Monday, November 30, 2015

WinterVerse: Ornament

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.
A world, a globe, an ornament.




All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Monday Photo Meditation: Snow the Shade of Fire, Dreams of Shimmering Light

Photo copyright Wings, 2015; all rights reserved.
Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a photo meditation for this bitterly cold final day of November, as the world gains speed on autumn's downward slope to winter. In the last fifteen minutes here, amid rising winds and a falling mercury, everything has frozen, so the day's work cannot begin until I thaw it all back out. Today's chosen images have turned out to be more apt than I anticipated.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Photos are available for purchase in the usual three formats; inquire via the site's Contact form. And since it's CyberMonday, with an emphasis on online purchases for the holidays, we hope you'll share the site links with your networks.





All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Sunday, November 29, 2015

WinterVerse: The Great Lake

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.
Great lake, frozen water, crystal fire, an icy bridge.




All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

The Gift of the Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's our final entry in this week's edition of our Wednesday/Weekend series highlighting some of the best of Wings's silverwork. Today's featured item is relatively new, and complements both yesterday's necklace and Wednesday's all-new cuff, in both substance and spirit.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the Contact form. And, as always, sales are much needed, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Saturday, November 28, 2015

The View From the Stars

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a piece to coordinate with Wednesday's all-new work. It's also, perhaps, a way to link our earth-bound prayers with the messenger's own view, one from the vantage point of the stars. 

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the Contact form. And since it's Small Business Saturday, we hope you'll hope you'll support our own small business, Native-owned and art that's Native-made, by sharing the site links with your networks.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

A Year of Feathers and Smoke, Anew (Epilogue)


First lines:

And so begins a year of feathers smoke, anew.

As I write this, I am already more than one month into this second year of dawn prayers ascending on cedar smoke, guided by an eagle feather, in the presence of the wingéd spirits.


I have still not missed a day. 




All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Friday, November 27, 2015

Falling Leaves Moon, Once More

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

First lines:

And so, with the falling of the leaves, we come again full circle, traveling the sacred hoop in a year of feathers and smoke.

An extraordinarily painful year, following on the heels of one more painful yet.

And yet . . . .

The last day of the last moon, the final sunrise of September, heralded one of the most wonderful moments of my life.

And so Leaves Turning become Falling Leaves, and the day of my birth approaches once more, and it is good, as these things go.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Friday Feature: A Young Artist and an Ancient Heritage

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.
Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a Friday Feature for Native Heritage Day, and a good choice for Black Friday purchases. I deliberately reserved today's highlighted works, and the emerging young artist who creates them, specifically for today. On this busiest shopping day of the year, it's a chance to support an up and coming young artist who honors his own Native heritage by working in an ancient and exceedingly traditional medium and style.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. inquiries via the Contact form. And, as always, sales are much needed (particularly in a market and a season when we're competing with faux-Native knock-offs), so shares of the site links are much appreciated.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

How to give thanks? Help us help some kids through a difficult holiday.

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

And the adults, too.

I've already written elsewhere about what today means for Wings and me. It's a day of mourning and remembrance, true, but also, as I said last year, a day of celebration . . . and, of course, a day of thanksgiving. It's also a day that puts us in mind of the ancestors, remembering their sacrifices, all that they have given to us, even now.

This evening, just before we finished our tasks for the day, Grandfather appeared. He was not willing to let me capture his image today; this one is from a few weeks ago. But his brief appearance, as I was completing this particular task, I took as a sign that I'm meant post this tonight, rather than waiting for tomorrow.

I've written in the past about our friends, Amanda and Jack (who a lot of you know as Vetwife and Vet). They've been through the wringer several times over just this year alone.

Unfortunately, fate wasn't done with them yet.

Earlier this year, I wrote a post here to help raise funds for the family in the aftermath of Jack's near-miss with death. They're raising kids and grandkids, battling health problems on multiple fronts, and every day is a struggle to keep several bodies and souls together.

Now, the whole family has been touched by tragedy that no one should every have to know. The costs are staggering. The family is facing a bleak holiday season as it is; without some help, the five young ones, particularly, will have a very tough time indeed.

Details are over the jump, but first, if you want to help: I persuaded Amanda to set up an Amazon wish list for the family. I told her to make it as comprehensive as possible (given the short period of time she's had to work on it), because you never know who will want to help out with what. So there are a variety of items on it: some toys and educational items that are very clearly for the kids; some needed practical items, like bedding; and a few things for the adults, like music. Most items are very modest, but she's wisely included some "dream" items, too. If you'd like to help by purchasing something off the wish list, go here. [If you do buy something from it, let Amanda know (or let me know so that I can pass it on to her) so that she can remove it and avoid duplication.] If you prefer simply to give cash to help with expenses, you can do so via their PayPal account, at amandakato [at] msn [dot] com.

Now, follow me over the jump for the backstory.


Leaves Turning Moon

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.
First lines

For once, the moon’s name matched the month in this place.

Where I am from, autumn arrives earlier than it does here. What is the Leaves Turning Moon there is marked mostly still by green in this land; the trees here generally do not begin to don fall’s fiery robes in any real way until the end of September or early October.

At that point, the changes move fast; by All Souls’, they are mostly brown.

Or gone.





All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

#ThrowbackThursday: Native Thanks, for a Past Still Present

Photo copyright Wings, 2015; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a #TBT tribute to a man Wings and I were honored to call brother, what that means for how we mark this day (both despite and because of its terrible history), and our wish for clients, friends, and family. No, we don't celebrate the whitewash of a massacre, and this year, Wings feels strongly that we should not mark it in more common ways, for a host of solidly-grounded reasons. But for us, thanksgiving is simply a way of traditional life, and that is the spirit we invoke today.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the Contact form. And, as always, shares of the site links are much appreciated.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

An Emissary Between Earth and Sky

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's Wings's newest work, completed today just in time to honor messages of thanks (and the messengers who carry them). This is a truly breathtaking piece, and the photos quite honestly do not do justice either to the stone or to the work as a whole.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. And, as always, sales are much needed, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.




All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Ricing Moon

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

First lines:

It is a season whose chief quality is abundance: of rain, of harvest, of community.

Here, it is a time of pilgrimage and storms; at home, of a different kind of dance.

East or west, it’s called the Ricing Moon, the time when the wild rice that historically served as our people’s primary food source is ready for harvest. It’s not an easy process, by any means; it requires far greater labor than merely picking fruits from a vine, and simply gathering the rice is only the first of many steps.


Steps in a dance.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Berry Moon

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.
First lines:

Life is a hoop; that is the first, most fundamental thing.

What our ancestors knew so much better than we is that everything is process. Yes, there are endpoints to certain parts of the path: goals, places, things. 

Here’s the secret: There is no endpoint.

It’s a lesson I am still learning.

Our words, our way of naming, tell the truth; we simply forget their meaning.


All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Jewels and Gems: The Grace of Blue Skies and Bird's Wings

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's this week's entry in our ongoing series on Jewels and Gems. Today, it's a stone that is truly one of my favorites of all time, blue and brilliant and full of grace, and one that I freely confess to coveting badly. When you see it, you'll understand.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the Contact form. And, as always, sales are much needed, so shares of the site links are much appreciated. 



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Monday, November 23, 2015

Blooming Moon

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

First lines:

Sometimes what blooms is more than petals and leaves.

Warmth.

Connection.

Freedom.

Joy.

By the moon that carries with it the summer solstice, the calendar’s asserted line of demarcation between not-summer and summer, I was finding ways to compartmentalize anew, to close off certain memories by renovating the corridors, detouring pathways and circuits into rooms beyond less-permeable boundaries.




All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Monday Photo Meditation: A Bird's-Eye View

Photo copyright Wings, 2015; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a photo meditation specific to this Monday, this week . . . and its larger historical context and meaning. Sometimes, it's necessary to strip away the shibboleths and the whitewashed veneer of pretty but utterly false and frankly dangerous mythologies imposed by the dominant culture. This does so in a very small and gentle way, in a week that, for Wings and me, requires care and and commitment to historical honesty if we are to navigate it.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Today's photos are part of a series he shot many winters past, with actual film, and are available for purchase in any of the usual three formats; simply inquire via the site's Contact form. Sales are much needed right now, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Suckerfish Moon

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

First lines:

A solid month of audible self-immolation seemed enough. By the rise of the Suckerfish Moon, I had once again returned to my usual morning prayers. After all, just as the great fish sucks down smaller prey, so, too, my demons would continue to suck at my spirit; I need have no fear on that score. But more than thirty days devoted expressly to admitting my guilt seemed to make the point, even if there were no hope of expiation.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Feathers of Flame On Wingéd Spirits of Fire

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's the last entry in this edition of our Wednesday/Weekend series featuring Wings's own silverwork. This week, we've been counteracting the bitter cold with a focus on works of fire and flame and the spirits who embody them. Today's is the third piece in this collection in miniature, one that evokes one of my favorite spirits of the air.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the Contact form. And, as always, sales are much needed, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Saturday, November 21, 2015

Broken Snowshoe Moon

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

First lines:

It is the time of the arrival of the small birds: hardy little creatures who can withstand the late snows that continue to descend in all defiance of the calendar.

To points west of the place where I come from, they call it the Sugarbushing Moon, and in truth, so do some of our people, as well. It is, after all, solidly in the middle of maple syrup season, a time for tapping the trees and draining the sap and boiling it into syrup and setting aside some of it to harden into sugar. According to the old stories, our ancestors used to be able to drink straight from the tree itself, until the day that one of our tricksterish spirit beings fell asleep beneath a maple and awakened to find his head covered in sticky syrup. He was so angry, he decreed that the people would thenceforth have to work for it, tapping the trees and processing the sap, so that he would never again have to awaken in such an uncomfortable and humiliating position. 

But “broken snowshoe” fits perfectly well, too. In parts of our world, especially in the days before the advent of vehicles beyond a travois, but even today, there are places where the snows drift so deep and harden so thoroughly that the only sensible way to travel is on snowshoe-clad foot. But snowshoes are hand-made of natural materials, and normal wear and tear takes its toll over the course of a Midwestern winter. By what the ordinary calendar calls April, technically now spring but practically still solid buried in winter’s snows, the shoes are breaking apart, along with everyone’s patience. 

The April just past was cold and snowy here, too, but it was not the weather that froze my spirit solid.




All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Let's be really clear here.

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

This is my mood at the moment. Having my warning twisted into something it's not brings Thunderbird out.

No one is being hacked or spammed as a result of contact with us, this blog, or our other sites. If you are subject to either of those things, look to the commercial sites you've used.

When I said we've been subjected to more than enough stalking and hacking, it's true. Wings's site has been the subject of brute-force attacks, stemming from a particular incident at a particular site, although anonymity prevents proving that. Every attempt has failed; they have no way in, but it doesn't stop them from trying just to try to down the site. There's no financial data on his site to compromise anyway; we have no PayPal info there for a reason. This is purely personal harassment directed at us, in an attempt to shut down our livelihood for speaking out against racist and misogynistic bullying of others. There is no hacking of this blog, or of my other site.

The stalking is likewise personal. I know who it is, and I know the motivation behind it. The stalking isn't pleasant, but she wouldn't know how to hack anything if her life depended on it. 

Please, do not compromise our livelihood further by suggesting that we are somehow responsible for hacking or spamming. We are not.

At this moment, I am so very, very tired of everything.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

To Carry the Fire Across the Sky

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.
Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's the second in the series we began on Wednesday, with the next work in Wings's Firebird Collection. This one is named for modest and unassuming bird, but one who carries the fire on his wings

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the Contact form. And, as always, sales are much needed, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Friday, November 20, 2015

My Patreon account is toast. You shouldn't use it, either.

That up there? That's an extortion threat that just showed up in my e-mail inbox.

[Sigh] like I don't already put up with enough bullshit from stalkers and hackers on the daily.

Patreon sent me an e-mail message a week or two ago, letting me know that they had had what they (like everyone else) euphemistically termed a "security breach," meaning they got hacked and a bunch of users' data got stolen. They assured me that everything would be fine.

Obviously not.

Now, here's the deal: I didn't finish entering all the data, because I wasn't convinced their clunky, clumsy interface would work for me or for patrons (guess what? it didn't). So some of the threat is undiluted bullshit. That's not the point.

The other deal? There is no — I repeat, NO — e-mail contact anywhere on the Patreon site for communicating such concerns, much less forwarding the threat so they can turn it over to their legal team or whatever.  I finally found, at long last and only via the trial and error process of asking stupid-ass questions in their knowledge base interface, a "disable" e-mail. I don't want my account "disabled"; I want them to torch that motherfucker.

This is absolute shit service. For people handling funds belonging to other people? It's utterly inexcuseable. If you've registered there for any reason, as creator or as patron, I suggest you get your data out NOW.



ll content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Of Midpoints and Turning Points and Turning Over


First lines:

The trickster bird would be with me yet a while: a bird of beginnings and of ends, of midpoints and turning points and a world turning over.

He seemed to follow me through these dark days, a coal-black shadow trailing after me in the skies. He did not seem a bearer of bad luck, no omen of death crying “Nevermore!” atop latilla post or chamber door. If anything, he seemed solicitous, concerned.


Perhaps he understood how close I was, had been for too long, to the edge, now one so high and steep that one slip would be irrecoverable.


All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Friday Feature: Elemental Powers In Wearable Form

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.
It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, and today, we bring you four simple, classic pieces by the same team of artists whose more highly stylized work we brought you last week. These are elegant, elemental works in the colors and spirits of earth, air, fire, and water, all brought together in subtle and understated style.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the Contact form. These pieces really need to find their homes, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Thursday, November 19, 2015

He said two months. It's been two years.

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.
That's She-Wolf, a few hours ago.

Even in the gathering dusk, she can still run around on her own, checking out her world.

Two years ago today, we were told she would be completely blind within two months. Diabetes. The vet amended that to say "four months at the absolute outside," but it turned out she'd already had the disease for at least a couple of months before her formal diagnosis on this day in 2013. By rights, she should already have lost her sight by that point . . . but she hadn't.

I'm nothing if not bull-headed. She gets her glucose checked twice a day. Insulin injections twice a day. A tailored (by me) mix of different kinds of dog food, prescription and otherwise, twice a day. Three different supplements once a day, all designed to save her eyesight. Since Wings and I both have decades' worth of experience with diabetes, far too much, we followed our own instincts rather than the conventional veterinary wisdom when it came to managing her illness: adding the supplements; tailoring her food in terms of both type and quantity; adjusting her insulin levels up and down based on specific glucose readings rather than a set schedule; and refusing to confine her, allowing her normal exercise, play, freedom. She's a happier dog when she can play, and happiness translates, to a not-insignificant degree, to better health outcomes, for dogs and humans alike.

Her eyesight is deteriorating, of course. She already had a cataract forming in right eye on November 19th, 2013. She has visible cloudiness in both eyes, now, and her distance vision is compromised to a degree. Dawn and dusk are especially hard for her, those times when the world goes gray, so we set up some old solar lights Wings found boxed away so that she can always find her way back to the front door. But she has beaten the odds by two full years, and so we're sticking with what clearly works. We're going to keep her seeing her world as long as possible.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Snowcrust Moon

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.
First lines:

It’s a Trickster season, the Snowcrust Moon: warm enough to melt the snow to water one day; hardened to a a rime of slick dirty ice the next.

Here, it’s accompanied by thin blue skies and too much harsh wan light and winds that will rip apart the seams of your coat, given half a chance.

“April is the cruelest month,” says the viciously talented old bigot, but my money’s always been on March. 


All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.



TBT: Red Earth, Alight By the Elements

Photo copyright Wings, 2015; all rights reserved.
It's #ThrowbackThursday at The NDN Silver Blog, and today, it's a trip back six or seven years to a fiery bit of red earth (by way of a water spirit). This was one of my all-time favorite pieces, and just looking at it makes me feel warmer in this bitter pre-winter cold. That cabochon was unique even at the time, and it would take some doing to track down another, but I have no doubt that it can be, given a little time and effort. If it speaks to you, simply inquire via the site's Contact form; Wings can make a version uniquely suited to your own elemental spirit.

The post itself is here. Wings's main page is here. As always, sales are much needed, so shares of the site links are much appreciated. And if you're planning on commissioning a holiday gift, don't forget to get your order in now.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Bear Moon

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

First lines:

It is the last full month of the season denominated Winter. It is also short and straight to the point.

Last year, it held out the promise of spring on a catkin-studded twig, as if to say, Yes, the cold is taking its leave; leaves of the other sort will be here soon.

It’s all hogwash, as anyone who has ever been betrayed by February’s fickle spirit knows.




All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Born of the Fire

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.
Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a little fiery beauty to warm the world up on a bitterly cold morning. It's a piece literally born of the flames, wrought into the form of a transcendent spirit also born of the fire.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the Contact form. A reminder, since the Thanksgiving holiday is only eight days away: If you're planning on commissioning work for holiday gifts, please get your orders in now so that he will be able to complete and ship them in time. And, as always, sales are much needed, so shares are much appreciated.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Spirit Moon

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.
First lines:

Some call it the “Great Spirit Moon,” a distinct from the Little Spirit Moon immediately preceding it, the month of the small snow. It’s less a “God Moon” than simply a recognition of the fact that Winter’s own spirit, True Winter, coincides with this time.

Where I am from, it’s a time of lead-gray days and darkly bitter nights, a time when pipes freeze and fingers, too, when something as simple as walking outside is a risky venture. It’s not always like that now, of course; despite not having spent so much as a winter’s day there in nigh on a quarter of a century, read enough of climate change’s effects to know that winter there is not what it used to be.


Not even during the time of the Spirit Moon.




All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Jewels and Gems: Of Orbs and Flowers and Other Lands

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.
Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's this week's entry in our ongoing series on Jewels and Gems. Today, it's a soft, warm stone for a bitterly cold and snowy day here, one that evokes images of exotic flowers and faraway lands

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. At the moment, Wings has only the pictured cabochon in his inventory of stones, but it's an incredible specimen. If it speaks to you, simply inquire via the site's Contact form; he can use it to create a piece uniquely your own. And, as always, sales are much needed, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.


All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

So, this is what "3-5 inches" looks like:

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

Eighteen inches and counting. At least one piñon has a major branch broken beneath the weight of it. I've cleaned off three of the trees, but there are many more to go. Unfortunately, even when you're as tall as I am, when the snow is still up to your knees (and getting inside your knee-high waterproof boots), It's incredibly laborious. You have to stop to rest and dry off periodically.

Oh, and it'll all be ice tomorrow, natch. Winds today; single digits tonight.

Everything will be late today, obviously.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Monday, November 16, 2015

Little Spirit Moon

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

First lines:

Among her Raptor Clan, she is indeed a little spirit, one of the smallest of the hawks. She chose to visit, up close, one early morning last year during the Little Spirit Moon.

Where I am from, it is the early part of winter, the time of the small snow, before the world plunges into the season’s iciest depths.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Monday Photo Meditation: The Sound of Timelessness

Photo copyright Wings, 2015; all rights reserved.
It's our Monday Photo Meditation at The NDN Silver Blog, and today, it's a musing on sound and sight and Father Sun while we await the promised snow, what is supposed to be our first big winter storm of the season. Although these images are from another year, the village walls today and tomorrow will look much as they do here.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Photos are, as always, available for purchase in any of the usual three formats; simply inquire via the site's Contact form. Also as always, sales are much needed, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Freezing Moon

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

First lines:

The name does not mean what it perhaps might seem: not winter’s dead dark depths, that point at which memory can no longer summon any recollection of warmth. Instead, it is the time when the first hard frost occurs with any consistency, the time when the world awakens to find a faint film of ice veiling every watery surface. In some parts of our lands, they call it the Freezing-Over Moon, perhaps a more descriptively true name for the month.

At this time last year, my hope was not a freeze, but a thaw: a freeing of my spirit, frozen too long in fear.




All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

A Hoop of Protection and Healing

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.
Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's the final entry in this week's Wednesday/Weekend series featuring works from Wings's newest collection of coil bracelets. This one is a bit more substantial (and thus, a bit more expensive) than earlier entries, with five full coils comprising of a truly staggering amount of turquoise.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the Contact form. And, as always, sales are much needed, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Saturday, November 14, 2015

Falling Leaves Moon


First lines:

It’s not a perfectly apt name for the month here in this place; here, the leaves are only now turning their robes to full color in October. It will be the better part of a moon yet before they surrender in numbers to gravity’s song.


All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Tangling With Tricksters

Photo copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved.

They appear in many forms.

There is a rumor that we will have FIOS broadband here next week.  I'm not banking on anything until I see it up and running, but they came out a couple of days ago to mark the excavation line on the grass.  On the house project, we're working on finalizing the plans right now, to make sure the measurements are exactly right before THAT excavation can begin (for the plumbing).  Maybe as early as next week for that.

On an unrelated note, if you're a Kos Katalogue vendor who's interested in adding a little holiday cheer to a family who just suffered an unspeakable loss (or you simply want to help out; this is family most of you "know"), would you DM via FB or Twitter or e-mail me?  I want to make sure the kids have gifts this year in what promises to a very lean season for them, both in terms of available $$ and in terms of spirit reduced by terrible grief right now. We'll be sending some items. Thanks.



All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.