Are you familiar with the fairy garden trend? Even though I avoid Pinterest, it’s still difficult to ignore the cute little figurines and accessories intended to be placed amongst the foliage and moss in people’s flower gardens. To be honest, I may someday end up with a fairy garden, but thus far it hasn’t risen to the top of my priority list. There are only twenty-four hours in each day, after all.
Problem solved.
My local library set up a fairy trail at nearby Infirmary Mound Park.
Relying on my friends with young children to inform me of such things, a posse picnic lunch was scheduled earlier this week. What, you don’t have a posse? Everyone should have a posse. Anyway, it was BYOBL … Bring Your Own Bag Lunch. There were bonus organic red raspberries and cherry tomatoes from the Gluten & Grain Free Gourmet. (Buy her baked goods.) Unlike what you find in the grocery store, the cherry tomatoes had actual flavor. Delicious flavor.
Being in a crowd educated in the ways of math, science, and nutrition, we discussed climate science as well as alternate ways to up one’s iron intake. Alternate meaning beyond supplements or consuming more spinach, kale, and liver. I’m gagging at the mere mention of liver. Thankfully my mother gags at the idea and never served it to us as children.
Breathe in, breathe out, think about … chocolate.
Okay, I’m better now.
It’s a known fact that cooking in a cast iron skillet can add iron to one’s diet. People have been cooking with cast iron since, well since cast iron was invented. What I had never heard of was dissolving a rusty nail in a glass of water.
Dissolving a rusty nail in a glass of water! And drinking it!
It was verified later in the day that consuming apples studded with iron nails may provide equivalent or better iron levels than consuming supplements.
A rusty apple a day keeps the doctor away. #WondersNeverCease #CantMakeMe Share on X
Please note the disclaimer at the end of the report, “Toxicity tests must be done on the nails before allowing human consumption, as many iron nails contain toxic substances.” So the jury is still out on whether nails are gluten free.
Oh yeah, the fairy trail. There are no age restrictions – grownups can go without kids. Also be aware that on the way to the woods you’ll be walking by a lake, so keep an eye on any small children prone to wander.
The walk along the lake reminded me of Uncle Bob’s lake when I was a child. Lake? Pond? What did we call it? Anyway, we used to have the family picnic there every summer. On a Sunday after church we’d drive past the lake, change clothes at our great grandma’s house, and – if we were well-behaved and didn’t dawdle – we might be allowed to walk down the big hill and along the lake to the shelterhouse while our parents drove the car around.
I wasn’t sure I’d be able to handle the fairy trail this week. I had a random minor foot injury, and in my world there is no such thing as a minor injury. (Long, boring story.) The pain had me hobbling slightly, but sitting at a picnic table combined with divine intervention probably improved my situation long enough for a stroll.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ~ Hebrews 12:1
After the sunlit walk along the lake, into the shaded woods on the Wildflower Trail we went.
We found fairy garden scenes, laminated storybook pages, a few educational signs about the plants in the area, and other fun.
I’ll let you go check out the rest of the scenery yourself.