New work on the way.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

That was yesterday; there's new work on the way. The biggest problem for him right now is cadging studio time. For me, it's all the rest of it.

And it's a lot. We are out nearly $700 cash just last week on medical stuff, and there will be more than $1,300 in cash costs this week as we pay for the horse vet and farrier for Miika and then for my own 6-months-overdue eye appointment. That doesn't even count the hay and firewood stock-ups before it's all gone for the season. Which means that I really need to sell a couple of big pieces or several smaller ones. Trouble is, I can't even block out any time to chase sales.

Which reminds me, for my Patreon patrons: March and April are tax months here, and also medical appointment months, and I am going to be snowed under. I will not be doing daily postings for that period. I'll try to post as often as I can, but I can't in good conscience commit to every day (or every night, as the case may be) when I have all of this stuff hanging over my head. Things will lighten up in May, presumably.

And on top of all of that, I'm still trying desperately to get caught up on a bunch of the things I haven't been able to do these last three weeks, having been so sick with this godforsaken lupus flare. It's slowly easing a little each day now (never by enough, but at least there's a measurable difference now), so I'm trying my best to get things done. This week we have Miika's next vet/farrier visit and then my eye appointment [at long last]. The bad part is that they're back to back. So the next couple of weeks will have me on the run again. And there's always the need to keep the land alive, and its indigenous spirits, fragile and less so.

Among that list of things I need to do is still the need to make sales, and that new heart bracelet went up last week, here. It's gorgeous, and that stone is jut amazing. There's more in the pipeline, too, and it's incredible stuff. Links are here, and there's a lot of new work up, with more to come:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are first and foremost, the other ladder and the Bissell vac);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

We're still hoping to put aside enough for a new well when the ground thaws enough to drill in the spring, too, so now's always a good time to make a purchase. And there's lots of fabulous new work, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                   

Monday Photo Meditation: In the Thaw, Resilience

Photo copyright Wings, 2022; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a photo meditation for a Monday at February's end, for a threshold season in an era of catastrophic change. It's an image to remind us, too, of the essential strength of our wounded earth, of the power of winter and what follows: in the thaw, resilience, and a world reborn and ready to grow.

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. We will still need to make consistent sales to make it through this third year of pandemic and loss, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.   

Emerging slowly.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Even on the north side of the house where the sun never reaches, the world is emerging slowly from the snow now. We're in for a warming trend, and this was probably the last real storm we'll get for the season.

That's not good news.

It's been a week, and this week will be more of the same. There are all the usual stresses beyond a government trying to kill us all with COVID and World War III already under way. We also had our own mini-WWIII here yesterday, as the balance of power shifted among the dogs. Cricket and Sunny were growling at each other over a bone, and usually that's all the is too it, a lot of noise, no real bravery on either side. But yesterday, for whatever reason, Sunny decided he wasn't gonna take it, and in a flash he had Cricket pinned. You watch the change occurring, Sunny suddenly realizing that he's both bigger and stronger than his older brother. Stormy, meanwhile, was doing the grinning troll equivalent of a 12-year-old boy yelling "Fight! Fight!" on the playground at lunchtime. I had to break it up; the pups were consigned to the dog run, and we had to monitor everyone last night. Today, Sunny's feeling himself, all lord of the manor who can't be bothered to notice his brother. Until I show up and everybody gets reminded that in this pack, I'm the alpha, and so is Wings, and the dogs are all further down in the hierarchy.

But I'm sore today after dealing with it. And I have to figure out how to keep all the gears moving properly at all times. We are out nearly $700 cash just this week on medical stuff, and there will be more than $1,300 in cash costs next week as we pay for the horse vet and farrier for Miika and then for my own 6-months-overdue eye appointment. Which means that I really need to sell one, or both, of today's featured works, or something comparable, anyway. Trouble is, I can't even block out any time to chase sales.

Which reminds me, for my Patreon patrons: March and April are tax months here, and also medical appointment months, and I am going to be snowed under. I will not be doing daily postings for that period. I'll try to post as often as I can, but I can't in good conscience commit to every day (or every night, as the case may be) when I have all of this stuff hanging over my head. Things will lighten up in May, presumably.

And on top of all of that, I'm still trying desperately to get caught up on a bunch of the things I haven't been able to do these last three weeks, having been so sick with this godforsaken lupus flare. It's slowly easing a little each day now (never by enough, but at least there's a measurable difference now), so I'm trying my best to get things done. This week we have Miika's next vet/farrier visit and then my eye appointment [at long last]. The bad part is that they're back to back. So the next couple of weeks will have me on the run again. And there's always the need to keep the land alive, and its indigenous spirits, fragile and less so.

Among that list of things I need to do is still the need to make sales, and that new heart bracelet went up last week, here. It's gorgeous, and that stone is jut amazing. There's more in the pipeline, too, and it's incredible stuff. Links are here, and there's a lot of new work up, with more to come:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are first and foremost, the other ladder and the Bissell vac);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

We're still hoping to put aside enough for a new well when the ground thaws enough to drill in the spring, too, so now's always a good time to make a purchase. And there's lots of fabulous new work, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                   

From Winter's Snows to Summer Hail

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work for a threshold time when seasons contend and conspire, when the outside world seeks to control time while we work to heal a drought-ridden earth. It's a cuff that evokes the beauty of the cold season even as it embodies the power of the summer storm, a reminder of the journey from winter's snows to summer hail, and of the need to protect all of its medicine.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We will still need to make consistent sales to make it through this third year of pandemic and loss, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.      

Guardians.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Our guardians are here routinely now. I don't know whether it's simply that they're hunting more now, or that something is coming and they're here to let us know, but they've been making sure we see them. That was the red-tailed girl yesterday; I snapped that just after I captured one of her mate taking off from the branch below her. They're both outside now, and watchful.

And it's not just them. On our way to in Wings's doctor's appointment on Thursday, I saw one of the two perched along the highway on our way into town; a few minutes later, I saw Grandfather, the kestrel, who hasn't put in an appearance in months. On our way home, we saw what we thought was her again, the giant red-tail, circling overhead. It wasn't; it was the young golden eagle who's been appearing here intermittently.

Gifts, all . . . but given that they also serve as guardians and guides (and the golden is the War Eagle), it would be dangerous to ignore their stepped-up presence.

Whatever it means or doesn't mean, there are all the usual stresses beyond a government trying to kill us all with COVID and World War III already under way. I have to figure out how to keep all the gears moving properly at all times. We are out nearly $700 cash just this week on medical stuff, and there will be more than $1,300 in cash costs next week as we pay for the horse vet and farrier for Miika and then for my own 6-months-overdue eye appointment. Which means that I really need to sell one, or both, of today's featured works, or something comparable, anyway. Trouble is, I can't even block out any time to chase sales.

Which reminds me, for my Patreon patrons: March and April are tax months here, and also medical appointment months, and I am going to be snowed under. I will not be doing daily postings for that period. I'll try to post as often as I can, but I can't in good conscience commit to every day (or every night, as the case may be) when I have all of this stuff hanging over my head. Things will lighten up in May, presumably.

And on top of all of that, I'm still trying desperately to get caught up on a bunch of the things I haven't been able to do these last two weeks, having been so sick with this godforsaken lupus flare. It's slowly easing a little each day now (never by enough, but at least there's a measurable difference now), so I'm trying my best to get things done. Next week we have Miika's next vet/farrier visit and then my eye appointment [at long last]. The bad part is that they're back to back. So the next couple of weeks will have me on the run again. And there's always the need to keep the land alive, and its indigenous spirits, fragile and less so.

Among that list of things I need to do is still the need to make sales, and that new heart bracelet went up last week, here. It's gorgeous, and that stone is jut amazing. There's more in the pipeline, too, and it's incredible stuff. Links are here, and there's a lot of new work up, with more to come:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are first and foremost, the other ladder and the Bissell vac);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

We're still hoping to put aside enough for a new well when the ground thaws enough to drill in the spring, too, so now's always a good time to make a purchase. And there's lots of fabulous new work, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                   

An Offering For the Water

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work created to honor the old ways that still serve us and our world so well, one to remind us to be both grateful and generous with what we are given. It's a coil bracelet designed to honor one of the sacred medicines, and the act for which it is used — here, now, an offering for the water, and for all the other relatives with who we share the earth.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We will still need to make consistent sales to make it through this third year of pandemic and loss, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.      

Mostly fearless.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

First thing yesterday morning, in the middle of the snowstorm: king and queen of the mountain, otherwise known as the newest and tallest pile of firewood. These two are mostly fearless, and I wish I had a fraction of their sense of security and self-confidence.

I also wish I had a fraction of their carefree existences. They never doubt the arrival of their next meal, or of their essential safety. I, on the other hand, have to figure out how to keep all the gears moving properly at all times. We are out nearly $700 cash just this week on medical stuff, and there will be more than $1,300 in cash costs next week as we pay for the horse vet and farrier for Miika and then for my own 6-months-overdue eye appointment. Which means that I really need to sell one, or both, of today's featured works, or something comparable, anyway. Trouble is, I can't even block out any time to chase sales.

Which reminds me, for my Patreon patrons: March and April are tax months here, and also medical appointment months, and I am going to be snowed under. I will not be doing daily postings for that period. I'll try to post as often as I can, but I can't in good conscience commit to every day (or every night, as the case may be) when I have all of this stuff hanging over my head. Things will lighten up in May, presumably.

And on top of all of that, I'm still trying desperately to get caught up on a bunch of the things I haven't been able to do these last two weeks, having been so sick with this godforsaken lupus flare. It's slowly easing a little each day now (never by enough, but at least there's a measurable difference now), so I'm trying my best to get things done. Next week we have Miika's next vet/farrier visit and then my eye appointment [at long last]. The bad part is that they're back to back. So the next couple of weeks will have me on the run again. And there's always the need to keep the land alive, and its indigenous spirits, fragile and less so.

Among that list of things I need to do is still the need to make sales, and that new heart bracelet went up last week, here. It's gorgeous, and that stone is jut amazing. There's more in the pipeline, too, and it's incredible stuff. Links are here, and there's a lot of new work up, with more to come:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are first and foremost, the other ladder and the Bissell vac);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

We're still hoping to put aside enough for a new well when the ground thaws enough to drill in the spring, too, so now's always a good time to make a purchase. And there's lots of fabulous new work, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                   

Friday Feature: The World Rising From the Waters

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with a pair of powerful and related works wrought in traditional, old-style freehand silverwork and stone. It's two classic concha belt buckles, each manifest as the medicine of renewal and rebirth, of the world rising from the waters to sustain us still.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We will still need to make consistent sales to make it through this third year of pandemic and loss, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.     

Even a polar bear needs a den.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

When you need to bury yourself along with your bone. Even a polar bear needs a den.

We got about 6" of snow overnight (and a visit from 6 elk in the very middle of the storm), with a few more flurries yet this morning. Now, it's all ground blizzard, with a bitterly cold wind keeping wind chills in single digits even now. Tonight will be dangerously cold.

Wings got his prolozone therapy injections yesterday, and his knees felt much better immediately. He's having some pain again today, but that's mostly the wind and the freezing temperatures; not much to do about that, as I know all too well. He's been busy sweeping snow most of the day already, while I'm trying to get caught up on stuff in here. Which reminds me, for my Patreon patrons: March and April are tax months here, and also medical appointment months, and I am going to be snowed under. I will not be doing daily postings for that period. I'll try to post as often as I can, but I can't in good conscience commit to every day (or every night, as the case may be) when I have all of this stuff hanging over my head. Things will lighten up in May, presumably.

And on top of all of that, I'm still trying desperately to get caught up on a bunch of the things I haven't been able to do these last two weeks, having been so sick with this godforsaken lupus flare. It's slowly easing a little each day now (never by enough, but at least there's a measurable difference now), so I'm trying my best to get things done. Next week we have Miika's next vet/farrier visit and then my eye appointment [at long last]. The bad part is that they're back to back. So the next couple of weeks will have me on the run again. And there's always the need to keep the land alive, and its indigenous spirits, fragile and less so.

Among that list of things I need to do is still the need to make sales, and that new heart bracelet went up last week, here. It's gorgeous, and that stone is jut amazing. There's more in the pipeline, too, and it's incredible stuff. Links are here, and there's a lot of new work up, with more to come:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are first and foremost, the other ladder and the Bissell vac);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

We're still hoping to put aside enough for a new well when the ground thaws enough to drill in the spring, too, so now's always a good time to make a purchase. And there's lots of fabulous new work, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                   

#ThrowbackThursday: The Snow's Abundant Heart

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

It's #TBT at The NDN Silver Blog, with a #ThrowbackThursday work that was simultaneously a successor piece to an earlier work and a gift for one of our dearest friends. It's a necklace intended to replace one that went missing, one that seems, given recent developments, to have been taken by the elements as a fitting tribute to the snow's abundant heart.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. This work obviously will never be duplicated, but if the general style speaks to your spirit, simply inquire via the site's Contact form; Wings can create a version uniquely your own. We will still need to make consistent sales to make it through this third year of pandemic and loss, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.   

Mostly sound and fury.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Our forecasts these days are mostly sound and fury, and yes, they mostly signify less than nothing. Doesn't stop the colonizer populations from freaking out every time, worrying about closures and so forth. If we get anything at all out of the line of storms currently headed this way from the southwest, we'll be lucky to have four inches total, and yet people are behaving as though it's four feet. 

As you can see, though, there's barely any snow anywhere on the peaks, and none at all on the slopes, and if this keeps up, we're in for a terrifying summer.

I'm still trying desperately to get caught up on a bunch of the things I haven't been able to do these last two weeks, having been so sick with this godforsaken lupus flare. It's slowly easing a little each day now (never by enough, but at least there's a measurable difference now), so I'm trying my best to get things done. The following week we have Miika's next vet/farrier visit and then my eye appointment [at long last]. The bad part is that they're back to back. So the next couple of weeks will have me on the run again. And there's always the need to keep the land alive, and its indigenous spirits, fragile and less so.

Among that list of things I need to do is still the need to make sales, and that new heart bracelet went up last week, here. It's gorgeous, and that stone is jut amazing. There's more in the pipeline, too, and it's incredible stuff. Links are here, and there's a lot of new work up, with more to come:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are first and foremost, the other ladder and the Bissell vac);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

We're still hoping to put aside enough for a new well when the ground thaws enough to drill in the spring, too, so now's always a good time to make a purchase. And there's lots of fabulous new work, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                   

Earth and Water Spirits Emergent

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work for these days that straddle the depths of winter and the first early breaths of spring. It's one of Wings's more recent works, a tribute both to Grandmother Turtle and to the Turtle Island that tells her story and bears her name, one of earth and water spirits emergent now, ready to do their part in keeping our world in good health and harmony.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We will still need to make consistent sales to make it through this third year of pandemic and loss, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.     

Little beasts.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

The bone's almost as big as his head. Yesterday Joe went to one of the local butchers and picked up two big boxes of beef bones for the dogs; they give them away in their raw state. So needless to say, the pups are happy. I'm a little less so, given that they dragged my exhausted ass out of bed a little after 3:30 this morning to let them out, me thinking because they had to pee but no, apparently just because they woke up and remembered that there were bones out there, the little beasts.

Snow falling lightly on the peaks right now; a few faint flurries here, although that's supposed to change tonight. In theory, we'll have snow tonight, tomorrow, and at least early in the day on Thursday. And then we'll get the deep freeze again on Thursday night.

I really didn't need another night of disrupted sleep, but here we are. I'm still trying desperately to get caught up on a bunch of the things I haven't been able to do these last two weeks, having been so sick with this godforsaken lupus flare. It's slowly easing a little each day now (never by enough, but at least there's a measurable difference now), so I'm trying my best to get things done. The following week we have Miika's next vet/farrier visit and then my eye appointment [at long last]. The bad part is that they're back to back. So the next couple of weeks will have me on the run again. And there's always the need to keep the land alive, and its indigenous spirits, fragile and less so.

Among that list of things I need to do is still the need to make sales, and that new heart bracelet went up last week, here. It's gorgeous, and that stone is jut amazing. There's more in the pipeline, too, and it's incredible stuff. Links are here, and there's a lot of new work up, with more to come:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are first and foremost, the other ladder and the Bissell vac);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

We're still hoping to put aside enough for a new well when the ground thaws enough to drill in the spring, too, so now's always a good time to make a purchase. And there's lots of fabulous new work, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                   

Red Willow Spirit: Medicine at the River's Heart

Photo copyright Wings, 2022; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's an edition of Red Willow Spirit for this early threshold season of storm and thaw that straddles the line between winter and spring. Today it's two images and Wings's newest work of wearable art, here to remind us of what carries the breath and lifeblood of this land, and of the medicine at the river's heart.

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. We will still need to make consistent sales to make it through this third year of pandemic and loss, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner. 

Fragile spirits.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Yesterday these fragile spirits showed themselves. Siskins are not generally birds of spring here, never mind winter; they show up in the waning days of official summer and leave in the first weeks of fall.

But like the goldfinches and the nuthatches and the towhee, they are here now, seeking sanctuary.

If the forecast is right, they'll need it over the next three days.

They've adjusted said forecast, with predictions that snow might actually commence tonight. The day of heaviest snow is supposed to be the day of Wings's doctor's appointment, natch, so that's one more pressure amid all the others. I'm still trying desperately to get caught up on a bunch of the things I haven't been able to do these last two weeks, having been so sick with this godforsaken lupus flare. It's slowly easing a little each day now (never by enough, but at least there's a measurable difference now), so I'm trying my best to get things done. The following week we have Miika's next vet/farrier visit and then my eye appointment [at long last]. The bad part is that they're back to back. So the next couple of weeks will have me on the run again. And there's always the need to keep the land alive, and its indigenous spirits, fragile and less so.

Among that list of things I need to do is still the need to make sales, and that new heart bracelet went up last week, here. It's gorgeous, and that stone is jut amazing. There's more in the pipeline, too, and it's incredible stuff. Links are here, and there's a lot of new work up, with more to come:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are first and foremost, the other ladder and the Bissell vac);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

We're still hoping to put aside enough for a new well when the ground thaws enough to drill in the spring, too, so now's always a good time to make a purchase. And there's lots of fabulous new work, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                  

Monday Photo Meditation: Evergreen Waters

Photo copyright Wings, 2022; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a photo meditation for a Monday that is no holiday for us, but is, as always, a day to honor elders, ancestors, and creator and other spirits. It's an image from three years ago when the landscape it captures was less injured than it is now, but it reminds us that the next three days of snow are medicine for the evergreen waters that are the breath and lifeblood of this land.

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. We will still need to make consistent sales to make it through this third year of pandemic and loss, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.  

Yesterday's smoke.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Yesterday's smoke. That's the third or fourth in a week, visible from our windows. Yes, the ground is damp now, but it doesn't inspire confidence, especially not with the way the wind rises suddenly. Still, better now than next month, I suppose; March ushers in three months of gale-force winds here. Actually, we're lucky that they haven't already started, because in recent years, it's been a February phenomenon, too.

In the meantime, the pressures continue apace. This week, Wings begins his first treatment of prolozone therapy injections on his knees. We're hoping this alleviates the need, for now, for invasive surgery in a time when it's not safe (and there aren't enough beds or staff for elective surgeries anyway, but our concern is his health). I'm still trying desperately to get caught up on a bunch of the things I haven't been able to do these last two weeks, having been so sick with this godforsaken lupus flare. It's slowly easing a little each day now (never by enough, but at least there's a measurable difference now), so I'm trying my best to get things done. The following week we have Miika's next vet/farrier visit and then my eye appointment [at long last]. The bad part is that they're back to back. So the next couple of weeks will have me on the run again.

Among that list of things I need to do is still the need to make sales, and that new heart bracelet went up yesterday, here. It's gorgeous, and that stone is jut amazing. There's more in the pipeline, too, and it's incredible stuff. Links are here, and there's a lot of new work up, with more to come:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are first and foremost, the other ladder and the Bissell vac);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

We're still hoping to put aside enough for a new well when the ground thaws enough to drill in the spring, too, so now's always a good time to make a purchase. And there's lots of fabulous new work, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                  

The Snow-Soaked Ground That Births the Green

Photo copyright Wings, 2022; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a tribute to what arrives upon warmer winds, the gift of the summer wildflowers that soften the edges of this sere landscape and set it alight with color. It's an old-style barrette wrought to honor the golden petals whose very existence is rooted in the snow-soaked ground that births the green.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We will still need to make consistent sales to make it through this third year of pandemic and loss, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.     

Polar bear.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

The polar bear is a mighty hunter; watch how he stalks his prey. 

Of course, she was waiting for him right behind me, and they crashed into each other in mid-air, with Cricket older and wiser enough to jump out of the damn way.

These monsters are loving the snow. If the forecast holds, they'll get more of it next week. We can all hope, anyway. We're getting just enough each time, with just enough cold right behind it, to keep it leaching into the ground slowly, and we may even be able to plant this year. I hope so; I've been hoarding all the seeds I've been unable to use for so long.

In the meantime, the pressures continue apace. Next week, Wings begins his first treatment of prolozone therapy injections on his knees. We're hoping this alleviates the need, for now, for invasive surgery in a time when it's not safe (and there aren't enough beds or staff for elective surgeries anyway, but our concern is his health). I'm still trying desperately to get caught up on a bunch of the things I haven't been able to do this last week-plus, having been so sick with this godforsaken lupus flare. It's slowly easing a little each day now (never by enough, but at least there's a measurable difference now), so I'm trying my best to get things done. The following week we have Miika's next vet/farrier visit and then my eye appointment [at long last]. The bad part is that they're back to back. So the next couple of weeks will have me on the run again.

Among that list of things I need to do is still the need to make sales, and that new heart bracelet went up yesterday, here. It's gorgeous, and that stone is jut amazing. There's more in the pipeline, too, and it's incredible stuff. Links are here, and there's a lot of new work up, with more to come:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are first and foremost, the other ladder and the Bissell vac);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

We're still hoping to put aside enough for a new well when the ground thaws enough to drill in the spring, too, so now's always a good time to make a purchase. And there's lots of fabulous new work, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                 

Prisms of Frozen Light and the Petals' Promise

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a trio of works that share an identity and spirit, one adorned with icy jewels and all radiant with a flowering light. It's a bracelet, pair of earrings, and ring that seem to whisper more of summer than of winter, but laden with the gifts our own worlds grants us this day: prisms of frozen light and the petals' promise — of new medicines of color, warmth, and abundance.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We will still need to make consistent sales to make it through this third year of pandemic and loss, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.    

Wings's newest, just in time for the thaw.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

I've been promising this for a few days now. He finished it last night, but I didn't get a chance to finish the work of uploading and editing until now:  Wings's newest, just in time for the thaw.

This was originally going to be the hook bracelet I mentioned, but as he was working with it, its form and shape changed. It's a cuff bracelet, with a focal that is elevated so slightly above the band that you can't even see it, but it's there (and it keeps focal and band both safe from solder fracture upon adjustment). This piece is a tribute to the Great River that runs alongside us to the west, and it's called At the River's Green Heart. He acquired the stone in Santa Fe, with no more provenance than "natural American turquoise" that I can find, but it's an absolute ringer for Stone Mountain, out of Nevada. [Other possibilities are Fox and Royston, also Nevada mines.] It's a wonderful, rich, soft, gentle seafoam shade of turquoise, like the surface of the river in spring, veined with deeper emerald shades and bits of earthy bronzed matrix. 

I feel like this one's owner is out there looking for it right now. It's a bold piece, in a way, with that focal that extends over both sides of the band in that rich green, but to me, the whole piece is gentle. Perfect, in other words, for the thaw and the spring season to come. You can read the full description here.

As always, Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We will still need to make consistent sales to make it through this third year of pandemic and loss, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.     

I got him.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

He finally let me catch him yesterday . . . on camera and from a big, big distance. The spotted towhee is very skittish, and he moves very fast. But I got him.

He's early this year, and I suspect we'll see more spring/early summer species arriving early, too. A dozen or so of the elk came down in the early hours of this morning, but it's warming up enough that I don't expect we'll see them. much longer. The climate is a mess, and the colonial governments that run everything are as determined to make it worse as they are to prolong the pandemic and increase deaths. Our worthless governor got rid of the mask mandate yesterday, following the cues, apparently, of our equally worthless CDC. So we're at greater risk than ever, now.

Next week, Wings begins his first treatment of prolozone therapy injections on his knees. We're hoping this alleviates the need, for now, for invasive surgery in a time when it's not safe (and there aren't enough beds or staff for elective surgeries anyway, but our concern is his health). I'm still trying desperately to get caught up on a bunch of the things I haven't been able to do this last week-plus, having been so sick with this godforsaken lupus flare. It's slowly easing a little each day now (never by enough, but at least there's a measurable difference now), so I'm trying my best to get things done.

Among that list of things I need to do is still the need to make sales, and that new heart bracelet will probably be done sometime tomorrow. There's more in the pipeline, too, and it's incredible stuff. Links are here, and there's a lot of new work up, with more to come:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are first and foremost, the other ladder and the Bissell vac);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

We're still hoping to put aside enough for a new well when the ground thaws enough to drill in the spring, too, so now's always a good time to make a purchase. And there's lots of fabulous new work, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                 

Friday Feature: The White Crystal Radiance of the Snow

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with a trio of recent works created explicitly to honor the spirits of this season's air and light. It's the winter elementals as you've never seen them before, a full spectrum of icy color brought together in the white crystal radiance of the snow.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We will still need to make consistent sales to make it through this third year of pandemic and loss, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.