Breathe deep....and relax.......for the breeze blows soft with the scent of Aspens and Firs.
The Valley of Lace & CastIron lies before you....bordered by the Raging River and east of the Realm of Rust, nestled in the foothills of the Grand Mountains. Quite, but for the myriad of birds and the occasional distant call of a train.
The path, strewn with vines that don't know whether to crawl or climb, meanders off into the overgrowth. Where with chaotic abundance Lavender grows with the Roses and the Herbs are let to spread where they will. Hollyhocks and Sunflowers tower over it all.
A maze of well tended vegetable beds spotted here and there with a Nasturium or Marigold. Surrounded by a bramble of berry bushes, scattered among the Weeping Birch and White Pines.....wild Sweet-Peas clinging to their limbs.
Tour the grounds....meet the folks.....
Zeke is the Grounds Keeper for the whole place. Nobody knows for sure where he lives. Talk is he just sleeps under the trees. For awhile, people thought he might have fell down the Well....but then they would spot a basket of flowers or vegetables left out and they would know...... Zeke was around here somewhere.... giving away his harvest, puttering in the gardens or frolicking with "Beast".
Now just past the Vegetable Palace (as Zeke calls the garden) in a meadow of Wild Flowers, the path takes you by a little stone Cottage, buried behind Gladiolas and Iris before meandering off into the woods.
This is MaElly's
place........she's as old as dirt and sometimes just as
crusty. Folks in the valley count on her to heal their wounds and soothe their hurts. It's not that ma knows all the answers...she just knows all the questions. If not out back doing chores...you may find Ma in the kitchen cooking or maybe in her sitting room working on any number of projects. She would be happiest if she never had to leave her house as it is her favorite place in whole world....but don't expect anything fancy. She's probably just puttering around in her flannel robes with her hair down. But she makes a great cup of tea, and there is soup on the stove."
Following the path into the woods, ducking under the Ivy that hangs heavy from the towering Pines branches. The mossy ground gives slightly with each step as you pick your way through the shaded, ferny undergrowth. You step into an ancient stone Court Yard, built at the base of a granite wall. Rose petals float in the stone fountain and from an old tarnished silver thurible comes the aroma of myrrh and ylang ylang. Suddenly from behind a marble pillar steps a woman with outstretched arms and an elagant nod of her head says "Blessings stranger...I am Lex, Lady of the Vale and keeper of that which you cannot see."
You turn to gaze over a pond so still, so black, it appears as moon beams on a night window...........At the far end you notice an opening into the rocks, water peacefully burbbling over and into the pond. A luring rhythm draws you closer.......
So Traveler....Will you venture forth and discover the Secret of the Valley? And if you find Zeke...will you let Ma know? She wants to make jam and Zeke promised her berries.
