The Woodland Fairy Houses (DOWN FOR MAINTENANCE) LbNA #21248 (ARCHIVED)
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Add Location| Owner: | Adoptable |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Apr 5, 2006 |
| Location: | |
| City: | Pelham |
| County: | Hampshire |
| State: | Massachusetts |
| Boxes: | 3 |
| Planted by: | The Ha-Ha Sisterhood  |
|---|---|
| Found by: | Izzy's-Crew |
| Last found: | Apr 11, 2010 |
| Status: | FFFFFFFFFFFFFr |
| Last edited: | Apr 5, 2006 |
**THIS LETTERBOX IS UNDER-GOING RECONSTRUCTION. WE'LL LET YOU KNOW WHEN WE'RE BACK IN BUSINESS!**
The Woodland Fairy Houses Letterbox
Our letterbox was inspired by the beautiful picture book “Fairy House” by Tracy Kane. It is a sweet book, sure to be a hit with all ages, and well worth buying or ordering from your local library. Here are two important tips from the book for building fairy houses: Use only natural materials, such as fallen bark, leaves, and branches, stones, dried grass, milkweed pods, pinecones, berries, acorns, etc. (We have even brought along some natural materials from other locations to fancy up our woodland fairy houses here.) Secondly, fairies do not want you to disturb any living materials, so don’t pick flowers, plants, moss, branches or anything that is still growing. For a complete set of guidelines and to see examples of fairy house, you can check out http://www.fairyhouses.com/how_to_build.html.
How to get to The Woodland Fairy House Letterbox:
The trail begins on North Valley Road in Pelham.
From the center of Amherst: Go east on Main Street/Pelham Road, following it through when it becomes Amherst Road in Pelham. You will come to North Valley Road on your left (directly across from a large, white building which houses the Pelham police/fire stations, library and community center.) Go left up North Valley Road for two miles (after one mile, be sure to bear right to stay on North Valley.) At the very top of the hill, where there is a sign saying the remainder of the road is closed for winter traffic, you will see a house with a red barn next to it on the right. Park across the street, on the left, where there is a roped off trail. (This is where the Moose Family Letterbox begins, by the way.)
After you park the car, continue walking along North Valley Road in the same direction you were driving. You will immediately go down a hill, cross over a lovely brook, and then start looking VERY CAREFULLY on the right side of the road for an orange-ribbon and yellow-tagged tree, which marks the beginning of the trail. (If you get to the top of the hill, you’ve gone too far. Try walking back until you get to the end of the metal railing. Then turn around and count forward 14 steps – look right for the tagged tree.)
The yellow-tagged trail follows along with the brook. After a while (10 minutes or so), the tags seem to stop at some small pine trees, but just continue on through in the same direction, following along with the brook. You will soon meet up with the yellow tags again, still following the brook.
After about 5 minutes, look for a spot when the brook is joined by a small stream that goes down a little waterfall, and flows into the larger brook you’ve been walking along. Walk 9 steps. On the left, you will see a tree painted light green with moss. Walk to the next yellow tag. Go down into the trench. Turn right, towards the brook. On the right, you may see a fairy house* on top of a small ledge of flat rocks. Look inside, and there resides your prize!
*This fairy house is the woodland fairies’ main residence. They have a nearby pad of moss for coming in for gentle landings. If you like, you can add to the fairy house, or start your own house nearby to add to the fairy village. Please remember to only use natural elements that your find on the ground. (Don’t harm anything alive, like snapping branches off trees. The fairies don’t like hurting living things to make their homes.)
Walk on. After a short distance, you will pass a small pool of water to your left, about 2 feet from the brook. (If you’re visiting the woodland fairies during a drought, the pool may be empty.) Next to the small pool, you will see the fairies’ lakeside vacation home. They even like to make birch bark canoes to glide upon their lake. Add to the fairies’ vacation village if you like!
Walk about 70 paces. You will see a cairn next to a long, thin tree, which has fallen diagonally along the trail. To the left, in the direction where this tree points, you will see orange and yellow ribbons tied from the tree. Follow the yellow/orange ribbons and the white-blazed trail away from the brook, up a hill. Keep going up the hill until you come to a fallen rock wall. Stop. Walk 10 steps to the right. Your prize is under a rock ledge. Native American fairies have built a wigwam on the other side of the wall. Add some things to their village if you like.
To reach the final letterbox, keep walking up the hill, following the white blazes. You will come to an intersection with a wider, more traveled trail. Go left. There is an immediate fork in the trail. Stay left. (At this point, you may want to start collecting pinecones for the Pinecone Fairies at your next stop.) Where there are no blazes marking the trail, but the trail is clear and goes up hill, you will come to tall electric power lines crossing the trail. About 75 paces past the power lines, look for a large, cut stump on the left, where the Pinecone Fairy Family live. About 15 feet past the stump, there is a large, fallen, decaying tree. At its roots rests your final prize.
To get back to your car, continue along the trail another 5 minutes, and you’ll find yourself back on North Valley Road. Go left on the road to head back.
Thank you for visiting the Woodland Fairy Houses Letterboxes! Come back any time with special, natural goodies to spruce up the fairy homes.
The Woodland Fairy Houses Letterbox
Our letterbox was inspired by the beautiful picture book “Fairy House” by Tracy Kane. It is a sweet book, sure to be a hit with all ages, and well worth buying or ordering from your local library. Here are two important tips from the book for building fairy houses: Use only natural materials, such as fallen bark, leaves, and branches, stones, dried grass, milkweed pods, pinecones, berries, acorns, etc. (We have even brought along some natural materials from other locations to fancy up our woodland fairy houses here.) Secondly, fairies do not want you to disturb any living materials, so don’t pick flowers, plants, moss, branches or anything that is still growing. For a complete set of guidelines and to see examples of fairy house, you can check out http://www.fairyhouses.com/how_to_build.html.
How to get to The Woodland Fairy House Letterbox:
The trail begins on North Valley Road in Pelham.
From the center of Amherst: Go east on Main Street/Pelham Road, following it through when it becomes Amherst Road in Pelham. You will come to North Valley Road on your left (directly across from a large, white building which houses the Pelham police/fire stations, library and community center.) Go left up North Valley Road for two miles (after one mile, be sure to bear right to stay on North Valley.) At the very top of the hill, where there is a sign saying the remainder of the road is closed for winter traffic, you will see a house with a red barn next to it on the right. Park across the street, on the left, where there is a roped off trail. (This is where the Moose Family Letterbox begins, by the way.)
After you park the car, continue walking along North Valley Road in the same direction you were driving. You will immediately go down a hill, cross over a lovely brook, and then start looking VERY CAREFULLY on the right side of the road for an orange-ribbon and yellow-tagged tree, which marks the beginning of the trail. (If you get to the top of the hill, you’ve gone too far. Try walking back until you get to the end of the metal railing. Then turn around and count forward 14 steps – look right for the tagged tree.)
The yellow-tagged trail follows along with the brook. After a while (10 minutes or so), the tags seem to stop at some small pine trees, but just continue on through in the same direction, following along with the brook. You will soon meet up with the yellow tags again, still following the brook.
After about 5 minutes, look for a spot when the brook is joined by a small stream that goes down a little waterfall, and flows into the larger brook you’ve been walking along. Walk 9 steps. On the left, you will see a tree painted light green with moss. Walk to the next yellow tag. Go down into the trench. Turn right, towards the brook. On the right, you may see a fairy house* on top of a small ledge of flat rocks. Look inside, and there resides your prize!
*This fairy house is the woodland fairies’ main residence. They have a nearby pad of moss for coming in for gentle landings. If you like, you can add to the fairy house, or start your own house nearby to add to the fairy village. Please remember to only use natural elements that your find on the ground. (Don’t harm anything alive, like snapping branches off trees. The fairies don’t like hurting living things to make their homes.)
Walk on. After a short distance, you will pass a small pool of water to your left, about 2 feet from the brook. (If you’re visiting the woodland fairies during a drought, the pool may be empty.) Next to the small pool, you will see the fairies’ lakeside vacation home. They even like to make birch bark canoes to glide upon their lake. Add to the fairies’ vacation village if you like!
Walk about 70 paces. You will see a cairn next to a long, thin tree, which has fallen diagonally along the trail. To the left, in the direction where this tree points, you will see orange and yellow ribbons tied from the tree. Follow the yellow/orange ribbons and the white-blazed trail away from the brook, up a hill. Keep going up the hill until you come to a fallen rock wall. Stop. Walk 10 steps to the right. Your prize is under a rock ledge. Native American fairies have built a wigwam on the other side of the wall. Add some things to their village if you like.
To reach the final letterbox, keep walking up the hill, following the white blazes. You will come to an intersection with a wider, more traveled trail. Go left. There is an immediate fork in the trail. Stay left. (At this point, you may want to start collecting pinecones for the Pinecone Fairies at your next stop.) Where there are no blazes marking the trail, but the trail is clear and goes up hill, you will come to tall electric power lines crossing the trail. About 75 paces past the power lines, look for a large, cut stump on the left, where the Pinecone Fairy Family live. About 15 feet past the stump, there is a large, fallen, decaying tree. At its roots rests your final prize.
To get back to your car, continue along the trail another 5 minutes, and you’ll find yourself back on North Valley Road. Go left on the road to head back.
Thank you for visiting the Woodland Fairy Houses Letterboxes! Come back any time with special, natural goodies to spruce up the fairy homes.