Fairy Magic

I have a feeling that childhood has been robbed of a great deal of its joys by taking away its belief in wonderful, mystic things, in fairies and all their kin. It is not surprising that when children are grown, they have so little idealism or imagination, not that so many of them are like the infidel who asserted that he would not believe anything that he could not see.
These words were spoken by author Laura Ingalls Wilder adapted from an essay she wrote in 1916 Fairies Still Appear to Those with Seeing Eyes.
Probably few people know that in addition to writing the Little House on the Prairie series, she also wrote columns for the newspaper. Laura Wilder and her daughter Rose collaborated on a collection of fairy poems. Several year ago a friend, knowing how the lives of fairy people interested me, gave me a book called Laura Ingalls Wilder's Fairy Poems. Stephen Hines introduced and compiled this book.
It is a sweet book and I would like to share one poem

The Fairy Dew Drop
Down by the spring one morning
Where the shadows still lay deep.
I found in the heart of the flower
A tiny fairy asleep.

Her flower couch was perfumed,
Leaf curtains drawn with care,
And there she sweetly slumbered,
With a jewel in her hair.

But a sunbeam entered softly
And touched her, as she lay,
Whispering that 'twas morning
And fairies must away

All colors of the rainbow
Were in her robe so bright
And she danced away with the sunbeam
And vanished from my sight.

'Twas while I watched them dancing,
The sunshine told me true
That my sparkling little fairy
Was lovely Drop O' Dew

Not only was I was drawn to this poem because of its lyricism, but the college I attended had a small pond called Dew Drop!

February 1915

Au unexpected warm fall day calls for celebration: Bavarian Apple Cheesecake
Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup butter or margarine
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 TB. shortening
  
• 1 cup flour
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  
• 4 cups apples cut in thin slices
• 2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 sugar
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
  

Directions:

• In a bowl beat 1/3 cup sugar, margarine or butter, 1 TB shortening, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, 1/4 tsp. cinnamon till combined. Blend in flour and salt till crumbly. Pat into 9 inch springform pan and set aside
• Place apple slices single layer in a shallow baking dish. Cover with foil bake at 400 for 15 minutes
• Beat cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 tsp. vanilla, 1/2tsp. cinnamon beat till fluffy, add eggs all at once beat on low just till combined
• Pour over crust
• Arrange warm apple slices on top
• Combine 1/3 cup sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon and almonds, sprinkle over apple slices
• Bake 400 about 40 minutes till golden
• Cool then remove sides and chill 4-24 hours before serving