From Ann Arbor to Austin: Scouting for Fairies

My young daughters love fairies --- from woodland fairies to the Sugar Plum Fairy.  We even have fairies in our own backyard:

So wherever we go, we look for clues of other "real life" fairies.  Such quests force us to slow down a bit, appreciate our surroundings, and look for magic in the everyday.

Last summer, on a vigilant walk through downtown Ann Arbor, Michigan, we spied tiny fairy doors on the facades of homes, restaurants, retail stores, and office buildings.  The fairies apparently moved into town in 1993, thanks to the efforts of Jonathan Wright (whom you can follow on Pinterest here), and today, their presence delights even the most skeptical of visitors.  My girls were thrilled to spot these charming fairy doors, at the steps of which visitors leave tokens and gifts:  

The "Fairy Woods" at the University of Michigan's Nichols Arboretum was another must-see for our family.  Our children were enchanted with the earnestly designed fairy houses, all constructed from natural materials and found objects.  We spent hours under the tall, whispering pines, building and decorating our own fairy homes.

Back home in Austin, we have discovered fairy houses in our local botanical gardens:

And our favorite:

Any fairy sightings in your neck of the woods? :-)



This post was featured by: