Delivering rain.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Scattered clouds. By nightfall, they're supposed to be delivering rain.

At the moment, though, it's all gale-force winds, and unpleasant in the extreme. 

That's not all that's unpleasant. This has been an absolutely hellish month, and as it turns over to April, things are going to get much worse before they get better. The big thing is taxes, which we need to pay in full this week, and we can't do that if we don't bring in SALES. Speaking of "delivering rain" . . . I need to make it happen NOW. TODAY.

And that's not all. On top of the taxes and the expenses and everything else that's bedeviling me and imperiling my health right now, there's a new wrinkle:  PayPal, not content with making fees off us and endlessly greedy, is apparently pissed that I didn't leave the proceeds of our flash sale in there for them to make interest off a 21-day float. On our money. And so they're trying to cap what we can transfer per month, never mind that we've had this account for more than twenty fucking years, and none of this is outside normal patterns. It's pure corporate billionaire greed.

So, 1) do NOT donate to my Ko-Fi account or anything else, do not pay us via PayPal, in any way before April.  And 2), if you're in the market to buy Wing's work, let me know and I can put it through our VISA/MC payment processor and bypass these cannibals entirely.

Because I am profoundly sick of their shit.

This comes on top of the realization that last year damaged us more badly than I knew. Our practice has long been to give something [what folks now call paying forward] out of every sale. That's going to have to stop for a while. So many people came to us for help last year. We didn't turn any of them away, even when it meant tighter belts for us. Now? Now, the tax bill is due, and we don't have nearly enough to pay it. Why? In part because people have come to us this year already at even higher rates. The amount that we've given away/spent on folks in more immediate need . . . it's a lot.

In part, too, because we had to pay out nearly $10K [cash] since the leachfield failed on Christmas Day to deal with the septic disaster. And in part because my Patreon, our steadiest source of income, is down more than $700 a month since this time last year. Do you what that kind of hit does to folks like us?

 We have to pay this, and we have nowhere near enough to cover it. The only way to do that is to make several decently-sized sales very fast [NOT, obviously, via PayPal]. Because everything that came in prior to this went on the damn leachfield replacement. I'm tearing my hair out, because there is nothing I can do to fix it.

I don't know what to do. I can't force people to buy. Somehow, I have to bring in sales. If you're in the market, now would be a really, REALLY good time. There's lots of new work on the site. And as always, all the regular links are listed below, with sales, as always, being the most important:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here ( we'll always need the liquid soaps that I can't get here, the dog treats for the monsters, and Amazon and Lowe's cards [the Lowe's cards are probably going to have to go on a new fridge, so I'm hoarding them]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim 2023, and with this year starting off MUCH worse, we really need to get 2024 moving onto a better footing, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                    

The Sun Gilds the Spring Earth

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work for a season of extreme conditions, of record drought and gale-force winds and solar flares that deliver beauty amid the world's disintegration. It's one for a day when the sun gilds the spring earth, the winds drive catkin-studded branches to dance, and there is a feel of change upon the air, when rain and snow are coming, bearing the season's greatest gift.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We're now at the end of our third month of this new calendar year and still facing complications and costs carried over from the end of last year, which means that we will 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, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.    

Drying up fast.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

That's our drive this morning. Everything is drying up fast now, That's what winds like these do, and it's what makes this twelve-hundred-year drought so impossible to manage, never mind end.

As metaphors go, it's a particularly nasty one, and particularly apt. This year, just shy of three full months gone, has already been a horror show of disaster and need, and we have already expended far too much of trying to ameliorate both. We'll have to pay taxes this week, the full shot, and we simply do not have it.

And that's not all. On top of the taxes and the expenses and everything else that's bedeviling me and imperiling my health right now, there's a new wrinkle:  PayPal, not content with making fees off us and endlessly greedy, is apparently pissed that I didn't leave the proceeds of our flash sale in there for them to make interest off a 21-day float. On our money. And so they're trying to cap what we can transfer per month, never mind that we've had this account for more than twenty fucking years, and none of this is outside normal patterns. It's pure corporate billionaire greed.

So, 1) do NOT donate to my Ko-Fi account or anything else, do not pay us via PayPal, in any way before April.  And 2), if you're in the market to buy Wing's work, let me know and I can put it through our VISA/MC payment processor and bypass these cannibals entirely.

Because I am profoundly sick of their shit.

This comes on top of the realization that last yar damaged us more badly than I knew. Our practice has long been to give something [what folks now call paying forward] out of every sale. That's going to have to stop for a while. So many people came to us for help last year. We didn't turn any of them away, even when it meant tighter belts for us. Now? Now, the tax bill is due, and we don't have nearly enough to pay it. Why? In part because people have come to us this year already at even higher rates. The amount that we've given away/spent on folks in more immediate need . . . it's a lot.

In part, too, because we had to pay out nearly $10K [cash] since the leachfield failed on Christmas Day to deal with the septic disaster. And in part because my Patreon, our steadiest source of income, is down more than $700 a month since this time last year. Do you what that kind of hit does to folks like us?

 We have to pay this, and we have nowhere near enough to cover it. The only way to do that is to make several decently-sized sales very fast [NOT, obviously, via PayPal]. Because everything that came in prior to this went on the damn leachfield replacement. I'm tearing my hair out, because there is nothing I can do to fix it.

I don't know what to do. I can't force people to buy. Somehow, I have to bring in sales. If you're in the market, now would be a really, REALLY good time. There's lots of new work on the site. And as always, all the regular links are listed below, with sales, as always, being the most important:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here ( we'll always need the liquid soaps that I can't get here, the dog treats for the monsters, and Amazon and Lowe's cards [the Lowe's cards are probably going to have to go on a new fridge, so I'm hoarding them]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim 2023, and with this year starting off MUCH worse, we really need to get 2024 moving onto a better footing, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                    

A Spirit of Radiance

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work to refract a rainbow of light even in these dark days. It's a pair of earrings wrought in traditional classic concha style, one animated by a spirit of radiance and the medicine of color and light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We're now at the end of our third month of this new calendar year and still facing complications and costs carried over from the end of last year, which means that we will 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, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.    

Driving out all the beauty of the day.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Hauntingly beautiful morning. Less so now that the trickster winds are here, allegedly two days early, driving out all the beauty of the day.

That's not all that's driving beauty out of our small world right now. On top of the taxes and the expenses and everything else that's bedeviling me and imperiling my health right now, there's a new wrinkle:  PayPal, not content with making fees off us and endlessly greedy, is apparently pissed that I didn't leave the proceeds of our flash sale in there for them to make interest off a 21-day float. On our money. And so they're trying to cap what we can transfer per month, never mind that we've had this account for more than twenty fucking years, and none of this is outside normal patterns. It's pure corporate billionaire greed.

So, 1) do NOT donate to my Ko-Fi account or anything else, do not pay us via PayPal, in any way before April.  And 2), if you're in the market to buy Wing's work, let me know and I can put it through our VISA/MC payment processor and bypass these cannibals entirely.

Because I am profoundly sick of their shit.

This comes on top of the realization that last yar damaged us more badly than I knew. Our practice has long been to give something [what folks now call paying forward] out of every sale. That's going to have to stop for a while. So many people came to us for help last year. We didn't turn any of them away, even when it meant tighter belts for us. Now? Now, the tax bill is due, and we don't have nearly enough to pay it. Why? In part because people have come to us this year already at even higher rates. The amount that we've given away/spent on folks in more immediate need . . . it's a lot.

In part, too, because we had to pay out nearly $10K [cash] since the leachfield failed on Christmas Day to deal with the septic disaster. And in part because my Patreon, our steadiest source of income, is down more than $700 a month since this time last year. Do you what that kind of hit does to folks like us?

 We have to pay this, and we have nowhere near enough to cover it. The only way to do that is to make several decently-sized sales very fast [NOT, obviously, via PayPal]. Because everything that came in prior to this went on the damn leachfield replacement. I'm tearing my hair out, because there is nothing I can do to fix it.

I don't know what to do. I can't force people to buy. Somehow, I have to bring in sales. If you're in the market, now would be a really, REALLY good time. There's lots of new work on the site. And as always, all the regular links are listed below, with sales, as always, being the most important:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here ( we'll always need the liquid soaps that I can't get here, the dog treats for the monsters, and Amazon and Lowe's cards [the Lowe's cards are probably going to have to go on a new fridge, so I'm hoarding them]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim 2023, and with this year starting off MUCH worse, we really need to get 2024 moving onto a better footing, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                   

Friday Feature: The Power of the Smallest Shimmer

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with a work for linking together an Indigenous earth and sky and light. It's a cuff wrought in classic style and built around a very local jewel, one to remind us that the power of the smallest shimmer can be enough to light our way forward now.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We're now nearly out of our third month of this new calendar year and still facing extraordinary complications and costs carried over from the end of last year, which means that we still urgently 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, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.     

#TBT: The Magic of Serpentine Blues and Violet Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

It's #ThrowbackThursday at The NDN Silver Blog, with a #TBT masterwork that as a very special commission created for someone very dear to us. It's a cuff wrought as spiritual armor and the power of animating spirits, in the magic of serpentine blues and violet light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. As always, this work 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're nearly at the end of the third month of this new calendar year and facing complications and costs carried over from the end of last year, which means that we will 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, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.     

Bare.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

[Out of order today, because the NDN Silver post is going to be long (9 photos of a single work), and because I have spent the day so far making myself sick dealing with the taxes.]

See that snow? That was this morning: what was left from yesterday, and already melting fast.

Five hours later? It's all gone now. Oh, there's a patch or two here and there, but the ground is essentially bare. Of course, it's also fifty-four degrees. Much too warm.

That's not all that's bare. This tax nonsense is making me genuinely ill. Our practice has long been to give something [what folks now call paying forward] out of every sale. That's going to have to stop for a while. So many people came to us for help last year. We didn't turn any of them away, even when it meant tighter belts for us. Now? Now, the tax bill is due, and we don't have nearly enough to pay it. Why? In part because people have come to us this year already at even higher rates. The amount that we've given away/spent on folks in more immediate need . . . it's a lot.

In part, too, because we had to pay out nearly $10K [cash] since the leachfield failed on Christmas Day to deal with the septic disaster. And in part because my Patreon, our steadiest source of income, is down more than $700 a month since this time last year. Do you what that kind of hit does to folks like us?

I'm sick. We have to pay this, and we have nowhere near enough to cover it. The only way to do that is to make several decently-sized sales very fast. Because everything that came in prior to this went on the damn leachfield replacement. I'm tearing my hair out, because there is nothing I can do to fix it.

I don't know what to do. I can't force people to buy. Somehow, I have to bring in sales. If you're in the market, now would be a really, REALLY good time. There's lots of new work on the site. And as always, all the regular links are listed below, with sales, as always, being the most important:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here ( we'll always need the liquid soaps that I can't get here, the dog treats for the monsters, and Amazon and Lowe's cards [the Lowe's cards are probably going to have to go on a new fridge, so I'm hoarding them]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim 2023, and with this year starting off MUCH worse, we really need to get 2024 moving onto a better footing, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                   

Rain in the other sense.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

It's already melting. Fast.

It's warm today, sunny, enough wind to drive out most of the clouds. There are a few clouds building to the southwest, but they're going to skirt around us. That's if they don't break apart first, which is probably even more likely.

But a foot-plus of snow, even if it's half melted already, is a great gift.

Now, I just need to make it rain in the other sense of the word.

In other words, SALES. Like, TODAY. It's urgent. I need to finish our tax prep and drop them off tomorrow, and we're going to have to pay them, in full, next week [we could never get enough respite from all the demands on us last year to be able to prepay anything like we usually do, which makes for a nightmare now.] I feel like I'm losing my mind trying to cover everything; last week was exorbitantly expensive, mostly outlays for other folks [this year is much worse, so far, than even last year in that regard] plus one badly needed for Wings, and I have GOT to bring in more to cover the tax bill. If you're in the market for Wings's work? Now's a really, REALLY good time. I posted three new items the other night, and one was featured yesterday [along with another that's recent, if not quite as new]; you can see them all here. If I could sell all of them, that would probably be 75% of what I think we'll still need. 

So go look; there's lots of phenomenal work on the site, both new and less so. There will be another pair of all-silver earrings soon, and four apparently five? Warrior Woman pins posted, probably in the next day or two. And as always, all the regular links are listed below, with sales, as always, being the most important:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here ( we'll always need the liquid soaps that I can't get here, the dog treats for the monsters, and Amazon and Lowe's cards [the Lowe's cards are probably going to have to go on a new fridge, so I'm hoarding them]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim 2023, and with this year starting off even worse, we really need to get 2024 moving onto a better footing, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                   

A Prophetic and Cosmic Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work for days of disintegration, for cycles of freeze and thaw and unseasonal conditions that create fault lines in our world, and for a cosmic resilience that will allow us to survive it all. It's a cuff built around an extraordinary stone, wounded, mended, and more beautiful for it, a work manifest in a prophetic and cosmic light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We're now nearing the end of our third month of this new calendar year and still facing complications and costs carried over from the end of last year, which means that we will 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, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.    

What's needed now.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

This morning, just outside the upstairs door, looking east/southeast. It's only four or five inches on the railing, but that's due in large part to all the prior snow that was blown off as fast as it fell. We got about ten inches, all told, here at home [drifting means four in some spots, over a foot in others, but ten in the sheltered areas]. They only got about four inches at best in some parts of town; it looks like the rest of town got only a couple.

We had to go into town today for Wings's next in a series of dental appointments. It went well, and in three weeks, maybe he'll have things partially fixed, at least temporarily. Maybe not. It's a grueling process. But we left early, since we didn't know how the roads would be [clear]; arrived early, got in early, got out early, got a couple of other errands run, including overdue grocery shopping and his Rx drop-off, and when we got about a mile from home, we hit the next storm. We've had snow off and on all afternoon, with the potential for a little more overnight.

That's what's needed now.

The other thing that's needed now, irrespective of literal weather? SALES. We're going to have to pay our taxes, in full, next week [we could never get enough respite from all the demands on us last year to be able to prepay anything like we usually do, which makes for a nightmare now.] I feel like I'm losing my mind trying to cover everything; last week was exorbitantly expensive, mostly outlays for other folks [this year is much worse, so far, than even last year in that regard] plus one badly needed for Wings, and I have GOT to bring in more to cover the tax bill. If you're in the market for Wings's work? Now's a really, REALLY good time. I posted three new items last night, and one is featured today [along with another that's recent, if not quite as new]; you can see them all here. If I could sell all of them, that would probably be 75% of what I think we'll still need. 

So go look; there's lots of phenomenal work on the site, both new and less so. There will be another pair of all-silver earrings soon, and four apparently five? Warrior Woman pins posted, probably in the next day or two. And as always, all the regular links are listed below, with sales, as always, being the most important:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here ( we'll always need the liquid soaps that I can't get here, the dog treats for the monsters, and Amazon and Lowe's cards [the Lowe's cards are probably going to have to go on a new fridge, so I'm hoarding them]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim 2023, we really need to get this year moving onto a better footing, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                  

Red Willow Spirit: Moonlight New Or Full Or Blue

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's an edition of Red Willow Spirit for full moon skies and the deep blue nights of lingering winter. It's three images shot in a single series, linked by two recent works of wearable art, all of them illustrative of the truth that moonlight new or full or blue, or at any phase in between, is a gift of power, of light, of life.

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're now into our third month of this new calendar year [and already official spring] and facing complications and costs carried over from the end of last year, which means that we will 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, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.     

All right, I've been promising these for days: three extraordinary new works by Wings.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

All right, I've been promising these for days:  three extraordinary new works by Wings. It's two bolos and pair of earrings, conchas all, each work at once very traditional and yet timeless, perfectly suited to now.

First up is the larger bolo, above. Here's a shot of the full tie:

Photo copyright Aji, 2024;
all rights reserved.

It's called The Night Serpent, a reference to the scale-like stampwork and matrix patterning of its extraordinary focal stone. The whole design is phenomenal, concentric rings of freehand stampwork, scorework, and scalloped saw-work, and the variscite cabochon, ice blue finely webbed with inky midnight is the finest specimen of its sort we've ever seen. You can read its full description here.

The second work is also a bolo, smaller in size but, if anything, more flawless in its silverwork:

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

This one is called Orbital Resonances, a reference to the motion of celestial spirits. You'll understand when you look at the stampwork, which is, coincidentally, some of his finest freehand silverwork work to date. The stone at the center is old, and unidentifiable now, but likely Montezuma or Royston, and the whole is absolutely breathtaking. You can read its full description here.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

The third and final work is the pair of earrings, also a traditional concha style, also set with blues, but of a very different sort:

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

This pair is called Radiating Light, a reference to the incredible stampwork in silver emanating from beneath the stormy twilight blues of iolite. These are a classic design, and the blues of the gems are deep and mysterious. You can read their full description here. 

Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We're now nearing the end of the third month of this new calendar year and facing complications and costs carried over from the end of last year — including the urgent need to cover our taxes next week — which means that we will 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, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.      

Badly needed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Aaaaannnnnd we have snow. That was a good while ago; it's still coming down. In theory, we could get between six and ten inches before it's done; we have close to six already, I think. 

Badly needed.

Speaking of badly needed, though, that applies to sales right now, too. Things are incredibly difficult locally. Three deaths in different circles of our broader communities in under a week. multiple folks very ill [of course, we all know why that is]. A family wedding coming up in less than two weeks [no, we're not going, but there are still obligations]. Young relatives who need A LOT of material support right now, and we're the only ones in a position to provide it. These are hard days, hard weeks, hard month, a hard year, and it's showing no signs of letting up, and I'm not bringing in enough sales to cover our taxes, never mind all the rest that we cannot just ignore. 

In the meantime, everything else has to get done, and all the expenses have to get covered. I've spent hours every night lately on tax shit, hours writing [my brain works better if I write everything by hand, then transfer it to computer files, because it's another opportunity to check for errors as I go], and my hands are killing me. But I'm determined to get the taxes done by the end of the weekend okay, maybe tomorrow, so that we can take them in the first of the by mid-week. That's going to be a nightmare expense, since we could never build up enough of a cushion to prepay last year. And for those wondering (when they're deducted from your paycheck because you work for someone else, people don't have a good feel for how much it actually IS, and since we we work for ourselves and don't get paychecks, deductions or no, we don't have that luxury), for our little Native-owned small business? About 33%, straight off the top, ameliorated only by whatever deductions we can manage. On years when can't afford to invest much in equipment and supplies, that's not a lot. So I need to bring in enough to cover that at one go, this year, and that means this week and potentially next for four figures' worth [yes, we have some of it, but not all of it].  If you're in the market for Wings's work? Now's a really, REALLY good time. I'm the new earrings up last night, and both bolos will follow by tonight; if I could sell all three, that would probably be 75% of what I think we'll still need. 

In the meantime, I'm losing my mind; we gave away [for us] so much money last year, because there were so many, many people needing help just to make it on the barest terms. none of that is tax-deductible, but it's all cash out of pocket. And yes, I'd do it again. I'm more interested in our communities surviving than I am in this tax bullshit. Because no one is coming to help our communities, so we all have to step up when it's required of us. We've shelled out a hell of a lot over the last few days on that very front. But I have to make that up now on the tax front, and WE NEED SALES TO DO IT. 

Next thing after that is replacing my dying laptop. I'm babying it along right now, but I have no idea how long that will last. The climatic conditions here and the pace I keep are punishing for laptops, especially the sheer volume of imagery I work with daily. The one that I want to get to replace it is Mac's newest top of the line, which should be able to withstand this kind of work for several years. Of course, it's $4K, and until I bring that in in sales, nothing's changing. But I now know we're getting very close to the point at which I won't have a choice, either, because this is clearly not going to last much longer. The wheelchair has to wait. If I can't do my work, there's no income.

So go look; there's phenomenal work on the site, both new and less so. There's A LOT of incredible work available, and very soon I'll have two new pairs of earrings (one with stones, already up here; one all silver), two bolos (one large, one small, coming yet today, hopefully in the next half-hour or so), and four apparently five? Warrior Woman pins posted, probably by Sunday or so for most, if not all. And as always, all the regular links are listed below, with sales, as always, being the most important:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here ( we'll always need the liquid soaps that I can't get here, the dog treats for the monsters, and Amazon and Lowe's cards [the Lowe's cards are probably going to have to go on a new fridge, so I'm hoarding them]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim 2023, we really need to get this year moving onto a better footing, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                  

Monday Photo Meditation: A Moon In Full Cold Glow

Photo copyright Wings, 2024; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a Monday Photo Meditation for the first full moon of official spring, in circumstances where weather denies us a glimpse of her face. It's an image of skies we once knew, and a reminder that a moon in full cold glow still lights our world even when clouds veil its presence entirely.

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're now near the end of our third month of this new calendar year and facing complications and costs carried over from the end of last year, which means that we will 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, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.     

This is spring here.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Yeah, a little green visible trough the spaces, an even smaller amount of snow, and now gale-force winds and bitter cold. Yeah, there are snowflakes falling again now, but few and far between; the wind is an absolute monster. This is spring here.

Two deaths in different circles of our broader communities two days ago, another today. Lots of illness [of course, we all know why that is]. Yesterday is the ninth anniversary of my mother's death. It's not a good reminder, but I managed to get through it for one more year.. These are hard days, hard weeks, hard month, a hard year, and it's showing no signs of letting up. 

In the meantime, everything else has to get done, and all the expenses have to get covered. I've spent hours every night lately on tax shit, hours writing [my brain works better if I write everything by hand, then transfer it to computer files, because it's another opportunity to check for errors as I go], and my hands are killing me. But I'm determined to get the taxes done by the end of the weekend okay maybe tomorrow, so that we can take them in the first of the week. That's going to be a nightmare expense, since we could never build up enough of a cushion to prepay last year. And for those wondering (when they're deducted from your paycheck because you work for someone else, people don't have a good feel for how much it actually IS, and since we we work for ourselves and don't get paychecks, deductions or no, we don't have that luxury), for our little Native-owned small business? About 33%, straight off the top, ameliorated only by whatever deductions we can manage. On years when can't afford to invest much in equipment and supplies, that's not a lot. So I need to bring in enough to cover that at one go, this year, and that means this week and potentially next for four figures' worth [yes, we have some of it, but not all of it].  If you're in the market for Wings's work? Now's a really, REALLY good time. I'm the new earrings up last night, and both bolos will follow by tonight; if I could sell all three, that would probably be 75% of what I think we'll still need. 

In the meantime, I'm losing my mind; we gave away [for us] so much money last year, because there were so many, many people needing help just to make it on the barest terms. none of that is tax-deductible, but it's all cash out of pocket. And yes, I'd do it again. I'm more interested in our communities surviving than I am in this tax bullshit. Because no one is coming to help our communities, so we all have to step up when it's required of us. We've shelled out a hell of a lot over the last few days on that very front. But I have to make that up now on the tax front, and WE NEED SALES TO DO IT. 

Next thing after that is replacing my dying laptop. I'm babying it along right now, but I have no idea how long that will last. The climatic conditions here and the pace I keep are punishing for laptops, especially the sheer volume of imagery I work with daily. The one that I want to get to replace it is Mac's newest top of the line, which should be able to withstand this kind of work for several years. Of course, it's $4K, and until I bring that in in sales, nothing's changing. But I now know we're getting very close to the point at which I won't have a choice, either, because this is clearly not going to last much longer. The wheelchair has to wait. If I can't do my work, there's no income.

So go look; there's phenomenal work on the site, both new and less so. There's A LOT of incredible work available, and very soon I'll have two new pairs of earrings (one with stones, already up here; one all silver), two bolos (one large, one small, coming yet today, hopefully in the next half-hour or so), and four apparently five? Warrior Woman pins posted, probably by Sunday or so for most, if not all. And as always, all the regular links are listed below, with sales, as always, being the most important:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here ( we'll always need the liquid soaps that I can't get here, the dog treats for the monsters, and Amazon and Lowe's cards [the Lowe's cards are probably going to have to go on a new fridge, so I'm hoarding them]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim 2023, we really need to get this year moving onto a better footing, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                  

The Interstitial Space of the Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2024; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work for the mystical moments of dusk, for the arrow of twilight that links earth to sky in the light of the first and last stars of the day. It's a contemplation, too, of such celestial spirits and their gifts even when we cannot see them, a reflection upon the truth of the mystery and magic and medicine that inhabits the interstitial space of the light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We're now into our third month of this new calendar year and facing complications and costs carried over from the end of last year, which means that we will 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, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.      

I just hope it's the right kind of storm.

Photo copyright Aji, 2024;
all rights reserved.

Ready for climbing the stairway to heaven? That was this morning, when there was still sun sun behind the cloud cover. Now, it's a much darker, heavier, lower gray, and the winds are here. Supposedly, a storm is coming.

We'll see. I just hope it's the right kind of storm. Because lately? It's all the wrong ones, the deadly ones.

Two deaths in different circles of our broader communities yesterday. Lots of illness [of course, we all know why that is]. And today is the ninth anniversary of my mother's death. It's not a good reminder. This is a hard day in a hard week in a hard month in a hard year, and it's showing no signs of letting up. 

In the meantime, everything else has to get done, and all the expenses have to get covered. I've spent hours every night lately on tax shit, hours writing [my brain works better if I write everything by hand, then transfer it to computer files, because it's another opportunity to check for errors as I go], and my hands are killing me. But I'm determined to get the taxes done by the end of the weekend, so that we can take them in the first of the week. That's going to be a nightmare expense, since we could never build up enough of a cushion to prepay last year. And for those wondering (when they're deducted from your paycheck because you work for someone else, people don't have a good feel for how much it actually IS, and since we we work for ourselves and don't get paychecks, deductions or no, we don't have that luxury), for our little Native-owned small business? About 33%, straight off the top, ameliorated only by whatever deductions we can manage. On years when can't afford to invest much in equipment and supplies, that's not a lot. So I need to bring in enough to cover that at one go, this year, and that means this week and potentially next for four figures' worth [yes, we have some of it, but not all of it].  If you're in the market for Wings's work? Now's a really, REALLY good time. I'm the new earrings up last night, and both bolos will follow by tonight; if I could sell all three, that would probably be 75% of what I think we'll still need. 

In the meantime, I'm losing my mind; we gave away [for us] so much money last year, because there were so many, many people needing help just to make it on the barest terms. none of that is tax-deductible, but it's all cash out of pocket. And yes, I'd do it again. I'm more interested in our communities surviving than I am in this tax bullshit. Because see the bit about illness and deaths up above, and realize that nobody's coming to help our communities, so we all have to step up when it's required of us. But I have to make that up now o the tax front, and WE NEED SALES TO DO IT.

Next thing after that is replacing my dying laptop. I'm babying it along right now, but I have no idea how long that will last. The climatic conditions here and the pace I keep are punishing for laptops, especially the sheer volume of imagery I work with daily. The one that I want to get to replace it is Mac's newest top of the line, which should be able to withstand this kind of work for several years. Of course, it's $4K, and until I bring that in in sales, nothing's changing. But I now know we're getting very close to the point at which I won't have a choice, either, because this is clearly not going to last much longer. The wheelchair has to wait. If I can't do my work, there's no income.

So go look; there's phenomenal work on the site, both new and less so. Even with the sales from last weekend, there's still A LOT of incredible work available, and very soon I'll have two new pairs of earrings (one with stones; one all silver), two bolos (one large, one small), and four apparently five? Warrior Woman pins posted, probably by Sunday or so for most, if not all. And as always, all the regular links are listed below, with sales, as always, being the most important:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here ( we'll always need the liquid soaps that I can't get here, the dog treats for the monsters, and Amazon and Lowe's cards [the Lowe's cards are probably going to have to go on a new fridge, so I'm hoarding them]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim 2023, we really need to get this year moving onto a better footing, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2024; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.