No Gnomes Died

Back on the legacy chain @snook did a podcast she called “Pants Are Optional”. She asked people to be interviewed but not to mention ‘Steem’ during the interview. She would create a list of offbeat questions to ask her guest. It was a way of getting to know people better outside of the context of the blockchain. Maybe even outside of reality.

I agreed to be on one of those shows. It started to go a bit off the rails when she asked me about how I’d respond to a zombie apolcalypse. It went a lot further off when she asked me what I thought about garden gnomes.

Take about 3 minutes to hear the exchange:

Snook Visits the Big Gnome

Those few minutes became the base for some future fun and debate. Snook was travelling through her home state of Wisconsin one day and came across this big gnome.

Apparently the gnome she encountered is not the largest in the world. My spies tell me that currently resides in Saanich, BC.

Explains this guy trying to claim refugee status in Canada. And heading to the left coast was the right place for him.

Pondering the State of Gnomes

That got her wondering about the state of gnomes in the world and in particular in my part of the world, given my stated ambivalence toward their continued existence. She became very concerned when she found out that the gnome population was dropping in this area and reluctantly concluded that I may be having a hand in the matter.

Considering this to be a serious gnome emergency she appealed to the big Wisconsin guy to send gnomes to the aid of those in my area.

First she was going to try to secure assurances from me that I would allow the gnomes to live safely in this area. Her idea of restarting the War of 1812 with gnomes would be a backup solution.

Trying to Reach A Peaceful Solution

She approached me on the matter. I calmly informed her that she could send her gnome army marching north but none would get across the border.

The Newfie Firing Squad would be on the job, not a one of her gnome allies would get across the border. Well, except for the refugee already noted.

The Newfie Firing Squad is an elite division of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. While famous for always getting their man, it was a well kept secret that they were even better at squashing gnome rebellions. All thanks to the Newfie Firing Squad division.

Choosing to protect the Wisconsin gnomes, she allowed them to stand down rather than face danger at the border.

Gnomes Keep Showing Up

Now, I have to confess, I had never really had much interest in gnomes. But you know how when something draws your attention you start seeing it more often? Yeah, that happened.

When I started creating books, it seemed every where I looked, there were …. Gnomes for every occasion under the sun. Had the world gone mad?

The Origin of Gnomes

Well, that did get my curiousity up. I started to look into just where these stoney (and sometimes stoned) little creatures came from. I soon learned they have been very popular in European myths and folklore for centuries. They were often mistaken for elves who had a different role in folklore.

I soon found I had gathered a lot of details about the life of gnomes. Did you know that Paracelsus, the sixteenth century Swiss alchemist first used the term ‘gnome’ to identify a class of nature spirit that lived deep in the forest and dark places?

Some believe his choice of the word came from the Greek word, gnosis meaning knowledge. These little creatures live hundreds of years and carry considerable wisdom that is passed down through the generations. Parcelsus declared gnomes to be the most important of the elemental spirits and that they had supernatural abilities associated with air, water and fire.

Known By Many Names

Stories about gnomes have been around under different names depending on the country they are found in. Swedes will refer to them as “Tante”, in Denmark & Norway they are “Nisse”.

In the Netherlands they are “Kabouter”. The wooden shoes the Dutch are famous for came from Kabouter teaching them how to make the shoes in the “Legend of the Wooden Shoes”.

The Gnome Journals

As I gathered a lot of interesting details about the life and times of gnomes, I decided I’d create a lined journal and share some of the details.

The journal comes in two sizes: 6”x9” and 8.5”x 11” with some of pages carrying gnome trivia for you to explore as your write in the journal. I added a draw and write set recently which gives you part of a page to draw your own visual on and then write.

The covers will be an ongoing series of new covers depicting Gnomes at all times of the year starting with this Christmas.

So now you know how I ended up going from not really thinking about gnomes to creating books about them. It’s all Snook’s fault because well you know …. #snookmademedoit

NOTE: Header image from Pixabay. The Stoner Gnome and the Newfie Firing Squad images were originally from Pixabay and repurposed by me.

Shadowspub is a writer from Ontario, Canada. She writes on a variety of subjects as she pursues her passion for learning. She also writes on other platforms and enjoys creating books you use like journals, notebooks, coloring books etc.

She created Prompt A Day to share with others. You can subscribe to Prompt A Day to get started. You choose between the Daily Edition or the Mon/Thurs Edition