Monthly Archives: April 2014

Mudpile Wood; Owners and their pets

by

Humans are not the only beings to have pets.  Here is a list of some of our pets.

 

Mudpile Wood;

Owner                                                 Pet                                  Name of Pet

Tulip                                                 Goldfish                              Bosco

Breeze                                              Frog                                      Spike

Hamish                                            Skunk                                   Smelly

Mrs. Groundsel                            Parrot                                   1921

Elegant Witch                                Cat                                       Maisie

Lovisma                                          Hedgehog                           Cuddles

 

How unusual is your pet? And what is his /her name?

How the Ogre Breeze and Mudpile were discovered.

by

Maria’s  side of the story:

Chance and opportunity seldom knock at my door.

However, this one arrived through WordPress and I have grasped it with both hands.

While reading a post on “The Terrain of Symmetry” site, I was mesmerized by a picture of a tree. 

today 2013

(Click on the photo to go to the post)

This was an unusual occurrence in itself because the daughter of an Irish botanist, I have stared at many trees. But this one caught my eye because the angle of a branch reminded me of the best piece of equipment in the playground, a slide. That was it, a story was born.

My imagination was off at a running pace. An Ogre was created and his best friend sort of slid into place.  When I asked permission from Doris to use the picture to illustrate the story, she went one better and sent me an illustration of the characters, Breeze and Tulip.

From that moment on we were both hooked, stories and ideas fly out of my mind some land on paper and others are merely whisked away by being too mad or crazy. The result is I am jumping in at the deep end and we will publish our result in the form of a book.

I hope everyone enjoys and takes these stories for what they are a  childish venture into a world of make believe.

If there is anything you find beyond the realms of belief please let us know.

Easter Mystery at Mudpile Wood.

by

A reminder:   Breeze is a very friendly Ogre.   Hamish is a grumpy Elf.    Lovisma is a tiny mischievous witch and Tulip is a Fairy who adores to bake.

Women’s voices drifted up to Breeze as he lay dreaming on a branch in a tree.
 “Humans” he whispered. Breeze let out an ear piercing warning whistle. He spotted rabbits and elves running further into the wood. 
 
“Did you hear that funny bird? ” One woman asked. “Don’t go into the wood. We don’t want the children to get lost in there.”
Breeze noticed the women’s baskets were full of shiny objects which they were hiding in the long grass and under bushes.   Finally their baskets were empty and they left.
 
Breeze slid down the tree. Hamish walked up to him. “Why did you sound the alarm?”
“It was a crowd of humans. They hid somethings,” Breeze was stretching his hand out underneath a bush.  “Aha, look what I got!” He pulled out a shiny blue  ball.
“What is it?” Hamish asked.
Breeze scratched his head. “I don’t know.”
Hamish smelt it. “Chocolate. Why hide them?”
 
They asked Tulip.  “I don’t know.” She said, “but the tooth fairy might know.”
Mavis, the tooth fairy was tired, “Show me quickly, I need to sleep. “
Hamish handed her the blue ball.
“Ugh it’s an easter egg. They love them, hide them in odd places and call it ‘fun’ to find them.” Mavis  scowled then said, “I’m going to sleep, leave.”
The three friends left in a hurry.
 
“Now we know what they are what are we going to do?” Breeze asked.
“Nothing,” Tulip said, “They will come and collect them.”
Lovisma, heard this conversation and went to look at the eggs.
 
On Easter Sunday Tulip, Breeze and Hamish were hiding at the top of a tree.  They were there to make sure no child entered the wood. “It wouldn’t do for an elderly Ogre or Fairy to meet a child.They might never recover from the shock,” Breeze said.
 
The children raced into the field watched by their parents. They began to search for eggs.  A small girl gave a shout,  “I see one.” This was followed by a wailing cry. “Why won’t it stop moving?”
 
Breeze , Hamish and Tulip watched the field turn into a playground for leaping Easter eggs that could not be caught.
 Tulip looked at Breeze and Hamish.
“We didn’t do it.” Breeze said. “Did you?”
“I did not.” Tulip said and waved her wand towards the leaping bouncing eggs. But no amount of Fairy sparkle or magic could stop the eggs from moving.
 
Suddenly an egg was caught. 
It popped open, a bright yellow rabbit jumped out and began hip hop dancing.  His ears were spinning around and hit a boy in the legs. He began to cry.
 
“Lovisma did this. Listen, I can hear her giggling.” Hamish said.
They began to search. Suddenly a bush sneezed. Breeze pounced on it. He emerged with a wiggling fighting Lovisma.
“Leave me be you big ogre.”
“I will if you stop them bouncing eggs and dancing bunnies.” Breeze shook her.
Lovisma was dressed in green, she had bells in her hair. She jingled as he shook her.
 
 “Lovisma you had better place a forgetful spell on them. We don’t want the wood full of nosy humans.” Tulip said.
“What will you give me if I do that?”Lovisma smiled.
Breeze said, “I’ll stop shaking you for a start, and I’ll tell you where to find lovely fresh mud.”
Lovisma loved bathing in mud. “Deal.” 
 
With a flick of her wrist she stopped the eggs from moving and with a wiggle of her nose the children stopped crying. 
Hamish’s ears twitched. “No one is talking about the jumping eggs, they are leaving.”
“Pity,” Lovisma said. “I always wanted to create a big stir. Now I will have to think of something else.”
Before they could scold her, Lovisma vanished.
*******************************
Have a great Easter everyone.

 

Breeze’s favorite Fairy Cakes.

by

This is the recipe I have made and I love them, I cover them with icing (made with icing sugar and a little water)  or with melted chocolate and often add a cherry on top.

 

tea 1

Ingredients

 

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and line a fairy cake tin  with 12 paper cases.

  1. Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale. Beat in the eggs, a little at a time, and stir in the vanilla extract.
  2. Fold in the flour using a large metal spoon. Add a little milk to make the mixture a dropping soft  consistency and spoon the mixture into the paper cases until they are half full.
  3. Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes, or until golden-brown on top and a skewer inserted into one of the cakes comes out clean. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack.

 

An Ogre’s Guide to Holidaying in Mudpile Wood

by

According to a certain Dog  bob   you need to take precautions before taking a holiday in Mudpile Wood. I disagree.   But to make the most of your trip you should be prepared.

1.         For plenty of mud fun. As the name of the wood suggests we like wallowing in it. You can be certain you won’t get sun burnt but you will leave with amazing skin.

2.         There will be many parties. The late nights are followed by long sleepy mornings broken with a long lazy breakfast on left overs and finally a snoozy afternoon.

3.         Visitors are not allowed to work. Most occupants of the wood don’t like working so why should we ask you to do it?

4.        I do agree with Mr. Bob about:

a)     Warm hats and gloves, (finger-less gloves are best in case you are trapped in a warlock’s tavern, you may have to pick a slippy, disgusting lock to escape.)

b)     Wellington Boots (but not red, as witches despise red boots, they tend to set them on fire.

c)       Chocolate smelling deodorant. Everyone in Mudpile hates eating chocolate but they adore the smell.

d)      A clever friend who can solve puzzles in case Murphy the Leprechaun catches you, he will only release you when you solve his puzzle.Bring loads of books. Ogres have an insatiable appetite. First they  read the book then they eat it.

5.    I love books. They give me ideas, as I eat them. ( I learnt this lesson from a friend of mine called Hungry Henry. I will tell you about him another time.)

An Ogre’s view: An invitation.

by

Dear Mr. Bob

 

I heard about your tantalizing plans for adventure. I would like to invite you to tea.

I did carefully lay our table complete with 12 fairy cakes but the sight of them hot from the oven got me hungry, so now you are invited to share the six remaining cakes with me.

 

Your friend,

Breeze.

tea2

 

 

Ps. I also had a cup of tea while I was waiting but I don’t know where the silly duck in the wellies came from. Would you like to bring her with you on your trip?

tea 1