Friday, January 13, 2012

Friend and artist, Patricia Hedegaard had a doll and cookie swap over the winter holidays and I participated, albeit a little bit behind schedule.  Which worked out well as I ended up swapping with another dawdler who just happens to be someone I was very excited about making a doll to live with her.

I knew that her doll was a wee creature of the great Pacific Coast redwood forests, where she currently lives.  I knew he was a he.  That was all I knew until he started to form beneath my fingers.

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Here he is almost ready to bake.  You can tell already that he is a kindly soul.



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And here he is all ready for his travels.



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See his walking stick?  The gazing stone on the top of his stick serves a very important purpose.  It helps him to judge the health of the deep redwood forests.  For, you see, he is The Mist Maker.  He keeps a close eye on it. And speaking of eyes, sometimes you can see the mist forming deep within them.  He can tell when the forest is too dry, or too wet (although too wet is pretty unlikely, as the forest loves being wet as wet can be), when it's lonely and needs humans to walk amongst it's giant trees, or when it's feeling a bit over trampled and wants a bit of time with just the inhabitants of the green and gray and then he thickens the fog and shrouds the valleys in its damp mysteries.



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It's not very damp here, although he did enjoy his short visit before he left for his new home.  He was intrigued by this giant maple tree and nimbly as you've ever seen, climbed up it's rough bark.



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He sat for a moment to enjoy a bit of warmth from the sun, and then climbed some more.




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He really loved being up high in the branches.  He sat there a long long time, perhaps thinking of his own forests.



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We went for a walk together, The Mist Maker, Hubby, and Moi.  Surprisingly, he's a very sturdy walker for someone of his size.



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He met some of the local wildlife.  He thought Maggie was very sweet to give him kisses.  He said she reminded him of a little black fox.



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 He wasn't quite as sure of the local felines.  "Are you sure this one doesn't bite?" he said a bit nervously.



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He wondered if this was an elk bone, or perhaps the bone of a dragon, it was so large.



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He wandered around the yard, trying to keep up out of the heavy layer of dried leaves.



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We had a very lovely time together, but as you can see, he is very happy at the thought of getting on his way.  So with a wave and a smile, he left us to begin his journey home.