Gnomes' Thanksgiving

Indeed there is a Thanksgiving celebration for our little friends. Like us humans, it is to give thanks for a great harvest, family and good friends. Gnomes are not meat eaters, so their meals consist of a variety of nuts, berries, mushrooms, fruit and some healthy greens. As we know, they love beer and fermented beverages. Throw in a few potatoes and beets and you have a fine feast. No turkeys! Many gather at various homes with friends to celebrate, tell stories and talk about family, and of course, the weather. It must be a great time, and always too much food. Not much different than our Thanksgivings.

The snow has stopped, so the gnomes are out at night gathering more firewood, nuts and helping their forest friends. The nights are much longer now, so lots of time to keep busy. Our little friend, Ole an Sven is upset, it seems, because I’m out of bird seed for the birds and him! He turned over the bird seed dish as a reminder. Will refill it later today. Must keep everyone happy. All will be well.

Footprints in the Snow!

Winter snow has come to the forest and deep enough to get lost! Good thing gnomes have pointed red hats! Gnomes move at a strong, fast speed. What I thought were only mice tunnels under the snow, could be a gnome hat “snow plow”  cutting a little tunnel under the snow. To disguise their footprints, they’ll make up snow shoes that leave a bird-like footprint. Some use raccoon or squirrel shoes. You can’t tell the difference. Look around your yard or near the tree line for these little footprints. At 6” tall, the footprints are close together. Follow them and see where they lead. You might have little neighbors.

With very keen sense of smell and direction, gnomes do not get lost in deep snow. They will always share their food supply with the other, smaller animals in the forest. Got those mushrooms in just in time! The forest is snowy white and very quiet now. Beautiful to look at though! All is well.

"Gnome with the Wind"

Our forest gnomes got hit with a big wind storm last week. Local news report winds of  60 - 70 mph! Trees are down, branches falling and pine cones flying like canon balls. Not a good time for a gnome to be out and about in the forest! With their homes at the base of big trees, they likely felt some movement and heard the creaking of the trees. Luckily, no big trees were uprooted this time. The gnomes have great indoor wood and pottery workshops. No need to be outside. They’re likely making some furniture and helping me with our bird houses that I sell. Lots of clean up now but everyone is just fine. Talk of snow coming. Footprints in the snow. Another story. All is well.

Trolls vs. Gnomes

From what I’ve read, these two do not get along at all. Trolls are larger, dirty, naughty and enjoy playing ugly cruel tricks on gnomes. These two do not live in the same forest locations for long. The trolls are just bad looking and bad neighbors. They’re always looking to harm a gnome just for fun. If you think you have friendly gnomes around, don’t bring a little troll statue home as bad things can happen. Although trolls are a lot larger in size, the gnomes are a lot smarter. Gnomes are seldom caught, but if that does happen, our smart little fellows always escape to live another day. Maybe a little worse for wear, but always a winner. All is well.

Mushrooms Everywhere!

With daylight savings now in effect, coupled with Fall rain and cooler temperatures, the mushrooms are popping up all over the forest. Big and small, tall and short. A real treat for the gnome dinner table. Somehow they know the good ones from the bad. In the morning, I’ll see a few picked and stacked up, but will be gone the next day. Maybe they dry the mushrooms to use in a stew or eat them whole. Or, perhaps they make a strong tea instead of beer! Oh, they enjoy the beer! Some roof repairs are needed using fallen pine cones as roof tiles. Beautiful fall colors now in the forest and the trails. Firewood gathering continues. You can almost smell the smoke from the gnomes' chimneys. All is well