him!

"Well, my Little Friend," said Sir Orion, as gently as he could.

"My name is Sir Orion Blackthorne..... and who might you be?"

"M-m-m-my n-name is T-tiny B-b-bear..." he stammered.

(His heart was still racing so fast.... 

he thought it might have caught up with the Marathon Snail by now!)

"Well, no need to be afraid, my Friend," said sir Orion, kindly.

"We Bears have to stick together and help each other out!"

"You look a little bit far from home..." he added.

"I am looking for my friends the two Little Dolls..." said Tiny Bear.
"You haven't seen them by any chance...?" he added hopefully.

"I have not seen them...." said Sir Orion. 

"But I can help you to look for them... it will be much faster, 

and Thunder will be happy to carry you too!" he added.

And before Tiny Bear knew what was happening, 

he was lifted onto Sir Orion's shoulders, 

and then they jumped onto the horse's back!

And suddenly they were off in a thundering of hooves.....

Tiny Bear couldn't imagine anything more exhilarating!

And to tell you the Truth, Dear Readers, 

I have No idea where they are going!

I never know What I will "Find" when I am "Lost" in my Stories....

But it looks as though Tiny Bear has Found an Adventure!