Yesterday's gone.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Yesterday's weather, but yesterday's gone.

Today has been one fuck-up after another, but then, so has all of November, and most of the year, frankly. I had expected to be in Santa Fe today, and had to cancel my doctor's appointment to do it, but no; now, the earliest I can get in to see her is the last freaking week of next February. I'm in nonstop pain, I'm so tired, and I don't have it in me for anything but cut-and-paste, which all still holds, because I'm already several hours behind on my revamped schedule of tasks for today. Tomorrow will undoubtedly be more of the same. 

Like the silver shortages weren't enough, the tripling of silver prices wasn't enough, the failed torch and then the leak and the inability to find a tank refiller weren't all enough, his crock pot failed last week, and the post office has been holding on to the replacement without bothering to give it to us since Friday, even though we were there multiple times Friday and Saturday. And now that he's got it, it's a mini, which is fine for tiny work, but big, bold Native jewelry's not going to fit.

Add to that our incredibly low level of sales, the fact that Venmo has a hold on a large payment with no info about when they might deign to release our money to us, the quarterly taxes for next year I still need to pay, the medical stuff we both have coming up, Wings's dental bridge failure again, and no time to get to Santa Fe for needed supplies, never mind the low-sales problem, and then there's losing several hundred dollars' worth of pledges on my Patreon this year and the very real threat of Twitter being destroyed by that genocidal white supremacist colonizer. If it collapses? So does our best source of sales and subscriptions, by far, and I don't know how we survive that. Wings always assumes that everything will work out, but I'm the one who has to make sure it happens, and I'm failing at it pretty badly right now. And, of course, my increasingly disabling medical issues and unmanageable pain levels . . . yes, everything's terrible.

I need help to get everything covered. We. Need. Sales.

All the links are here; please, share them, too (and there's a new wishlist priority, the automatic composter, which will do wonders for saving on waste and allow Wings to compost the land and trees regularly even through the winter; my physical function is impaired enough now that things can only get done if I have the help of equipment like this):

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are, first and foremost, the wheelbarrow, then the other ladder);
• 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, Nah, we've given up on the well. No one's available to drill before late next year at the earliest, and this year's tax burden means we would never be able to afford it anyway. But it's even more of a good time to make a purchase, because Uncle Sam is a vindictive colonizer, and my current stress levels about paying it all are off the charts. And there's lots of fabulous 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.                                                                 

A Cloud-Veiled Sun, Dressed For a Winter's Dance

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's one of Wings's newest masterworks, a complex focal suspended from an entirely complementary cascade of beads, blending earth and water, storm and light. It's a reminder, too, of the elemental gifts that are with us always, both the fire and the storm's medicine, too: a cloud-veiled sun, dressed for a winter's dance.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We urgently  need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and there are effectively only three weeks remaining of the holiday creative and sales season, 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.     

Interruptions.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

More work in progress, and he was finally able to get back to it yesterday. It's going to be a three-stone cuff, all greens with red copper matrix. Not just yet, though, even though he'd intended to have it done today. No, today's been a nightmare of interruptions and other tasks, all complicated by this brutal, incessant wind. My head is splitting, my joints feel like they're breaking in two, and all the rest is cut-and-paste, because nothing's changed and I just don't have the time or the ability to focus right now.

Which fits with everything else right now, which is terrible. Like the silver shortages weren't enough, the tripling of silver prices wasn't enough, the failed torch and then the leak and the inability to find a tank refiller weren't all enough, his crock pot failed last week, and the post office has been holding on to the replacement without bothering to give it to us since Friday, even though we were there multiple times Friday and Saturday. And now that he's got it, it's a mini, which is fine for tiny work, but big, bold Native jewelry's not going to fit.

Add to that our incredibly low level of sales, the fact that Venmo has a hold on a large payment with no info about when they might deign to release our money to us, the quarterly taxes for next year I still need to pay, the medical stuff we both have coming up, Wings's dental bridge failure again, and no time to get to Santa Fe for needed supplies, never mind the low-sales problem, and then there's losing several hundred dollars' worth of pledges on my Patreon this year and the very real threat of Twitter being destroyed by that genocidal white supremacist colonizer. If it collapses? So does our best source of sales and subscriptions, by far, and I don't know how we survive that. Wings always assumes that everything will work out, but I'm the one who has to make sure it happens, and I'm failing at it pretty badly right now. And, of course, my increasingly disabling medical issues and unmanageable pain levels . . . yes, everything's terrible.

I need help to get everything covered. We. Need. Sales.

All the links are here; please, share them, too (and there's a new wishlist priority, the automatic composter, which will do wonders for saving on waste and allow Wings to compost the land and trees regularly even through the winter; my physical function is impaired enough now that things can only get done if I have the help of equipment like this):

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are, first and foremost, the wheelbarrow, then the other ladder);
• 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, Nah, we've given up on the well. No one's available to drill before late next year at the earliest, and this year's tax burden means we would never be able to afford it anyway. But it's even more of a good time to make a purchase, because Uncle Sam is a vindictive colonizer, and my current stress levels about paying it all are off the charts. And there's lots of fabulous 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: The Storm Light and the Golden Hour

Photo copyright Wings, 2022; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's an edition of Red Willow Spirit for threshold seasons and overlapping times, when weather and light conspire as much as contend. It's two images and one perfect work of wearable art to link them, all signifying the beauty and medicine of the storm light and the golden hour.

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 urgently need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and there are effectively only three weeks remaining of the holiday sales season, 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.     

Everything's terrible.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Yesterday morning, while it was still coming down. Most of it's gone now, but there's more on the way, allegedly beginning tonight and continuing into tomorrow. Also allegedly, it won't be much.

Which fits with everything else right now, which is terrible. Like the silver shortages weren't enough, the tripling of silver prices wasn't enough, the failed torch and then the leak and the inability to find a tank refiller weren't all enough, his crock pot failed last week, and the post office has been holding on to the replacement without bothering to give it to us since Friday, even though we were there multiple times Friday and Saturday. And now that he's got it, it's a mini, which is fine for tiny work, but big, bold Native jewelry's not going to fit.

Add to that our incredibly low level of sales, the fact that Venmo has a hold on a large payment with no info about when they might deign to release our money to us, the quarterly taxes for next year I still need to pay, the medical stuff we both have coming up, Wings's dental bridge failure again, and no time to get to Santa Fe for needed supplies, never mind the low-sales problem, and then there's losing several hundred dollars' worth of pledges on my Patreon this year and the very real threat of Twitter being destroyed by that genocidal white supremacist colonizer. If it collapses? So does our best source of sales and subscriptions, by far, and I don't know how we survive that. Wings always assumes that everything will work out, but I'm the one who has to make sure it happens, and I'm failing at it pretty badly right now. And, of course, my increasingly disabling medical issues and unmanageable pain levels . . . yes, everything's terrible.

I need help to get everything covered. We. Need. Sales.

All the links are here; please, share them, too (and there's a new wishlist priority, the automatic composter, which will do wonders for saving on waste and allow Wings to compost the land and trees regularly even through the winter; my physical function is impaired enough now that things can only get done if I have the help of equipment like this):

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are, first and foremost, the wheelbarrow, then the other ladder);
• 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, Nah, we've given up on the well. No one's available to drill before late next year at the earliest, and this year's tax burden means we would never be able to afford it anyway. But it's even more of a good time to make a purchase, because Uncle Sam is a vindictive colonizer, and my current stress levels about paying it all are off the charts. And there's lots of fabulous 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: The Weather That Gilds The World

Photo copyright Wings, 2022;
all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a photo meditation for a Monday spent in the shadow of another gathering winter storm. It's a reflection on an image from six years past, very nearly to the day: one of the last "normal" such seasons here, when the weather that gilds the world turned earth and sky and skeletal branches to pure magic.

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 urgently need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and there are effectively only about three weeks remaining of the holiday sales season, 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.   

Runoff.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022;
all rights reserved.

That was yesterday, when the skies were still bright blue and mostly cloudless. The snow began late last night, and continued until late this morning. It's sunny enough now that the 2+ inches we received are melting fast, but it won't be gone before nightfall, and that means the water, and the ice, will stick around for a while. When it's this cold, the runoff continues between storms.

And we're supposed to get more snow on Tuesday.

Speaking of runoff, though, a lot of it's not welcome, specifically what we're dealing with with a badly damaged economy (no matter your politicians tell you) and the ongoing damage from the pandemic being allowed to rage unchecked. There's a lot more of that to come, and a lot harder work to cope with it all with fewer resources. Right now, Wings needs studio time, and to say that I need time to chase sales is an understatement of ever there were one. We all know the depredations of the colonial world won't wait. Everything's late all the time because I'm behind all the time, and that is very obviously not going to change before 2023. I still have to cover prepayment of next year's taxes, to the tune of a good four figures, before the end of the year, and I have no idea how I'm going to do that, given how slow sales have been all year (and losing several hundred dollars' worth of pledges on my Patreon this year has only worsened that). Now, if Twitter collapses? So does our best source of sales and subscriptions, by far, and I don't know how we survive that. Wings always assumes that everything will work out, but I'm the one who has to make sure it happens, and I'm failing at it pretty badly right now.

I will be doing nothing but pushing sales for at least the next month. But I need to make this happen sooner rather than later, because the tax burden won't wait, and there's too much else that needs doing, even as my illness leaves me with less function by the day now. It's everything, from pain to balance to ability to walk properly to ability to use my hands properly, and the damage is increasing even as I'm running out of time to do it all. And Twitter's incipient destruction is going to deprive us of our biggest sales audience, and that means I'm going to be putting in twelve-hour days after the holidays trying to set up alternatives that won't have the effectiveness or the reach, and I am so depressed by it all by now that there aren't words. Which means I need help to get everything covered. We. Need. Sales.

All the links are here; please, share them, too (and there's a new wishlist priority, the automatic composter, which will do wonders for saving on waste and allow Wings to compost the land and trees regularly even through the winter; my physical function is impaired enough now that things can only get done if I have the help of equipment like this):

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are, first and foremost, the wheelbarrow, then the other ladder);
• 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, Nah, we've given up on the well. No one's available to drill before late next year at the earliest, and this year's tax burden means we would never be able to afford it anyway. But it's even more of a good time to make a purchase, because Uncle Sam is a vindictive colonizer, and my current stress levels about paying it all are off the charts. And there's lots of fabulous 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.                                                                 

A Snow That Flowers

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's Wings's newest work and the latest in his ongoing informal series of paired smaller barrettes. It's a pair as ethereally beautiful as the storm itself, and as much a cause for gratitude: a snow that flowers into petals of rain in winter, and heals the earth in the process.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We urgently  need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and there are effectively less than four  weeks remaining of the holiday sales season, 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.     

The gift of the perfect shot.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Sometimes, you get granted the gift of the perfect shot. It's a young male red-winged blackbird, his red bars still no more than a faintly beige stripe. The entire red-wing clan decided, some months ago, to winter over with us this year, and simultaneously decided to have one more brood, and we now have more than fifty, perhaps closer to a hundred of their young here.

And the goldfinches and the chickadees and both kinds of jay and the hawks, of course. And the elk, although they haven't been back for the last several nights; with the snow mostly gone, they're apparently still able to find some forage up in the mountains.

And when we left this morning, I walked past a single bit of scat on the grass that I suppose might have belonged to Coyote, but it looked to me like that of Bear. Fewer than four yards from the house. Fortunately, Cricket knows when to stay put in his doghouse.

It's been a ridiculously busy day, which is why everything is so late. We had to go into town to ship some items, and then do a supply run that involved several different stops. There's a lot more to come, and Wings needs studio time. And to say that I need time to chase sales is an understatement of ever there were one. We all know the depredations of the colonial world won't wait. Everything's late all the time because I'm behind all the time, and that is very obviously not going to change before 2023. I still have to cover prepayment of next year's taxes, to the tune of a good four figures, before the end of the year, and I have no idea how I'm going to do that, given how slow sales have been all year (and losing several hundred dollars' worth of pledges on my Patreon this year has only worsened that). Now, if Twitter collapses? So does our best source of sales and subscriptions, by far, and I don't know how we survive that. Wings always assumes that everything will work out, but I'm the one who has to make sure it happens, and I'm failing at it pretty badly right now.

I will be doing nothing but pushing sales for at least the next five weeks. But I need to make this happen sooner rather than later, because the tax burden won't wait, and there's too much else that needs doing, even as my illness leaves me with less function by the day now. It's everything, from pain to balance to ability to walk properly to ability to use my hands properly, and the damage is increasing even as I'm running out of time to do it all. And Twitter's incipient destruction is going to deprive us of our biggest sales audience, and that means I'm going to be putting in twelve-hour days after the holidays trying to set up alternatives that won't have the effectiveness or the reach, and I am so depressed by it all by now that there aren't words. Which means I need help to get everything covered. We. Need. Sales.

All the links are here; please, share them, too (and there's a new wishlist priority, the automatic composter, which will do wonders for saving on waste and allow Wings to compost the land and trees regularly even through the winter; my physical function is impaired enough now that things can only get done if I have the help of equipment like this):

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are, first and foremost, the wheelbarrow, then the other ladder);
• 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, Nah, we've given up on the well. No one's available to drill before late next year at the earliest, and this year's tax burden means we would never be able to afford it anyway. But it's even more of a good time to make a purchase, because Uncle Sam is a vindictive colonizer, and my current stress levels about paying it all are off the charts. And there's lots of fabulous 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 Medicine That Heals Us, and the One That Frees Us

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work from one of Wings's longest-running signature series, one to honor spiritual power and strength and remind us of what matters. It's a Warrior Woman, adorned with the imagery of feathers and fans and set with the most extraordinary jewel of the storm, motifs of the medicine that heals us, and the one that frees us.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We urgently  need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and there are effectively less than four  weeks remaining of the holiday sales season, 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.    

Two new and very different works by Wings.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

I have been promising these for days, and only now had a chance to finish up the tasks involved in getting both up on the site. It's two new and very different works by Wings, although the first one will seem familiar for a reason.

The one above is a bolo formed of a giant traditional concha, big, bold, and absolutely classic. This is A World of Medicine, and if the name sounds familiar, it's because this piece began its existence as a belt buckle. I don't think he was ever really happy with it, and a couple of weeks ago, he took it apart and turned it into what it was clearly always. meant to be: a bolo (and think what a concha this big would feel like around the waist, compared to below one's collar, and you'll see why). You can read its full description here.

The second work is a new pair in his ongoing informal series of smaller barrette pairs, and these are gorgeous.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

This pair is called Petals of Rain, hand-milled, aptly enough, in that showy and yet still subtle floral pattern. They're set with a couple of fabulous imported kyanite cabochons, all shimmering translucent bands of blues like the rain itself. You can read their full description here.

As always, Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We urgently  need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and there are effectively less than four weeks remaining of the holiday sales season 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.   

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

So, as you can see from yellow jacket and white dog, yesterday was obviously a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. Snoopy, I mean Sunny, follows him everywhere, even if it's just to feed the birds. Unlike Stormy, who would regard "feed the birds" as "feed a bird to Stormy," Sunny just tags along to "help."

They're out the running around right now — the dogs, I mean. This cold has them absolutely wired. I wish it would give me that kind of extra energy, but no.

Meanwhile, the other depredations of the colonial world won't wait. Everything's late all the time because I'm behind all the time, and that is very obviously not going to change before 2023. I still have to cover prepayment of next year's taxes, to the tune of a good four figures, before the end of the year, and I have no idea how I'm going to do that, given how slow sales have been all year (and losing several hundred dollars' worth of pledges on my Patreon this year has only worsened that). Now, if Twitter collapses? So does our best source of sales and subscriptions, by far, and I don't know how we survive that. Wings always assumes that everything will work out, but I'm the one who has to make sure it happens, and I'm failing at it pretty badly right now.

I will be doing nothing but pushing sales for at least the next five weeks. But I need to make this happen sooner rather than later, because the tax burden won't wait, and there's too much else that needs doing, even as my illness leaves me with less function by the day now. It's everything, from pain to balance to ability to walk properly to ability to use my hands properly, and the damage is increasing even as I'm running out of time to do it all. And Twitter's incipient destruction is going to deprive us of our biggest sales audience, and that means I'm going to be putting in twelve-hour days after the holidays trying to set up alternatives that won't have the effectiveness or the reach, and I am so depressed by it all by now that there aren't words. Which means I need help to get everything covered. We. Need. Sales.

All the links are here; please, share them, too (and there's a new wishlist priority, the automatic composter, which will do wonders for saving on waste and allow Wings to compost the land and trees regularly even through the winter; my physical function is impaired enough now that things can only get done if I have the help of equipment like this):

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are, first and foremost, the wheelbarrow, then the other ladder);
• 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, Nah, we've given up on the well. No one's available to drill before late next year at the earliest, and this year's tax burden means we would never be able to afford it anyway. But it's even more of a good time to make a purchase, because Uncle Sam is a vindictive colonizer, and my current stress levels about paying it all are off the charts. And there's lots of fabulous 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 Path of Prayer Leads to Wisdom

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with a trio of related works, all sharing common features that suit the teachings the world needs now especially well. Each one is a reminder to us, as well, that the old ways were left to us with the knowledge that the path of prayer leads to wisdom, and that we would need plenty of the latter now.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We urgently  need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and there are effectively less than four  weeks remaining of the holiday sales season 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.   

Mourning and remembrance, indeed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

It looks like a chrysalis for a leaf. Yes, the leaf is already dead, but in a way, the idea isn't so far off the mark: It preserves the leaf a little while longer, which will eventually mulch into the earth along with the water when the ice melts, and that bit of earth will be reborn as a result.

We need to be weaving cocoons for the whole of the earth of now, something protective enough to shield it from colonialism's depredations, allowing it to be reborn, healthy once more.

Yes, this is always a. melancholy day for us. While non-Natives can ignore its violent, genocidal, and utterly false mythos, we don't have that luxury. And recent years have made it clear that we're fast running out of time.

Mourning and remembrance, indeed.

Meanwhile, the other depredations of the colonial world won't wait. Everything's late all the time because I'm behind all the time, and that is very obviously not going to change before 2023. I still have to cover prepayment of next year's taxes, to the tune of a good four figures, before the end of the year, and I have no idea how I'm going to do that, given how slow sales have been all year (and losing several hundred dollars' worth of pledges on my Patreon this year has only worsened that). Now, if Twitter collapses? So does our best source of sales and subscriptions, by far, and I don't know how we survive that. Wings always assumes that everything will work out, but I'm the one who has to make sure it happens, and I'm failing at it pretty badly right now.

I will be doing nothing but pushing sales for at least the next five weeks. But I need to make this happen sooner rather than later, because the tax burden won't wait, and there's too much else that needs doing, even as my illness leaves me with less function by the day now. It's everything, from pain to balance to ability to walk properly to ability to use my hands properly, and the damage is increasing even as I'm running out of time to do it all. And Twitter's incipient destruction is going to deprive us of our biggest sales audience, and that means I'm going to be putting in twelve-hour days after the holidays trying to set up alternatives that won't have the effectiveness or the reach, and I am so depressed by it all by now that there aren't words. Which means I need help to get everything covered. We. Need. Sales.

All the links are here; please, share them, too (and there's a new wishlist priority, the automatic composter, which will do wonders for saving on waste and allow Wings to compost the land and trees regularly even through the winter; my physical function is impaired enough now that things can only get done if I have the help of equipment like this):

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are, first and foremost, the wheelbarrow, then the other ladder);
• 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, Nah, we've given up on the well. No one's available to drill before late next year at the earliest, and this year's tax burden means we would never be able to afford it anyway. But it's even more of a good time to make a purchase, because Uncle Sam is a vindictive colonizer, and my current stress levels about paying it all are off the charts. And there's lots of fabulous 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.                                                                

#TBT: A Renewed Commitment to the Way, the Work, and the Fight

Photo copyright Aji, 2022;
all rights reserved.

It's #ThrowbackThursday at The NDN Silver Blog, with a #TBT masterwork that dates back only one short month, but whose genesis stretches back a year or more, an honor work for someone very dear to us. It's a piece that Wings wrought especially for them, culturally significant and deeply personal, for an Indigenous relative whose daily life embodies a renewed commitment to the way, the work, and the fight.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. This work obviously will never be duplicated exactly, but if elements speak to your spirit, simply inquire via the site's Contact form; Wings can create a different version uniquely your own. We urgently need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and there are effectively less than four  weeks remaining of the holiday sales season, 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.    

Always a reminder to be grateful.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

A gift from my honey, and they smell so sweet. Just simple autumnal petals, about the color of a pumpkin, but always a reminder to be grateful.

And we are. Every single day. Unfortunately, gratitude doesn't pay the bills, and a spectacularly bad year in multiple ways means that they have piled up, and the piper is getting restless.

Meanwhile, everything's late all the time because I'm behind all the time, and that is very obviously not going to change before 2023. I still have to cover prepayment of next year's taxes, to the tune of a good four figures, before the end of the year, and I have no idea how I'm going to do that, given how slow sales have been all year (and losing several hundred dollars' worth of pledges on my Patreon this year has only worsened that). Now, if Twitter collapses? So does our best source of sales and subscriptions, by far, and I don't know how we survive that. Wings always assumes that everything will work out, but I'm the one who has to make sure it happens, and I'm failing at it pretty badly right now.

I will be doing nothing but pushing sales for at least the next five weeks. But I need to make this happen sooner rather than later, because the tax burden won't wait, and there's too much else that needs doing, even as my illness leaves me with less function by the day now. It's everything, from pain to balance to ability to walk properly to ability to use my hands properly, and the damage is increasing even as I'm running out of time to do it all. And Twitter's incipient destruction is going to deprive us of our biggest sales audience, and that means I'm going to be putting in twelve-hour days after the holidays trying to set up alternatives that won't have the effectiveness or the reach, and I am so depressed by it all by now that there aren't words. Which means I need help to get everything covered. We. Need. Sales.

All the links are here; please, share them, too (and there's a new wishlist priority, the automatic composter, which will do wonders for saving on waste and allow Wings to compost the land and trees regularly even through the winter; my physical function is impaired enough now that things can only get done if I have the help of equipment like this):

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are, first and foremost, the wheelbarrow, then the other ladder);
• 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, Nah, we've given up on the well. No one's available to drill before late next year at the earliest, and this year's tax burden means we would never be able to afford it anyway. But it's even more of a good time to make a purchase, because Uncle Sam is a vindictive colonizer, and my current stress levels about paying it all are off the charts. And there's lots of fabulous 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 Gift of Words, of Prayer, of Gratitude

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a masterwork for the season, and one especially well suited to this week's prevailing winds in particular. It's Eagle's gift as you've never seen it, a reminder to us to be thoughtful and careful with the gift of words, of prayer, of gratitude that we are given now.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We urgently  need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and there are effectively less than four  weeks remaining of the holiday sales season, 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.    

Things are different here.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

That's twenty minutes ago. Change is coming. Yes, I know what the old sailors' aphorism says about red skies, but we're landlocked, and things are different here.

We were supposed to have no real chance of any weather well into the first week of December.  Now, they're warning about a winter storm for Thankstaking. We can only hope.

Meanwhile, everything's late all the time because I'm behind all the time, and that is very obviously not going to change before 2023. I still have to cover prepayment of next year's taxes, to the tune of a good four figures, before the end of the year, and I have no idea how I'm going to do that, given how slow sales have been all year (and losing several hundred dollars' worth of pledges on my Patreon this year has only worsened that). Now, if Twitter collapses? So does our best source of sales and subscriptions, by far, and I don't know how we survive that. Wings always assumes that everything will work out, but I'm the one who has to make sure it happens, and I'm failing at it pretty badly right now.

I will be doing nothing but pushing sales for at least the next five weeks. But I need to make this happen sooner rather than later, because the tax burden won't wait, and there's too much else that needs doing, even as my illness leaves me with less function by the day now. It's everything, from pain to balance to ability to walk properly to ability to use my hands properly, and the damage is increasing even as I'm running out of time to do it all. And Twitter's incipient destruction is going to deprive us of our biggest sales audience, and that means I'm going to be putting in twelve-hour days after the holidays trying to set up alternatives that won't have the effectiveness or the reach, and I am so depressed by it all by now that there aren't words. Which means I need help to get everything covered. We. Need. Sales.

All the links are here; please, share them, too (and there's a new wishlist priority, the automatic composter, which will do wonders for saving on waste and allow Wings to compost the land and trees regularly even through the winter; my physical function is impaired enough now that things can only get done if I have the help of equipment like this):

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are, first and foremost, the wheelbarrow, then the other ladder);
• 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, Nah, we've given up on the well. No one's available to drill before late next year at the earliest, and this year's tax burden means we would never be able to afford it anyway. But it's even more of a good time to make a purchase, because Uncle Sam is a vindictive colonizer, and my current stress levels about paying it all are off the charts. And there's lots of fabulous 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: What Remains, Reclaims, and Is Reborn

Photo copyright Wings, 2022; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's an edition of Red Willow Spirit for the hard days of a difficult week and month for our peoples. It's a reflection upon memory and mourning, remembering what is lost and while learning to focus our work on what remains, reclaims, and is reborn.

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 urgently need to make consistent sales to make it through the rest of this third year of pandemic and loss, and there are effectively only four weeks remaining of the holiday sales season, 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.     

More work in progress.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Wings was finally able to get the acetylene tank refilled and get back to work in the studio over the weekend. Up there is more work in progress, one of several items, including a couple of complex commissions that are going to take up most of this week, probably. I also have a couple of new works to post, if I can ever get time to do it. That would require days unlike this one, where I haven't had time to breathe, never mind anything else.

It has been a hell of a day. I couldn't sleep last night, because my immune system is in flames courtesy of the constant vaccines required in a country that refuses to control a deadly pandemic (this is a recurrence, and a worse and. much more widespread one, of the symptoms that last year made the docs think I had IBC). Maybe two hours' sleep all told, in ten- and twenty-minute increments. Not even a full cup of coffee before we had to leave to take care of a bunch of things, and nothing to eat today until an hour or so ago, because there simply wasn't time. And my pain meds are not taking even the slightest edge off my symptoms right now.

And I'm tearing my hair out. I still have to cover prepayment of next year's taxes, to the tune of a good four figures, before the end of the year, and I have no idea how I'm going to do that, given how slow sales have been all year (and losing several hundred dollars' worth of pledges on my Patreon this year has only worsened that). Now, if Twitter collapses? So does our best source of sales and subscriptions, by far, and I don't know how we survive that. Wings always assumes that everything will work out, but I'm the one who has to make sure it happens, and I'm failing at it pretty badly right now.

I will be doing nothing but pushing sales for at least the next five weeks. But I need to make this happen sooner rather than later, because the tax burden won't wait, and there's too much else that needs doing, even as my illness leaves me with less function by the day now. It's everything, from pain to balance to ability to walk properly to ability to use my hands properly, and the damage is increasing even as I'm running out of time to do it all. And Twitter's incipient destruction is going to deprive us of our biggest sales audience, and that means I'm going to be putting in twelve-hour days after the holidays trying to set up alternatives that won't have the effectiveness or the reach, and I am so depressed by it all by now that there aren't words. Which means I need help to get everything covered. We. Need. Sales.

All the links are here; please, share them, too (and there's a new wishlist priority, the automatic composter, which will do wonders for saving on waste and allow Wings to compost the land and trees regularly even through the winter; my physical function is impaired enough now that things can only get done if I have the help of equipment like this):

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are, first and foremost, the wheelbarrow, then the other ladder);
• 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, Nah, we've given up on the well. No one's available to drill before late next year at the earliest, and this year's tax burden means we would never be able to afford it anyway. But it's even more of a good time to make a purchase, because Uncle Sam is a vindictive colonizer, and my current stress levels about paying it all are off the charts. And there's lots of fabulous 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.