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I really enjoyed this piece and I'm squeeful if I played any part at all in inspiring it. I loved the image of Radagast being followed by butterflies and finches and the beginning - and then the way that's picked up again at the end, as Radagast is helping with the tomato harvesting. I liked that Rivendell reminded him of home.

The image of the elven-smith Mélamírë grubbing out weeds with a baby slung on her hip - I think one of the reasons I like that so well is that I know from some of your other writings that she's still practicing her craft, so this is a strong, intelligent woman who's still using her brain and all of her skills despite having a family to care for.

It makes me laugh that the same song used to create Luthien's long hair and the cape made from it is used here in a different capacity - simply to contribute to the nourishment of the family. Living in a northerly climate, I certainly empathize with her problems with a short growing season!

Oh, and the tomatoes that you brought me last autumn ended up making an incredibly tasty tomato soup with pancetta. Mr. Steel started off turning up his nose and saying he didn't care for tomato soup and then ended up eating three quarters of it. Fresh ingredients make all the difference!

Anyway. Loved this!

Thanks so much, Steel!  Yes, I like your Radagast a great deal.

Although Mél still practices her craft, I expect that an infant (not to mention the rest of her brood -- Melu is her youngest and last child) has an impact on her priorities and energy.  However, she has a great deal of help with her family, i.e., the three mortal women who came back to Rivendell with her and likely other denizens around Rivendell, so she still gets to the forge to work.  Mél's use of the song is consistent with her other uses of "the deep arts" which tend to be understated (the unnamed smith who forged Andúril, the unnamed artisan who made Galadriel's Mirror) vs. Lúthien's far more famous exploits.

That tomato soup sounds fantastic!  No wonder Mr. Steel liked it. IIRC, that's a William-Sonoma's recipe, right?  I'll have to try it!

And thanks again! :^)

I love the idea of the wily old wizard sneaking up behind her while she practices her deep arts. Great stuff. If I could do that I might try my hand at tomatoes on my fire escape. Love how comfortably unrepentant she is with him. Love the tow-headed baby chewing on her hair.

"I think she is a great Middle Earth version of a woman who can balance career and family life very well."

Mélamírë would be the first to note that she has a lot of help which enables her to do this, but that the balance is not an easy one and sometimes (maybe often) goes off-kilter.  But I'll get to that. :^)  Thanks so much for reading this little snippet and the compliments. :^)

This story has a very homey feeling to it, a sneaking wizard ;), the singing Istyanis with her baby, the tomatoes, all make a very nice picture -- like there's finally peace after the storm.

The mention of Luthien's hair made me laugh :D

Lovely piece. Thank you for sharing!

PS. I'm behind on reviewing ::sigh:: Hope to re-read and review The Jinn soonish.

Delightful! It's always fun to see Mélamírë, and nice to know she eventually made it back to the western part of Middle earth. And it's even better to know she has her priorities straight when it comes to wielding great power! A ripe tomato's worth a thousand magic rings! (I'm really curious about the story behind that baby though. Cruel Pande, whetting our appetite for more fics like that!)

Thanks so much, Ithilwen!  I know you can understand what a powerful force ripe tomatoes represent. :^D

"I'm really curious about the story behind that baby though. Cruel Pande, whetting our appetite for more fics like that"

Heh.  Yes, I am meeeean.  I'm thinking that baby may very well be Noam Chomsky's (of the Pandë!verse) great^nth-grandfather.  Said baby gets an in utero mention in "Scent of the Sea," which is buried in the vaults (3rd page, I think) of my Eregion/ost-in-edhil LJ.

Ah, I like the contrast between the might of Mélamírë's song of power and glittering words and the dirt on her face and the overall "ordinary day" feeling of picking tomatoes with her baby in tow.A very summery scene, I could almost taste the lovely ripe sweet tomatoes...

PS. If you ever learn Mélamírë's trick please pass the recipe. Maybe the DM will tell you the secret if you ask him nicely? ;o)

I picked a story from your collection at random this time, so I have yet to find out who exactly Mélamírë is, but the story is lovely! I like the explanation for Luthien's hair, too. It makes sense. Mélamírë seems much more down to earth in her use of this particular ability though. :P

Hi Pande, I'm reposting my Mefa review here:

In this ficlet, Radagast comes upon an elf woman, Pandemonium’s original character Mélamírë, employing her special talents in her garden. I really admire Pandë’s ability to evoke a lush scene with few words. I can feel the hot sun; see the fluttering butterflies following Radagast; Mélamírë bent over her plants, her baby lying heavily in the sling while busily gumming her mother's hair; and the lusciously ripening tomatoes. Love the interaction between the two, especially Mélamírë’s comment about Lúthien. [“It's a matter of priorities, old man."] And I can just taste the tomatoes, indeed the [“very essence of summer.”]