Our story began in the summer of 1996, only a few months after I moved to the Sanctuary and beginning the long process of converting it from a run down cottage and much abused land to a rustic retreat with beautiful gardens....

One of the early projects was to fulfill my dream of building a Japanese garden. A small wooded area on the South side of the cottage had become a real dump with broken glass, beer cans, piles of rocks and an old concrete grill. With my passion for turning "ugly" into "beauty" I decided that this area, bordered by a small spring fed stream, might be a good place to start.†

I found a natural rock outcropping, used a pipe to divert some water from the stream, and created a small "Zen garden" complete with a miniature rock and fern lined pool. One day when I was taking photos around the property, on a whim, I decided to take a couple of the ceramic elves from my bookshelf collection and put next to the pool for a photo. Weeks later, when I developed the film, a very clear ball of light showed up in the middle of one of the photos, right above the pool and in front of a small stone pagoda I had brought from Bali many years before. (see photo). I thought it was very strange and synchronistic since I had the intent of photographing the ceramic elves - which are also visible to either side of the pool. But at that point, my only thought was "hmmmm, interesting."

Many months and several Japanese garden books later I decided to expand the garden. This time I remembered to take some "before" pictures since one can't really fully appreciate the changes without before and after photos. It was a different roll of film but the same camera. When I had the film developed, in one of the photos taken about 6 feet from the pool, two more balls of light showed up. (as shown in the photo). One was about the size of the first and the second was smaller and to the lower left. Wow! Now this got my attention and had me intrigued.

By the summer of '98 I had begun receiving guests. In August I had a guest visiting from overseas. Before leaving, as a gift, she gave me a "guardian gnome" which I placed next to the front door of the lodge. Over the course of the next several weeks I was taking more photos as the Sanctuary was in a constant state of improvement and change. When one of the rolls was developed, what should appear, but another ball of light right in the middle of the porch in front of the front door and only a couple of feet away from the gnome (see photo). Because of the angle of the sun streaming in, only half of it shows in the shadow, but very clearly. This pushed me over the edge of "mere coincidence" into realizing that something was definitely going on - especially since this was not only on different film, but a different camera as well!

Things were quiet then for a time. We held a "Fairies, Gnomes & Elves" retreat here in May of '99 and I shared the strange photos with the participants. Of course, everyone was taking pictures like crazy. Well, Nothing.... No lights... No circles.....Nothing. So in my mind it was another "hmmm.... Interesting."

Then in January of 2000 I had a couple visiting for the weekend from a nearby state. A few weeks after their visit I received an excited phone call from the woman saying that when they developed the film they took, in five of the photos there were over 20 orbs of light!!! When they sent them, I'll admit, I was both impressed and amazed - neither of which happen easily. These were somewhat different from the previous ones as you can see from the photos. First, they were more transparent. Secondly they were different sizes, from what appears to be about a foot across to several feet across. Also, some of them were much higher than the previous ones, such as up in the trees. As you look at the photos, you will notice that some are immediately apparent and some can only be found as you look more closely. And some didn't come out in the scanned photos at all.

The story continues into the spring of 2001. We had a freak snowshower in mid April; the kind that covers the ground but only lasts a half-day. The flowers were in bloom, the grass was green, and then we had this wet snow that instantly turned everything into a winter wonderland. It was so sudden and so beautiful I decided to take some photographs. When I developed them, I was astounded. Several of the photos were literally filled with lights, some solid and some transparent. It looked like something out of a Disney movie. Even though I have become accustomed to seeing these in the photos, I was totally shocked. Never had there been so many. My mind was grasping for some "logical explanation" - one that I never found. Finally I accepted the fact that cameras are apparently able to sometimes see things that the human eye can't - or won't register in the brain when their is no conceptual framework for it.

So what are they? Well, the truth is, they are orbs of light and they are real. And I am personally confident that, because they were taken by many different people with many different cameras, they aren't camera flaws. Of course, technically we don't know what they are, but I call them the our Elves."And while they may or may not technically be "Elves" I have no doubts that they are intelligent interdimensional beings of a higher frequency which generally makes them invisible to the human eye. Some visitors have seen them in various forms, such as fairies, gnomes and the native American ancestors of this land. Others, such as myself, only feel the special magic of this place; the kind of magic that makes you reluctant to leave - even once a week when you have to go to town on errands.

There's lots more to tell, stories about the drums and Native American chanting that some visitors hear; the voices that sound like they are coming from a TV turned really low (there is no TV here), and the very special individual encounters that some retreatants have had with wise "interdimensionals." But I'll save those stories to share with you on the front porch, in a rocking chair, over a cup of tea.... By the time you visit, I'll probably have lots more. And if you are really curious, google “orbs of light” and you will come up with a ton of websites with various explanations.

Michael Lightweaver
Guestmaster