A rare sight.

Photo copyright Aji, 2021; all rights reserved.

Yeah, it's a bad shot; I had to be quick, because you don't get an opportunity like this very often. Or at all, frankly. A red-tail on the ground is a rare sight indeed, and all the more so when she deliberately dove down and landed in the field just yards away from me for a few moments.

It's getting to be time for them to move on, except this year, they seem to be planning on nesting nearby. It would be nice to have them here year-round.  The Swainson's hawks show up in. April, though, and stick around until August or so, so we'll see how that goes if they're all here at once.

Meanwhile, spring continues to inflict its usual suffering. My pain levels are constantly off the charts, and it's the wind that's doing it (secondarily, pollen and dust, but mostly this god-awful wind). I won't be good for much beyond the minimum, and I cannot get time to do everything I need to do, and I still have to find a way to bring in sales, so expect me to be scarce pretty much all of April.

The taxes are still hanging over my head, as well as a bunch of other stuff for the year to come.  And then there's Wings's hearing aids, because I think he's finally convinced that we need to make the investment. And, of course, we have to get hold of Pojoaque Pueblo's bison program to see how much it will cost to buy a share of a buffalo. Early research suggests around ~$2K, so we may need to crowdfund that. The thing about it is that it won't feed only us; it'll get shared with other folks.I 'm going to need to set up PayPal pools to fund all of these things if we can't make a whole bunch of sales now. It's endless, and I am so tired just thinking about it.

We need sales. Sales, sales, SALES.

SALES. NOTHING ELSE MATTERS RIGHT NOW, AND I CANNOT GET ANY TIME TO MAKE SALES.

The last couple of years have required us to dig deep and ante up to help others at a level we've never done before. This year? The first two and a half months of 2021? Has already buried that. But as I said about that being why we do what we do, especially now in these days of pandemic, it's become abundantly clear that too often, there IS NO tomorrow, and the only chance you might have to help someone stay alive is TODAY. Things are bad locally; no economy, nothing. No vaccines for most folks dependent on the state system, either. We have lost SO much to 2020 (and already in 2021), so very, very many people, and the gifts and the talents and the knowledge and the wisdom they carried too often lost with them. People have needed so much more help than we could give them, but we did as much as we could, even when it put us in a bind, and we will need to do much more of that this year. People continue to need help, and we give it, but we're up well over $2 grand in just that one week, and a whole lot more before and since. 

I've got to find it again somewhere. Part of my work involves me reorganizing the Web site and then promoting the hell out of everything again. That's on top of all the other work I need to do around here, and I have been mostly useless, largely due to the recent flurry of episodes with my health. For every episode, it takes me multiple days to recover, all while hoping that another one doesn't set me back even further. That's not good. Too many people need help, and the government remains determined to see us die. There's work to do. This is why I've had to stop doing some things; there are just not enough hours in the day anymore, and I've got to make it all of this up somewhere. So:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are LaminaSaver for Miika & metal/glass cleaners);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And if you've been contemplating a purchase? This would be a very, very good time to do it; I've got to make up this staggering outlay somehow. There's even new work, here and here and now here, among other new pieces from 3 weeks ago, too, so please watch for them and share the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2021; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.       

A Moment With the Sun

Photo copyright Aji, 2021; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a masterwork of freehand silversmithing in an old form and a complex design. It's a traditional concha belt buckle, all the minute saw- and stampwork performed entirely freehand and set with a glowing amber orb, a reminder to us all to take time each day for a moment with the sun.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We are still going to need to make consistent sales to make it out of March and through the rest of this terrible, pandemic-ridden spring (one that has already been bitter indeed for our communities), as well as the rest of the year, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2021; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.    

The vultures are gathering now.

Photo copyright Aji, 2021; all rights reserved.

I saw the first one of the season about three, four days ago; that was yesterday. 

The vultures are gathering now, and I'm not talking about the birds.

Don't get me wrong; I love these guys. They do the kind of dirty job no one else wants to do. They're also smart, and they're absolutely beautiful raptors, still or in flight. But the other kind, the kind that walk on two legs? Yeah, if you heard what the CDC head said two days ago about "impending doom" and have had any exposure to social media today at all, you'll know that the two-legged ones are ready and eager for another wave of death.

Meanwhile, the air is toxic with dust and pollen and residual smoke from south of here, driven by 40-mph winds that are tearing everything apart, including me. It's not fit outside for anyone, but being inside doesn't escape the effects on my joints, my pain levels are off the charts, and I am so far behind on everything now I'll never catch up.

The taxes are still hanging over my head, as well as a bunch of other stuff for the year to come.  And then there's Wings's hearing aids, because I think he's finally convinced that we need to make the investment. And, of course, we have to get hold of Pojoaque Pueblo's bison program to see how much it will cost to buy a share of a buffalo. Early research suggests around ~$2K, so we may need to crowdfund that. The thing about it is that it won't feed only us; it'll get shared with other folks.I 'm going to need to set up PayPal pools to fund all of these things if we can't make a whole bunch of sales now. It's endless, and I am so tired just thinking about it.

We need sales. Sales, sales, SALES.

SALES. NOTHING ELSE MATTERS RIGHT NOW, AND I CANNOT GET ANY TIME TO MAKE SALES.

The last couple of years have required us to dig deep and ante up to help others at a level we've never done before. This year? The first two and a half months of 2021? Has already buried that. But as I said about that being why we do what we do, especially now in these days of pandemic, it's become abundantly clear that too often, there IS NO tomorrow, and the only chance you might have to help someone stay alive is TODAY. Things are bad locally; no economy, nothing. No vaccines for most folks dependent on the state system, either. We have lost SO much to 2020 (and already in 2021), so very, very many people, and the gifts and the talents and the knowledge and the wisdom they carried too often lost with them. People have needed so much more help than we could give them, but we did as much as we could, even when it put us in a bind, and we will need to do much more of that this year. People continue to need help, and we give it, but we're up well over $2 grand in just that one week, and a whole lot more before and since. 

I've got to find it again somewhere. Part of my work involves me reorganizing the Web site and then promoting the hell out of everything again. That's on top of all the other work I need to do around here, and I have been mostly useless, largely due to the recent flurry of episodes with my health. For every episode, it takes me multiple days to recover, all while hoping that another one doesn't set me back even further. That's not good. Too many people need help, and the government remains determined to see us die. There's work to do. This is why I've had to stop doing some things; there are just not enough hours in the day anymore, and I've got to make it all of this up somewhere. So:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are LaminaSaver for Miika & metal/glass cleaners);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And if you've been contemplating a purchase? This would be a very, very good time to do it; I've got to make up this staggering outlay somehow. There's even new work, here and here and now here, among other new pieces from 3 weeks ago, too, so please watch for them and share the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2021; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.       

Red Willow Spirit: An Elemental Medicine

Photo copyright Wings, 2021;
all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's an edition of Red Willow Spirit for a week of destructive winds, trickster weather, and all the ferocious force of the spirits of spring. It's a moment of respite, but also one to remember that even feral powers deliver great gifts, an elemental medicine that requires not merely our acknowledgment, but our honor and respect. 

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. As always, his photos are available in any of the usual three formats; simply inquire via the site's Contact form. With the economy dead courtesy of a year's worth of uncontrolled pandemic, we are still going to need to make consistent sales to make it through the season (one that has already been bitter indeed for our communities) and the rest of the year, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2021; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.   

A cold moon.

Photo copyright Aji, 2021; all rights reserved.

It's a cold moon out there now. Yeah, I know the mercury says sixty degrees at the moment, but the wind is howling, and it feel twenty degrees colder. And I knew the wind forecast would be right from the moment I woke up this morning; the pain in my joints guaranteed it.

I hate spring. This nonsense can't go away soon enough. I have too much to do, and being slowed down by this kind of pain isn't an option, but here we are.

The taxes are still hanging over my head, as well as a bunch of other stuff for the year to come.  And then there's Wings's hearing aids, because I think he's finally convinced that we need to make the investment. And, of course, we have to get hold of Pojoaque Pueblo's bison program to see how much it will cost to buy a share of a buffalo. Early research suggests around ~$2K, so we may need to crowdfund that. The thing about it is that it won't feed only us; it'll get shared with other folks.I 'm going to need to set up PayPal pools to fund all of these things if we can't make a whole bunch of sales now. It's endless, and I am so tired just thinking about it.

We need sales. Sales, sales, SALES.

SALES. NOTHING ELSE MATTERS RIGHT NOW, AND I CANNOT GET ANY TIME TO MAKE SALES.

The last couple of years have required us to dig deep and ante up to help others at a level we've never done before. This year? The first two and a half months of 2021? Has already buried that. But as I said about that being why we do what we do, especially now in these days of pandemic, it's become abundantly clear that too often, there IS NO tomorrow, and the only chance you might have to help someone stay alive is TODAY. Things are bad locally; no economy, nothing. No vaccines for most folks dependent on the state system, either. We have lost SO much to 2020 (and already in 2021), so very, very many people, and the gifts and the talents and the knowledge and the wisdom they carried too often lost with them. People have needed so much more help than we could give them, but we did as much as we could, even when it put us in a bind, and we will need to do much more of that this year. People continue to need help, and we give it, but we're up well over $2 grand in just that one week, and a whole lot more before and since. 

I've got to find it again somewhere. Part of my work involves me reorganizing the Web site and then promoting the hell out of everything again. That's on top of all the other work I need to do around here, and I have been mostly useless, largely due to the recent flurry of episodes with my health. For every episode, it takes me multiple days to recover, all while hoping that another one doesn't set me back even further. That's not good. Too many people need help, and the government remains determined to see us die. There's work to do. This is why I've had to stop doing some things; there are just not enough hours in the day anymore, and I've got to make it all of this up somewhere. So:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are LaminaSaver for Miika & metal/glass cleaners);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And if you've been contemplating a purchase? This would be a very, very good time to do it; I've got to make up this staggering outlay somehow. There's even new work, here and here and now here, among other new pieces from 3 weeks ago, too, so please watch for them and share the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2021; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.      

Monday Photo Meditation: The Ways of Illumination

Photo copyright Wings, 2021; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a photo meditation for a Monday at the end of a hard month (and a harder year's anniversary). It's also a moment for reflection in a world consumed by the cold, the dark, the empty void now, a reminder that the ways of illumination will heal the earth, and us.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. As always, his photos are available in any of the usual three formats; simply inquire via the site's Contact form. With the economy dead courtesy of more than a year's worth of uncontrolled pandemic, we are still going to need to make consistent sales to make it through the season (one that has already been bitter indeed for our communities) and the rest of the year, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2021; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.   

An absolute trash week.

Photo copyright Aji, 2021; all rights reserved.

Yet another grave.

It's been an absolute trash week, and yesterday was just awful. Another dead chicken (keeled over a heart attack from an arrhythmia we had no way of knowing she had). Miskwaki came up lame. I've spent the better part of the entire week barely able to move from pain that is completely off the charts and just as completely unmanageable, and I cannot do another week like this one. And the winds are supposed to get a lot worse again starting tomorrow (like what we've had isn't horrible enough, they need to be worse?).

There was so much I was planning to get done this weekend. It's all shot to hell now.

I have got to get a break from some of this. I've got to get some time, and enough reduction in the pain to let me do what I need to do with it.

The taxes are still hanging over my head, as well as a bunch of other stuff for the year to come.  And then there's Wings's hearing aids, because I think he's finally convinced that we need to make the investment. And, of course, we have to get hold of Pojoaque Pueblo's bison program to see how much it will cost to buy a share of a buffalo. Early research suggests around ~$2K, so we may need to crowdfund that. The thing about it is that it won't feed only us; it'll get shared with other folks.I 'm going to need to set up PayPal pools to fund all of these things if we can't make a whole bunch of sales now. It's endless, and I am so tired just thinking about it.

We need sales. Sales, sales, SALES.

SALES. NOTHING ELSE MATTERS RIGHT NOW, AND I CANNOT GET ANY TIME TO MAKE SALES.

The last couple of years have required us to dig deep and ante up to help others at a level we've never done before. This year? The first two and a half months of 2021? Has already buried that. But as I said about that being why we do what we do, especially now in these days of pandemic, it's become abundantly clear that too often, there IS NO tomorrow, and the only chance you might have to help someone stay alive is TODAY. Things are bad locally; no economy, nothing. No vaccines for most folks dependent on the state system, either. We have lost SO much to 2020 (and already in 2021), so very, very many people, and the gifts and the talents and the knowledge and the wisdom they carried too often lost with them. People have needed so much more help than we could give them, but we did as much as we could, even when it put us in a bind, and we will need to do much more of that this year. People continue to need help, and we give it, but we're up well over $2 grand in just that one week, and a whole lot more before and since. 

I've got to find it again somewhere. Part of my work involves me reorganizing the Web site and then promoting the hell out of everything again. That's on top of all the other work I need to do around here, and I have been mostly useless, largely due to the recent flurry of episodes with my health. For every episode, it takes me multiple days to recover, all while hoping that another one doesn't set me back even further. That's not good. Too many people need help, and the government remains determined to see us die. There's work to do. This is why I've had to stop doing some things; there are just not enough hours in the day anymore, and I've got to make it all of this up somewhere. So:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are LaminaSaver for Miika & metal/glass cleaners);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And if you've been contemplating a purchase? This would be a very, very good time to do it; I've got to make up this staggering outlay somehow. There's even new work, here and here and now here, among other new pieces from 3 weeks ago, too, so please watch for them and share the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2021; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.      

An Honor Song For the Season

Photo copyright Aji, 2021; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a pair of related but unique works that carry the light and the gifts of warmer winds. It's hummingbird, on sunny wings in a pollinating sky, with an honor song for the season, one of hope and harmony.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We are still going to need to make consistent sales to make it out of March and through the rest of this terrible, pandemic-ridden spring (one that has already been bitter indeed for our communities), as well as the rest of the year, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2021; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.   

And now Poppy is running after Spice, headed for the Spirit World.

Photo copyright Aji, 2021; all rights reserved.

It was cold, clear, and early this morning when Wings went outside to feed the animals. When he opened the gate to the chicken coop so the chickens could come to range, he found one of them keeled over by the water bowl, dead. And now Poppy is running after Spice, headed for the Spirit World.

It could have happened very early this morning, in theory, but the sun hadn't been up long and she was in full rigor, so I suspect that it happened just before they settled down to sleep last night. Poppy was one of the five remaining Australorps, a hybrid that originates from, yes, Australia, although they're common here now. They're hardy little girls, great layers of beautiful brown eggs, and often monstrous little bullies. They also have a tendency (not a lot of them, but a statistically not-insignificant amount) to have a heart defect that causes SDS, Sudden Death Syndrome, which is essentially a heart attack, or simple heart failure (or, occasionally, a stroke). And that seems to be what happened here.

In the photo above, which is from the summer of 2018, you can see all the 'lorps scattered around. I'm reasonably sure that Poppy is the one on the right-hand seat of the picnic table. She, Peony, and Petunia have always been impossible to tell apart unless they're next to each other. The other two remaining 'lorps are Jade and Emerald, and they're both a little larger, and have black faces; the three "flower girls" all had light/pinkish faces and lighter, brighter pink combs and wattles.  Oddly, Peony and Petunia have always tended to hang together, but Poppy was a bit of a loner. I wonder now if it was simply that she always had a little more trouble keeping up. Chickens tend not to show health problems unless and until they're in real distress, and she ran around with the rest of them, so it never occurred to me to notice whether she was maybe a little slower than the others; we never had reason to suspect that she had a heart arrhythmia. 

The saving grace is that it was clearly instantaneous; she would have felt no pain, probably not had time to feel a single thing at all. But the girls are a little rattled, losing two of their own in three days. They're all out ranging now, and it's keeping them occupied.

And at eight o'clock this morning, without benefit of coffee or pain meds, either one, we were out in the bitter cold, laying Poppy to rest with everything she needed. She and Spice have probably already found each other, which will make it easier for both of them. And now we have two new chicken-sized holes in our hearts.

We love you, Poppy. You'll finally be able to fly.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2021; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.       

Pretty, but also a problem.

Photo copyright Aji, 2021; all rights reserved.

Yeah, I know; it's pretty, but also a problem. As though the gale-force winds and whiplash weather and bitter cold and pollen everywhere weren't enough, as though the long-term effects of the vaccine weren't enough more, my EDS has apparently kicked into overdrive, along with my inflammatory response, and I'm in agony. It's bad enough that I got my cane back out today, because my left knee is badly out of place, so is the Achilles, and that doesn't even get at the subluxed elbows, wrists, and and hands (yes, all of them). The pain on Thursday was the kind that sparks thoughts about how long it's possible (or not) to go on this way. When I talk about pain, I'm not talking about an inconvenient little ache here or there.

And this day has been trash from jump. Aside from me hobbling all over the place, Miskwaki came up lame this morning on his right hind leg. Even before that, when Wings first went outside this morning to take care of the animals, he went to let the chickens out and discovered Poppy, keeled over on her back by their water bowl, dead. Apparently a heart attack (known as Sudden Death Syndrome, or SDS, when the heart simply . . . fails), not unknown in chickens, and unfortunately not as uncommon in Australorps as in some other breeds. So I hadn't even gotten my coffee OR my pain medicine, ad we were out in the bitter cold digging a grave and getting her laid to rest.

And there was so much I was planning to get done today. It's all shot to hell now.

The taxes are still hanging over my head, as well as a bunch of other stuff for the year to come.  And then there's Wings's hearing aids, because I think he's finally convinced that we need to make the investment. And, of course, we have to get hold of Pojoaque Pueblo's bison program to see how much it will cost to buy a share of a buffalo. Early research suggests around ~$2K, so we may need to crowdfund that. The thing about it is that it won't feed only us; it'll get shared with other folks.I 'm going to need to set up PayPal pools to fund all of these things if we can't make a whole bunch of sales now. It's endless, and I am so tired just thinking about it.

We need sales. Sales, sales, SALES.

SALES. NOTHING ELSE MATTERS RIGHT NOW, AND I CANNOT GET ANY TIME TO MAKE SALES.

The last couple of years have required us to dig deep and ante up to help others at a level we've never done before. This year? The first two and a half months of 2021? Has already buried that. But as I said about that being why we do what we do, especially now in these days of pandemic, it's become abundantly clear that too often, there IS NO tomorrow, and the only chance you might have to help someone stay alive is TODAY. Things are bad locally; no economy, nothing. No vaccines for most folks dependent on the state system, either. We have lost SO much to 2020 (and already in 2021), so very, very many people, and the gifts and the talents and the knowledge and the wisdom they carried too often lost with them. People have needed so much more help than we could give them, but we did as much as we could, even when it put us in a bind, and we will need to do much more of that this year. People continue to need help, and we give it, but we're up well over $2 grand in just that one week, and a whole lot more before and since. 

I've got to find it again somewhere. Part of my work involves me reorganizing the Web site and then promoting the hell out of everything again. That's on top of all the other work I need to do around here, and I have been mostly useless, largely due to the recent flurry of episodes with my health. For every episode, it takes me multiple days to recover, all while hoping that another one doesn't set me back even further. That's not good. Too many people need help, and the government remains determined to see us die. There's work to do. This is why I've had to stop doing some things; there are just not enough hours in the day anymore, and I've got to make it all of this up somewhere. So:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are LaminaSaver for Miika & metal/glass cleaners);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And if you've been contemplating a purchase? This would be a very, very good time to do it; I've got to make up this staggering outlay somehow. There's even new work, here and here and now here, among other new pieces from 3 weeks ago, too, so please watch for them and share the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2021; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.      

A Space For Spiritual Ascendance

Photo copyright Aji, 2021; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work on personal list of all-time favorites, a pair of earrings in a traditional style that holds all the ethereal glow of the spirits. It's a work that reminds us, too, when seeking wisdom, illumination, and the proper path, to make a space for spiritual ascendance, and to rise to meet the light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We are still going to need to make consistent sales to make it through March and the rest of this terrible, pandemic-ridden winter into spring (one that has already been bitter indeed for our communities), as well as the rest of the year, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2021; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.   

A lot more than a dry season.

Photo copyright Aji, 2021; all rights reserved.

Spice's resting place, the one on the right. Dahlia was laid to rest on the left last year. You can see little precipitation we've had in relative terms by virtue of the fact that all these months later, the spot on the left looks as dry and freshly dug as the one on the right.

It's been a lot more than a dry season, and it's why we need to drill this well. Two Sundays ago, we submitted an application to the state for a grant that, if we're lucky enough to get it, will cover about 2/3 of the cost of the well we have to drill as soon as possible ("as soon as possible" being months in the offing yet, because $15K total for the whole operation, and also they're booked for several months already). If we don't get it, though (and it's extremely unlikely that we will), we're going to have crowdfund it, because the land doesn't survive without it.

My week is still slammed, weather or no weather, and the next three weeks or so will be more of the same. The taxes are still hanging over my head, as well as a bunch of other stuff for the year to come.  And then there's Wings's hearing aids, because I think he's finally convinced that we need to make the investment. And, of course, we have to get hold of Pojoaque Pueblo's bison program to see how much it will cost to buy a share of a buffalo. Early research suggests around ~$2K, so we may need to crowdfund that. The thing about it is that it won't feed only us; it'll get shared with other folks.I 'm going to need to set up PayPal pools to fund all of these things if we can't make a whole bunch of sales now. It's endless, and I am so tired just thinking about it.

We need sales. Sales, sales, SALES.

SALES. NOTHING ELSE MATTERS RIGHT NOW, AND I CANNOT GET ANY TIME TO MAKE SALES.

The last couple of years have required us to dig deep and ante up to help others at a level we've never done before. This year? The first two and a half months of 2021? Has already buried that. But as I said about that being why we do what we do, especially now in these days of pandemic, it's become abundantly clear that too often, there IS NO tomorrow, and the only chance you might have to help someone stay alive is TODAY. Things are bad locally; no economy, nothing. No vaccines for most folks dependent on the state system, either. We have lost SO much to 2020 (and already in 2021), so very, very many people, and the gifts and the talents and the knowledge and the wisdom they carried too often lost with them. People have needed so much more help than we could give them, but we did as much as we could, even when it put us in a bind, and we will need to do much more of that this year. People continue to need help, and we give it, but we're up well over $2 grand in just that one week, and a whole lot more before and since. 

I can juggle for now, but I've got to find it again somewhere. Part of my work involves me reorganizing the Web site and then promoting the hell out of everything again. That's on top of all the other work I need to do around here, and I have been mostly useless, largely due to the recent flurry of episodes with my health. For every episode, it takes me multiple days to recover, all while hoping that another one doesn't set me back even further. That's not good. Too many people need help, and the government remains determined to see us die. There's work to do. This is why I've had to stop doing some things; there are just not enough hours in the day anymore, and I've got to make it all of this up somewhere. So:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are LaminaSaver for Miika & metal/glass cleaners);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And if you've been contemplating a purchase? This would be a very, very good time to do it; I've got to make up this staggering outlay somehow. There's even new work, here and here and now here, among other new pieces from 3 weeks ago, too, so please watch for them and share the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2021; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.     

Friday Feature: A Time For Giving Thanks

Photo copyright Aji, 2021; all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with a vintage-style work by one of Wings's' oldest and closest friends wrought in the old traditional way, perfect for sending smoke spiraling skyward with the aid of an eagle's feather. It's a pipe carved by hand of antler and wood, a reminder to make a space in our daily lives and ways of being for a time for careful thought, and a time for giving thanks.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We are still going to need to make consistent sales to make it through March and the rest of this terrible, pandemic-ridden winter into spring (one that has already been bitter indeed for our communities), as well as the rest of the year, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2021; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

One of the storms.

Photo copyright Aji, 2021; all rights reserved.

Just one of the storms from yesterday. Collectively, they delivered not more than a dusting again, gone early, but we have new ones on at least two sides of us now. We've already had a few flurries, and there are more on the way.

Other storms of other sorts, too. Couldn't pay the big local bill; place was closed.  We'll try again tomorrow. The others are mailed. We laid Spice to rest this morning, with everything she needs. And the freezer arrived just after noon. Wings had forgotten that they were going to haul away the old one, and had already appropriated it to hold a bunch of his "outdoor" tools, but they were willing to haul away our ancient, long-dead dryer in its stead, so it all worked out even better than expected. Now to get hold of Pojoaque Pueblo's bison program to see how much it will cost to buy a share of a buffalo. Early research suggests around ~$2K, so we may need to crowdfund that. The thing about it is that it won't feed only us; it'll get shared with other folks.

My week is still slammed, weather or no weather, and the next three weeks or so will be more of the same. The taxes are still hanging over my head, as well as a bunch of other stuff for the year to come. And last Sunday, we submitted an application to the state for a grant that, if we're lucky enough to get it, will cover about 2/3 of the cost of the well we have to drill as soon as possible ("as soon as possible" being months in the offing yet, because $15K total for the whole operation, and also they're booked for several months already). And then there's Wings's hearing aids, because I think he's finally convinced that we need to make the investment. I'm going to need to set up PayPal pools to fund them, absent making a whole bunch of sales now. It's endless, and I am so tired just thinking about it.

We need sales. Sales, sales, SALES.

SALES. NOTHING ELSE MATTERS RIGHT NOW, AND I CANNOT GET ANY TIME TO MAKE SALES.

The last couple of years have required us to dig deep and ante up to help others at a level we've never done before. This year? The first two and a half months of 2021? Has already buried that. But as I said about that being why we do what we do, especially now in these days of pandemic, it's become abundantly clear that too often, there IS NO tomorrow, and the only chance you might have to help someone stay alive is TODAY. Things are bad locally; no economy, nothing. No vaccines for most folks dependent on the state system, either. We have lost SO much to 2020 (and already in 2021), so very, very many people, and the gifts and the talents and the knowledge and the wisdom they carried too often lost with them. People have needed so much more help than we could give them, but we did as much as we could, even when it put us in a bind, and we will need to do much more of that this year. People continue to need help, and we give it, but we're up well over $2 grand in just that one week, and a whole lot more before and since. 

I can juggle for now, but I've got to find it again somewhere. Part of my work involves me reorganizing the Web site and then promoting the hell out of everything again. That's on top of all the other work I need to do around here, and I have been mostly useless, largely due to the recent flurry of episodes with my health. For every episode, it takes me multiple days to recover, all while hoping that another one doesn't set me back even further. That's not good. Too many people need help, and the government remains determined to see us die. There's work to do. This is why I've had to stop doing some things; there are just not enough hours in the day anymore, and I've got to make it all of this up somewhere. So:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are LaminaSaver for Miika & metal/glass cleaners);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And if you've been contemplating a purchase? This would be a very, very good time to do it; I've got to make up this staggering outlay somehow. There's even new work, here and here and now here, among other new pieces from 3 weeks ago, too, so please watch for them and share the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2021; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.     

#ThrowbackThursday: Moments of Reflection, and Soaring On the Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2021; all rights reserved.

It's #TBT at The NDN Silver Blog, with a throwback of only three days' duration in the form of a deeply personal work. It's a pair guardian spirits and spirit guides, with the gifts of moments of reflection, and soaring on the light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. This work obviously will never be duplicated, but if the style speaks to your spirit, simply inquire via the site's Contact form; Wings can create a version uniquely your own. We are still going to need to make consistent sales to make it through March and the rest of this terrible, pandemic-ridden winter into spring (one that has already been bitter indeed for our communities), as well as the rest of the year, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2021; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.  

Spice is finally able to fly on the other side now.

Photo copyright Aji, 2021; all rights reserved.

I said goodnight to her about 4 PM. I just went out and checked on her at about 7:00, and Spice is finally able to fly on the other side now.

She was one of the crop of 2014 chickens, born in April of that year, which means that she just missed turning seven. That's a ripe old age for a chicken, and she and her fellow Rhode Island Red, Pumpkin, had outlived all the others of their cohort. Pumpkin is still with us, going strong, but Spice began to deteriorate a couple of weeks ago. After this many years, I know the signs, and I warned Wings that it wouldn't be long. And in truth, she lasted far longer than I expected; I had thought we would lose her within a couple of days of letting him know, and by last Friday night, I was sure she wouldn't make it to dawn on Saturday. Bt she was here Saturday, so we moved her into the studio in her own little space by the heater, and she stayed for five extra days.

Honestly, I had expected Pumpkin to be the first of the two to go; she is outsized for a hen, and I expected that to give her trouble in old age (and they are old ladies by now). Besides, Spice seemed to have nine lives, at the very least, and somehow she seemed invincible. Well, until a year or two ago, when she became egg-bound. It was a problem we had frequently with her cohort, and not all of them survived it. They were advertised as "organic chicks," but the fact of the matter is that, as we would learn, a lot of those kinds of chicks are raised by breeders brand new to the process, and not always bred well. The other chicks turned out to be far stronger and sturdier than this crop, and th egg-binding issue was only one of several. Regardless, we managed to save her at the time, but we knew then that it was unlikely she would lay any longer. Which was fine; she had more than earned her retirement by then, having given us some five or six years of beautiful brown eggs. [The Reds are prolific layers.]

But Spice had spent part of her younger years at the bottom of the pecking order, so to speak. Back in 2015, I think it was, she was targeted by Saffron, one of the yellows (yellow sex-links, which, like black sex-link chicks, are bred specifically for line-sorting by color at hatching; it's a commercial thing intended to save time and therefore make money, which meant nothing to us, but that's how they're identified). Saffron, like Spice, was a smallish hen, and like a lot of creatures made vulnerable by size or circumstance, decided that bullying another small hen was the way to go. It became so bad that we finally had to pull Spice out of the coop and set her up in the giant dog crate by herself just to keep her safe and allow her a chance to eat and drink water. She thrived, but she remained a skittish girl, naturally, I suppose. it was warm weather, so we kept the crate in the hay barn, and covered it with a heavy tarp at night so she could sleep, unmolested by either light or other creatures, and pulled the tarp off early every morning.

That summer, after dropping and baling the hay, some of the guys stacked it in the hay barn behind her crate.

They did a shit job.

And one morning, I came out to feed and water her and let her out to range, and just as I walked out, I heard some ominous heavy sound, and several hundred pounds' worth of bales came tumbling down, grazing me and smashing right onto the crate.

With her in it.

And in the giant puff of hay dust, I heard indignant squawking, and she shot upward and out of a break in the bars as the thing collapsed inward around her.

Nine lives, indeed. When I pulled the bales off, the gigantic Dane crate was a twisted mess of metal, folded in upon itself, not a square inch available to hold a chicken.  [To be clear, what happened is that when the force of the first bales hit, it literally BROKE the crate and some of the bars popped open. Spice had enough presence of mind to fly, yes, FLY, up and out of that tiny hole just in the millisecond available to her to survive.]

So, for a chicken, she had a rather exciting life. She also became a bit of a bully in her turn, but we worked on that. [Saffron? Oh, Karma got poor Saffron. She vanished into thin air one evening, and whatever got her left four discrete piles of feathers of various places on the land, so that we would know, apparently.]

Anyway, we've known this was coming for a couple of weeks. She has not been in pain; her body's simply been slowly winding itself down, as old age is wont to do. And rather than let her go fast by freezing to death, we elected (of course) to keep her comfortable and warm and safe so that she could go at her own pace. Wings kept me updated throughout the day, saying that her breathing was really shallow and she was clearly mostly asleep, but still apparently unwilling to let go. So at 4:00, just before I came in for the evening, I went to check on her. At first, I wasn't sure she was still with us, but she was breathing, slowly and steadily, if shallowly. I stroked her back and told her I loved her, and she responded to my voice by lifting her wings as best she could, taking a deep breath, and then settling back down to breathe more regularly. It wasn't a death rattle, but I knew it was close. I patted her once more, made sure she was warm, and said goodnight.

And at 7PM, when I went out to check, she was gone. Based on the rigor, probably within five to fifteen minutes of my leaving her before. She never awakened; her response to my voice was not even fully conscious. But I think she wanted to say goodbye before flying to the other side.

And now I'm sitting here bawling over a chicken, with a hole in my heart.

We love you, our feisty little Spice Girl.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2021; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Little bright spots in the gray.

Photo copyright Aji, 2021; all rights reserved.

The goldfinches are out, even in the snow. A couple of the males are already getting their summer plumage coming in. Little bright spots in the gray.

Flurries again now, snow earlier this morning, a little over an inch overnight. And warm enough so that there's nothing left on the ground now, although we're supposed to get more this evening that sticks, I guess. Whatever; it's better than the wind. My pain levels are already jacked to eleven, the kind of pain that makes sleep impossible, so every minute without gale-force winds is one more minute when it's merely excruciating instead of downright murderous. But I suspect that my inflammatory response is heightened by the vaccine, and if so, I have no idea how long it'll be before this flare settles down into something remotely manageable. Given that I can't get any cooperation from any quarter on time and space to do my work? Expect me to be late and forgetful with everything, possibly until summer.

My week has already been slammed, weather or no weather, and the next three weeks or so will be more of the same. Yesterday was just a bad day all around in terms of what it represents, but fortunately I was busy enough not to have time to fixate on it. The taxes are still hanging over my head, as well as a bunch of other stuff for the year to come. The delay on the freezer (and they charged us a FORTUNE this time around for delivery) means delaying our inquiry into Pojoaque's bison program (or any real meat purchases at all right now) and see how much it will cost to buy a share of a buffalo. Early research suggests around ~$2K, so we may need to crowdfund that. The thing about it is that it won't feed only us; it'll get shared with other folks.

Also, last Sunday, we submitted an application to the state for a grant that, if we're lucky enough to get it, will cover about 2/3 of the cost of the well we have to drill as soon as possible ("as soon as possible" being months in the offing yet, because $15K total for the whole operation, and also they're booked for several months already). And then there's Wings's hearing aids, because I think he's finally convinced that we need to make the investment. I'm going to need to set up PayPal pools to fund them, absent making a whole bunch of sales now. It's endless, and I am so tired just thinking about it.

We need sales. Sales, sales, SALES.

SALES. NOTHING ELSE MATTERS RIGHT NOW, AND I CANNOT GET ANY TIME TO MAKE SALES.

The last couple of years have required us to dig deep and ante up to help others at a level we've never done before. This year? The first two and a half months of 2021? Has already buried that. But as I said about that being why we do what we do, especially now in these days of pandemic, it's become abundantly clear that too often, there IS NO tomorrow, and the only chance you might have to help someone stay alive is TODAY. Things are bad locally; no economy, nothing. No vaccines for most folks dependent on the state system, either. We have lost SO much to 2020 (and already in 2021), so very, very many people, and the gifts and the talents and the knowledge and the wisdom they carried too often lost with them. People have needed so much more help than we could give them, but we did as much as we could, even when it put us in a bind, and we will need to do much more of that this year. People continue to need help, and we give it, but we're up well over $2 grand in just that one week, and a whole lot more before and since. 

I can juggle for now, but I've got to find it again somewhere. Part of my work involves me reorganizing the Web site and then promoting the hell out of everything again. That's on top of all the other work I need to do around here, and I have been mostly useless, largely due to the recent flurry of episodes with my health. For every episode, it takes me multiple days to recover, all while hoping that another one doesn't set me back even further. That's not good. Too many people need help, and the government remains determined to see us die. There's work to do. This is why I've had to stop doing some things; there are just not enough hours in the day anymore, and I've got to make it all of this up somewhere. So:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are LaminaSaver for Miika & metal/glass cleaners);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

And if you've been contemplating a purchase? This would be a very, very good time to do it; I've got to make up this staggering outlay somehow. There's even new work, here and here and now here, among other new pieces from 3 weeks ago, too, so please watch for them and share the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2021; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.