Nothing's working.

Photo copyright Aji, 2023; all rights reserved.

Storm coming. 

Allegedly. At this moment, the sun is shining.

We need the snow. And we need the metaphorical "rain," too. We have had not a single sale during this last long weekend and ensuing days into the following week, which normally constitute the busiest shopping days of the year. In an average year, we'd make at least a few sales over this period, but so far, not one. Then again, we haven't brought in anywhere nearly enough sales all year. It's grim. And I don't know what more I can do. My pain levels are completely out of control right now; I'm also back to barely being able to walk most of the time. I'm pushing myself as hard as I can, but nothing's working.

Taking our images off both Twitter accounts has destroyed our site traffic, from hundreds of human hits a day to nothing but crawlers and bots. And we can't afford that. I'm sure our stance on Palestine has hurt us, too, but there's nothing we can do about that; we are Indigenous peoples whose ancestors were slaughtered in genocides and if we cannot do the minimum right thing in the face of a brutal genocide now, what would that make us? 

So apparently, that means pushing sales all the harder. I figure if I can bring in at least $6K in sales between now and year's end to cover tax prepayments, we'll be in halfway decent shape. But that's not looking likely, given how slow business is and only one month left in which to bring in anything at all, and of course, with my illness worsening [knee slightly better, but still not functional], the combined stress and the added workload are not helping. And I really need help. As always, all the links are listed below, and sales are the most important:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (liquid soaps are priority now [or Amazon cards, and I can order them myself]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

There's lots of fabulous work on the site, and there will be much, much more in the weeks to come. The way this year has gone, things will still be grim for a good while and the holidays will be here before you know it, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2023; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                       

#ThrowbackThursday: A Fire to Light the Storm

Photo copyright Wings, 2023; all rights reserved.

It's #TBT at The NDN Silver Blog, with a #ThrowbackThursday work dating back some fifteen years or so, one perfect for this season of winter holidays. It's one in Wings's longstanding signature series of pins wrought in vintage style, each a tribute to a small spirit whose inherent differences proved invaluable to navigating the season, a fire to light the storm.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. As always, this work will never be duplicated exactly, but if the style speaks to your spirit, simply inquire via the site's Contact form; Wings can create a version uniquely your own. And with just a month left in this fourth year of pandemic and loss, and facing enormous expenses in the middle of our worst sales year in a very long time, we still need to make consistent sales, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2023; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.       

Metaphorically, not so much.

Photo copyright Aji, 2023; all rights reserved.

Morning clouds. Those are mostly gone now, but they're being replaced by evening ones.  Theoretically, snow tomorrow, and again on Friday. It actually looks promising now.

That's the literal weather. Metaphorically, not so much.

Not a single sale during this last long weekend and ensuing couple of days into the following week, which normally constitute the busiest shopping days of the year. In an average year, we'd make at least a few sales over this period, but so far, not one. Then again, we haven't brought in anywhere nearly enough sales all year. It's grim. And I don't know what more I can do.

Taking our images off both Twitter accounts has destroyed our site traffic, from hundreds of human hits a day to nothing but crawlers and bots. And we can't afford that. I'm sure our stance on Palestine has hurt us, too, but there's nothing we can do about that; we are Indigenous peoples whose ancestors were slaughtered in genocides and if we cannot do the minimum right thing in the face of a brutal genocide now, what would that make us? 

So apparently, that means pushing sales all the harder. I figure if I can bring in at least $6K in sales between now and year's end to cover tax prepayments, we'll be in halfway decent shape. But that's not looking likely, given how slow business is and only one month left in which to bring in anything at all, and of course, with my illness worsening [knee slightly better, but still not functional], the combined stress and the added workload are not helping. And I really need help. As always, all the links are listed below, and sales are the most important:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (liquid soaps are priority now [or Amazon cards, and I can order them myself]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

There's lots of fabulous work on the site, and there will be much, much more in the weeks to come. The way this year has gone, things will still be grim for a good while and the holidays will be here before you know it, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2023; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                       

Mystical Storm and Fire and Pure Winter Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2023; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a masterwork for all the shades of the sun, for the atmospheric artistry of these days of early winter and for the medicine it brings. It's a manifestation, in silver and stone, of the gifts of season and weather, of mystical storm and fire and pure winter light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. With essentially one month left in this fourth year of pandemic and loss, and facing enormous expenses in the middle of our worst sales year in a very long time, we still need to make consistent sales, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2023; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.      

We can hope.

Photo copyright Aji, 2023; all rights reserved.

The last icicle. Sort of. The last one out in the open, anyway; those in the shade are still hanging around, at least in greatly shortened form. This one will no doubt be gone tomorrow.

It's what happens when it's twenty degrees too warm. It got up almost to 50 today, and that's bad. Not as bad as the high sixties of a week or so ago, but still not great. They say we'll get more snow on Thursday, but what was originally forecast as three days of snow showers has been truncated to one. Which no doubt means we'll be lucky to get even a single dusting, but we can hope.

Hope has not served us particularly well this year on most fronts, though. Certainly not on this last long weekend and ensuing couple of days into the following week, which normally constitute the busiest shopping days of the year. Normally we'd make at least a few sales over this period, but so far, we have not had a single sale. Then again, we haven't brought in anywhere nearly enough sales all year. It's grim. And I don't know what more I can do.

Taking our images off both Twitter accounts has destroyed our site traffic, from hundreds of human hits a day to nothing but crawlers and bots. And we can't afford that. I'm sure our stance on Palestine has hurt us, too, but there's nothing we can do about that; we are Indigenous peoples whose ancestors were slaughtered in genocides and if we cannot do the minimum right thing in the face of a brutal genocide now, what would that make us? 

So apparently, that means pushing sales all the harder. I figure if I can bring in at least $6K in sales between now and year's end to cover tax prepayments, we'll be in halfway decent shape. But that's not looking likely, given how slow business is, and of course, with my illness worsening [knee slightly better, but still not functional], the combined stress and the added workload are not helping. And I really need help. As always, all the links are listed below, and sales are the most important:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (liquid soaps are priority now [or Amazon cards, and I can order them myself]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

There's lots of fabulous work on the site, and there will be much, much more in the weeks to come. The way this year has gone, things will still be grim for a good while and the holidays will be here before you know it, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2023; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                       

Red Willow Spirit: The Prophetic Fire of the Winter Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2023; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's an edition of Red Willow Spirit for storms past and passed, and for those to come, and for the world that will remain afterward. It's two breathtaking images linked by a single work of wearable art, all of them an absolutely perfect manifestation of the prophetic fire of the winter light.

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 essentially one month left in this fourth year of pandemic and loss, and facing enormous expenses in the middle of our worst sales year in a very long time, we still need to make consistent sales now, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2023; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner. 

No precipitation of the other sort, either.

Photo copyright Aji, 2023; all rights reserved.

Early clouds, all gone now. We're supposed to have clear skies until Thursday, and then three days of scattered snow showers. Fortunately, it's still cold, but the sun is bright enough melt the snow anyway. We've still got a few inches left here, but most of it's gone off the mountain slopes already.

No precipitation of the other sort, either. Normally we'd make at least a few sales over the long weekend and into these early days of the next week that now get commercial name. Cyber Monday today, and I'm sure the corporations are doing a booming business, but so far, we have not had a single sale. Then again, we haven't brought in anywhere nearly enough sales all year. It's grim. And I don't know what more I can do.

Taking our images off both Twitter accounts has destroyed our site traffic, from hundreds of human hits a day to nothing but crawlers and bots. And we can't afford that. I'm sure our stance on Palestine has hurt us, too, but there's nothing we can do about that; we are Indigenous peoples whose ancestors were slaughtered in genocides and if we cannot do the minimum right thing in the face of a brutal genocide now, what would that make us? 

So apparently, that means pushing sales all the harder. I figure if I can bring in at least $6K in sales between now and year's end to cover tax prepayments, we'll be in halfway decent shape. But that's not looking likely, given how slow business is, and of course, with my illness worsening [knee slightly better, but still not functional], the combined stress and the added workload are not helping. And I really need help. As always, all the links are listed below, and sales are the most important:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (liquid soaps are priority now [or Amazon cards, and I can order them myself]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

There's lots of fabulous work on the site, and there will be much, much more in the weeks to come. The way this year has gone, things will still be grim for a good while and the holidays will be here before you know it, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2023; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                       

Monday Photo Meditation: Winter Sun, Scarlet Fire

Photo copyright Wings, 2023; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a Monday Photo Meditation for the season's first real snow, and for the blessings this season provides that have nothing to do with official holidays. It's a gift of this land to those who know it as a relative, and of this season, too: a time of winter sun, scarlet fire, and the warmth and light of medicine.

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 essentially one month left in this fourth year of pandemic and loss, and facing enormous expenses in the middle of our worst sales year in a very long time, we still need to make consistent sales, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2023; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.  

It'll get below zero tonight.

Photo copyright Aji, 2023; all rights reserved.

Low-lying bands of fog this morning, beneath flawless blue skies. Now the fog has lifted a bit higher, broken up into larger patches, but there's more of it, plus a few puffs of white above and behind the ridgelines.

And 6+ inches of snow on the ground, and very cold temperatures. last night's putative low was supposed to be seven [yes, as in 7, as in single digits], although it's always colder here than what the forecast predicts; tonight, the forecast is two [2].

Which means that it'll get below zero tonight.

Which is fine; the deep cold keeps the snow around longer, which in turn lets it sink into the soil more thoroughly. And the current forecast is for more snow on Thursday, so maybe we'll get lucky.

On the weather front, I mean. Still decidedly unlucky on the sales front right now; none at all thus far this weekend, which is really rare for us. Then again, we haven't brought in anywhere nearly enough sales all year, and I don't know what to do at this point. It's grim.

Taking our images off both Twitter accounts has destroyed our site traffic, from hundreds of human hits a day to nothing but crawlers and bots. And we can't afford that. I'm sure our stance on Palestine has hurt us, too, but there's nothing we can do about that; we are Indigenous peoples whose ancestors were slaughtered in genocides and if we cannot do the minimum right thing in the face of a brutal genocide now, what would that make us? 

So apparently, that means pushing sales all the harder. I figure if I can bring in at least $6K in sales between now and year's end to cover tax prepayments, we'll be in halfway decent shape. But that's not looking likely, given how slow business is, and of course, with my illness worsening [newly dislocated right knee yesterday evening, meaning no sleep at all courtesy of the pain, and I can barely move today], the combined stress and the added workload are not helping. And I really need help. As always, all the links are listed below, and sales are the most important:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (liquid soaps are priority now [or Amazon cards, and I can order them myself]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

There's lots of fabulous work on the site, and there will be much, much more in the weeks to come. The way this year has gone, things will still be grim for a good while and the holidays will be here before you know it, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2023; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                       

The Fire of an Alpine Twilight

Photo copyright Aji, 2023; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a the last remaining work in current inventory in one of Wings's long-running series of traditional concha earrings, this one named for the welcoming crimson glow of winter firelight. It's a delicate pair, lightly domed with a glowing Florentine finish, set with carnelian ablaze with all the fire of an alpine twilight.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. With just over a month left in this fourth year of pandemic and loss, and facing enormous expenses in the middle of our worst sales year in a very long time, we still need to make consistent sales, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2023; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.     

Lots of storm left.

Photo copyright Aji, 2023; all rights reserved.

Two days out from Thankstaking, and it looks like Christmas.

We got about six inches of snow overnight; it's snowing again now, has been for a couple of hours, even the sky overhead is now entirely blue. Lots of storm left around the horizon.

Not the only kind of storm, either. We're still not bringing in anywhere nearly enough sales, and I don't know what to do at this point. It's grim.

Taking our images off both Twitter accounts has destroyed our site traffic, from hundreds of human hits a day to nothing but crawlers and bots. And we can't afford that. I'm sure our stance on Palestine has hurt us, too, but there's nothing we can do about that; we are Indigenous peoples whose ancestors were slaughtered in genocides and if we cannot do the minimum right thing in the face of a brutal genocide now, what would that make us? 

So apparently, that means pushing sales all the harder. I figure if I can bring in at least $6K in sales between now and year's end to cover tax prepayments, we'll be in halfway decent shape. But that's not looking likely, given how slow business is, and of course, with my illness worsening, the combined stress and the added workload are not helping. And I really need help. As always, all the links are listed below, and sales are the most important:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (liquid soaps are priority now [or Amazon cards, and I can order them myself]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

There's lots of fabulous work on the site, and there will be much, much more in the weeks to come. The way this year has gone, things will still be grim for a good while and the holidays will be here before you know it, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2023; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                       

Transcendent In the Storm

Photo copyright Aji, 2023; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's one of Wings's newer works, a pair of earrings wrought in an old traditional style that channels the shapes and shades and magic of the storm in the stars. They also embody the transformational effects of heavy weather, and remind us that, even in the face of so much that is terrible in the world now, we have the power to become transcendent in the storm, and because of it.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. With just over a month left in this fourth year of pandemic and loss, and facing enormous expenses in the middle of our worst sales year in a very long time, we still need to make consistent sales, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2023; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.     

All the rest is work.

Photo copyright Aji, 2023; all rights reserved.

Lots of clouds today; supposed to be snow after 5 PM this evening, continuing overnight.  Fingers crossed that they're right.

I'm so glad yesterday's over. I didn't realize yesterday how much I wanted it to be behind us, but every year, it gets heavier, and every year, we do less for it. We had a nice meal last night; that's it. All the rest was work. All of the rest is work, today, and over the next two days, and every day thereafter between now and Christmas, presumably.

Because we're still not bringing in anywhere nearly enough sales. It's grim.

Taking our images off both Twitter accounts has destroyed our site traffic, from hundreds of human hits a day to nothing but crawlers and bots. And we can't afford that. I'm sure our stance on Palestine has hurt us, too, but there's nothing we can do about that; we are Indigenous peoples whose ancestors were slaughtered in genocides and if we cannot do the minimum right thing in the face of a brutal genocide now, what would that make us? 

So apparently, that means pushing sales all the harder. I figure if I can bring in at least $6K in sales between now and year's end to cover tax prepayments, we'll be in halfway decent shape. But that's not looking likely, given how slow business is, and of course, with my illness worsening, the combined stress and the added workload are not helping. And I really need help. As always, all the links are listed below, and sales are the most important:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (liquid soaps are priority now [or Amazon cards, and I can order them myself]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

There's lots of fabulous work on the site, and there will be much, much more in the weeks to come. The way this year has gone, things will still be grim for a good while and the holidays will be here before you know it, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2023; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                       

Friday Feature: Beneath the Surface of the Storm

Photo copyright Aji, 2023; all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with a single powerful work shown from four separate vantage points. It's a cuff wrought in an old traditional style, one that reminds us always to look beneath the surface of the storm to find the way forward.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. With fewer than three months left in this fourth year of pandemic and loss, and facing enormous expenses in the middle of our worst sales year in a very long time, we still need to make consistent sales, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2023; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.    

Finally starting to look like November.

Photo copyright Aji, 2023; all rights reserved.

Clouds slowly forming to the west/northwest, presumably the storm that's supposed to arrive tomorrow afternoon. The temperature dropped this afternoon, and it's finally starting to look like November.

Since it's just the two of us, dinner is whenever we want to have it, and for us that means an evening meal. Some months back, I scored a very small organic turkey breast, which we could theoretically have anytime, but I decided to save it for today. That's our big concession to the day; for us, a special day called "Thanksgiving" has never been needed, because it's praxis and practice, a fundamental part of our traditional ways and of our daily life. That's not to say it's mere habit, or in any way mundane, because it's not; it's just that it's a way of life, our way, and there's no need for a government holiday built wholly on an ugly lie to conceal genocide for us to remember to do it. [If you're wondering, it's all covered in the second cultural recounting in the link.] 

And it's been a busy day on all fronts, as is usual for us anytime, but especially this time of year. I have several hours of work ahead of me yet tonight; Wings has been hard at outdoor physical labor all day. But we're fast running out of holiday season in which to make sales, as every weeks-early "Black Friday sale" e-mail keeps reminding me. I have to change that, and I've been too ill and too crippled by pain to do that. Small residual storms, indeed. But all that has to change now, pain or no. And there's plenty of that, after two days of having to walk and stand for hours on hard surfaces, so this will be a matter of pushing through it as best I can. It may not be very good, but there's no choice.

So I'm going back to posting screenshots of Wings's work on Twitter. Temporarily, and only until the end of each day. Then I'll delete. But taking our images off both accounts has destroyed our site traffic, from hundreds of human hits a day to nothing but crawlers and bots. And we can't afford that. I'm also going to try to run short threads daily now, because that's what produces results.

Because despite our recent sales, this year has been so slow that we're way behind on everything, including prepaying next year's taxes [I've been able to prepay zero; a big fat zero]. Which means that I need to continue to bring in consistent sales to get that covered. Once that prepayment is handled, I can rest a little. But not now. I figure if I can bring in around $6K in sales between now and year's end, we'll be in halfway decent shape. But I have not been able to push sales like I need to be doing; my health has been too bad generally, but when I have only one partially-working hand with which to type, it becomes impossible. Because I'm a little better today, it means that I will by definition overdo it, but I need to bring in holiday sales now, enough to get the taxes off my desk once and for all. And while my illness worsens, I really need help. And, as always, all the links are listed below:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (liquid soaps are priority now [or Amazon cards, and I can order them myself]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

There's lots of fabulous work on the site, and there will be much, much more in the weeks to come. The way this year has gone, things will still be grim for a good while and the holidays will be here before you know it, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2023; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                       

#TBT: A Way of Weathering Storms In Sacred Space

Photo copyright Wings, 2023; all rights reserved.

It's #ThrowbackThursday at The NDN Silver Blog, with a #TBT featured work that dates back some fifteen years, perhaps more, an earlier iteration in Wings's longstanding signature series of Pueblo pins that honor ancestral histories of sanctuary and home. It's also a tribute to power in bricks and medicine in mortar, to a way of weathering storms in sacred space, and to the practice of giving thanks that is an integral, elemental part of our traditional ways.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. As always, this work will never be duplicated exactly, 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. And with just over a month left in this fourth year of pandemic and loss, and facing enormous expenses in the middle of our worst sales year in a very long time, we still need to make consistent sales, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2023; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.      

Persisting.

Photo copyright Aji, 2023; all rights reserved.

Youngster is about to be a daddy (or maybe already is, but I think his girl is incubating, not hatching). These two little ones are all grown up, I guess. I caught him delivering food to her this morning in their nest — the same nest where he was born — and it was so beautiful to see them persisting despite all the horror around us all.

Even if humanity doesn't make it, it's good to know our beloved hawks will survive.

While the rest of this country is focused on its celebrating tomorrow, we'll be working, and also mourning. Too much loss, too much grief, too much torture and torment and pain and death. And the work needs us always, anyway.

Speaking of which, it's already a busy week, and already a fraught one. We're fast running out of holiday season in which to make sales, as every weeks-early "Black Friday sale" e-mail keeps reminding me. I have to change that, and I've been too ill and too crippled by pain to do that. Small residual storms, indeed. But all that has to change now, pain or no. And there's plenty of that, after two days of having to walk and stand for hours on hard surfaces, so this will be a matter of pushing through it as best I can. It may not be very good, but there's no choice.

So I'm going back to posting screenshots of Wings's work on Twitter. Temporarily, and only until the end of each day. Then I'll delete. But taking our images off both accounts has destroyed our site traffic, from hundreds of human hits a day to nothing but crawlers and bots. And we can't afford that. I'm also going to try to run short threads daily now, because that's what produces results.

Because despite our recent sales, this year has been so slow that we're way behind on everything, including prepaying next year's taxes [I've been able to prepay zero; a big fat zero]. Which means that I need to continue to bring in consistent sales to get that covered. Once that prepayment is handled, I can rest a little. But not now. I figure if I can bring in around $6K in sales between now and year's end, we'll be in halfway decent shape. But I have not been able to push sales like I need to be doing; my health has been too bad generally, but when I have only one partially-working hand with which to type, it becomes impossible. Because I'm a little better today, it means that I will by definition overdo it, but I need to bring in holiday sales now, enough to get the taxes off my desk once and for all. And while my illness worsens, I really need help. And, as always, all the links are listed below:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (liquid soaps are priority now [or Amazon cards, and I can order them myself]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

There's lots of fabulous work on the site, and there will be much, much more in the weeks to come. The way this year has gone, things will still be grim for a good while and the holidays will be here before you know it, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2023; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                       

The Medicine of Stormy Skies

Photo copyright Aji, 2023; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a masterwork for all seasons, but especially apt for these threshold days of the Little Winter and the prospect of early snows, of spaces of ceremony and the place where dwells the water, and the light. It's a cuff of extraordinary detail built around a phenomenal stone, one of sacred space and healing and the medicine of stormy skies.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. With just over a month left in this fourth year of pandemic and loss, and facing enormous expenses in the middle of our worst sales year in a very long time, we still need to make consistent sales, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2023; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.     

Almost all gone.

Photo copyright Aji, 2023; all rights reserved.

Snow is already almost all gone, even on the peaks. We knew it wouldn't last long; we're just hoping [and praying] now that the forecast for Friday and the weekend, meaning for snow, actually holds.

Two days of gimping around town, and my knees and feet are ready to pack it in entirely. Hands, too. Fortunately, we have five days ahead of us without needing to go anywhere [except maybe the post office], and we are both so looking forward to that. It might also give Wings some good studio time, something that's been in woefully short supply. And Spirit knows I've got way more than enough to keep me occupied.

Speaking of which, as I said, it's going to be a busy week regardless, and a fraught one. We're fast running out of holiday season in which to make sales, as every weeks-early "Black Friday sale" e-mail keeps reminding me. I have to change that, and I've been too ill and too crippled by pain to do that. Small residual storms, indeed. But all that has to change now, pain or no.

So I'm going back to posting screenshots of Wings's work on Twitter. Temporarily, and only until the end of each day. Then I'll delete. But taking our images off both accounts has destroyed our site traffic, from hundreds of human hits a day to nothing but crawlers and bots. And we can't afford that. I'm also going to try to run short threads daily now, because that's what produces results.

Because despite our recent sales, this year has been so slow that we're way behind on everything, including prepaying next year's taxes [I've been able to prepay zero; a big fat zero]. Which means that I need to continue to bring in consistent sales to get that covered. Once that prepayment is handled, I can rest a little. But not now. I figure if I can bring in around $6K in sales between now and year's end, we'll be in halfway decent shape. But I have not been able to push sales like I need to be doing; my health has been too bad generally, but when I have only one partially-working hand with which to type, it becomes impossible. Because I'm a little better today, it means that I will by definition overdo it, but I need to bring in holiday sales now, enough to get the taxes off my desk once and for all. And while my illness worsens, I really need help. And, as always, all the links are listed below:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (liquid soaps are priority now [or Amazon cards, and I can order them myself]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

There's lots of fabulous work on the site, and there will be much, much more in the weeks to come. The way this year has gone, things will still be grim for a good while and the holidays will be here before you know it, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2023; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                       

Red Willow Spirit: The Fire of Fall Storms

Photo copyright Wings, 2023; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's an edition of Red Willow Spirit for the spaces between first snow and real weather before the arrival of winter. It's two older images linked by a single perfectly apt work of wearable art, inhabiting this threshold space when the fire of fall storms dances with the leading edge of the earliest winter snows.

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 fewer than two months left in this fourth year of pandemic and loss, and facing enormous expenses in the middle of our worst sales year in a very long time, we still need to make consistent sales now, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2023; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner. 

Small residual storms.

Photo copyright Aji, 2023; all rights reserved.

Yesterday's snow was only a dusting, even on the peaks, and down here, it was virtually all melted by noon. Still, it's been a day of small residual storms around the peaks, blown on a bitter north wind, something we almost never get here. We occasionally get a northeast wind, but a true north wind is unbelievably rare; not even once a year on average anymore. It's been cold.

Everything's late because the day as spent on errands: picking up something from another local Indigenous artist; post office for shipping; grocery store to avoid the worst of the pre-T-Day nonsense. Speaking of which, as I said yesterday, it's going to be a busy week, and a fraught one. We're fast running out of holiday season in which to make sales, as every weeks-early "Black Friday sale" e-mail keeps reminding me. I have to change that, and I've been too ill and too crippled by pain to do that. Small residual storms, indeed. But all that has to change now, pain or no.

So I'm going back to posting screenshots of Wings's work on Twitter. Temporarily, and only until the end of each day. Then I'll delete. But taking our images off both accounts has destroyed our site traffic, from hundreds of human hits a day to nothing but crawlers and bots. And we can't afford that. I'm also going to try to run short threads daily now, because that's what produces results.

Because despite our recent sales, this year has been so slow that we're way behind on everything, including prepaying next year's taxes [I've been able to prepay zero; a big fat zero]. Which means that I need to continue to bring in consistent sales to get that covered. Once that prepayment is handled, I can rest a little. But not now. I figure if I can bring in around $6K in sales between now and year's end, we'll be in halfway decent shape. But I have not been able to push sales like I need to be doing; my health has been too bad generally, but when I have only one partially-working hand with which to type, it becomes impossible. Because I'm a little better today, it means that I will by definition overdo it, but I need to bring in holiday sales now, enough to get the taxes off my desk once and for all. And while my illness worsens, I really need help. And, as always, all the links are listed below:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (liquid soaps are priority now [or Amazon cards, and I can order them myself]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

There's lots of fabulous work on the site, and there will be much, much more in the weeks to come. The way this year has gone, things will still be grim for a good while and the holidays will be here before you know it, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2023; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                       

Monday Photo Meditation: The Light the Snow Leaves Behind

Photo copyright Wings, 2023; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a Monday Photo Meditation for a week that has begun with the first real snow of the season. It's only a dusting, true, but it reminds us of what is possible, and it also delivers medicine in the form of the light the snow leaves behind.

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 fewer than three months left in this fourth year of pandemic and loss, and facing enormous expenses in the middle of our worst sales year in a very long time, we still need to make consistent sales, so shares are very much needed and much appreciated.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2023; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.  

Real snow.

Photo copyright Aji, 2023; all rights reserved.

It's a beautiful day: low-lying fog at dawn, the kind you can't see through, with bands reaching from mountains down to us at their feet; higher bands of fog a little later; then deep, dark clouds and a dropping mercury; rain to sleet to graupel in a record matter of minutes; and now, we have snow.

Real snow. Big flakes, heavy, steady, the kind that accumulate. We won't get a lot, probably nothing measured in inches, but for now, it's beautiful, and we're grateful for it. The birds are loving it, too.

It's going to be a busy week, and a fraught one. [No, not because of Thankstaking. We'll have a nice meal; I snagged a turkey breast a long time ago, but that's about it. It's a day that celebrates our ancestral relatives' genocides, and so for us? No thanks.] We're fast running out of holiday season in which to make sales, as every weeks-early "Black Friday sale" e-mail keeps reminding me. I have to change that, and I've been too ill and too crippled by pain to do that. That has to change starting today.

So I'm going back to posting screenshots of Wings's work on Twitter. Temporarily, and only until the end of each day. Then I'll delete. But taking our images off both accounts has destroyed our site traffic, from hundreds of human hits a day to nothing but crawlers and bots. And we can't afford that. I'm also going to try to run short threads daily now, because that's what produces results.

Because despite our recent sales, this year has been so slow that we're way behind on everything, including prepaying next year's taxes [I've been able to prepay zero; a big fat zero]. Which means that I need to continue to bring in consistent sales to get that covered. Once that prepayment is handled, I can rest a little. But not now. I figure if I can bring in around $6K in sales between now and year's end, we'll be in halfway decent shape. But I have not been able to push sales like I need to be doing; my health has been too bad generally, but when I have only one partially-working hand with which to type, it becomes impossible. Because I'm a little better today, it means that I will by definition overdo it, but I need to bring in holiday sales now, enough to get the taxes off my desk once and for all. And while my illness worsens, I really need help. And, as always, all the links are listed below:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (liquid soaps are priority now [or Amazon cards, and I can order them myself]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

There's lots of fabulous work on the site, and there will be much, much more in the weeks to come. The way this year has gone, things will still be grim for a good while and the holidays will be here before you know it, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2023; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.