As Summer begins to bleed into Fall, I look at my darling garden fairy, Jasmine, as she sits so serenely on my shelf. I realize how fast the year has gone by and, like previous years, I did not spend nearly the amount of time outside or at the beach as I promised I would do at the start of the season. William Blake's "To Summer" seems to be an appropriate tribute to my most favorite season.

O thou who passest thro' our valleys in
Thy strength, curb thy fierce steeds, allay the heat
That flames from their large nostrils! thou, O Summer,
Oft pitched'st here thy goldent tent, and oft
Beneath our oaks hast slept, while we beheld
With joy thy ruddy limbs and flourishing hair.

Beneath our thickest shades we oft have heard
Thy voice, when noon upon his fervid car
Rode o'er the deep of heaven; beside our springs
Sit down, and in our mossy valleys, on
Some bank beside a river clear, throw thy
Silk draperies off, and rush into the stream:
Our valleys love the Summer in his pride.

Our bards are fam'd who strike the silver wire:
Our youth are bolder than the southern swains:
Our maidens fairer in the sprightly dance:
We lack not songs, nor instruments of joy,
Nor echoes sweet, nor waters clear as heaven,
Nor laurel wreaths against the sultry heat.

I look forward to next summer where I hope to sing more, play often, and embrace Summer's sultry song.

Note: "Jasmine the Garden Fairy" was created for Mixed Up Magazine's June/July 2017 issue as part of the Creative Play feature. Visit Mixed Up Magazine on Pocketmags for the full issue which includes a step-out tutorial on how to create your own!

Supplies Used:
Relics & Artifacts® Facia Familiaris
Retro Cafe Art Gallery Santos Doll
Retro Cafe Art Gallery Antler Cut-Outs
Apoxie Sculpt
DecoArt acrylic paint
Debbie Kerkhof of Xquizart "Hippie Chick" digital papers