Bright spots.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Bright spots in a hard day. Hard week, month, year, whatever.

There are like three separate things related to this well mess that need to get resolved, and two of them? Nothing. Stuck waiting for responses, which is my idea of hell. The third thing will, I think, be handled tomorrow, but it's not the most immediate one, which is getting them out here with a new tank to dig.

And as I said yesterday, until this is resolved, we can't relax about anything, because we could lose water completely again at any moment; [because the tank is apparently so badly shot that the new pressure-pump assembly began burning out after something like three days]. So the week I had intended to spend almost entirely here, getting caught up? LOL, no. That's not happening. 

I am so tired.

And of course, all that expense to come means that we still need shares, and we most definitely still need sales, several grand's worth of sales, until I can get everything covered that has to get covered. Which means I have to get caught up on the work somehow. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (new priorities, needed for Miika, are 3-4 pairs of the fly traps [the second item on the list]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year last year, and the first half of this one at least as bad, we urgently need to move 2025 onto a better footing, because taxes to this Nazi administration have already tapped us out and we still owe more anyway, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                     

Red Willow Spirit: The Waters of Renewal

Photo copyright Wings, 2025; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's an edition of Red Willow Spirit for midsummer's motion and flow, for altered patterns of season and climate and what it will take to restore our small world. It's three images in a series that includes yesterday's, linked by a single work of vintage-style wearable art fro two very different perspectives, all of them beckoning us to the work of reclaiming and sustaining the waters of renewal.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We have had huge expenses looming over us, including the replacement of our well tank in theory this week [already a week late and more, so who knows?]. We need to bring in consistent sales each and every week to cover it all.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.   

Directly over us.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

That up there in the photo? That's what's directly over us, right now. Yesterday's forecast amounted only to that first shower, nothing more, but today is making up for it in a big way: a literal cloudburst, driving in hard from the east/northeast [entirely the wrong direction, under normal circumstances, but then these are not anything approaching normal, are they?]. Also, cloudbursts typically move out as fast as they begin, but that's not happening here; it's still pouring , and what's directly over us on the radar map is not green, or even yellow. This spot is red. And they say this is supposed to continue until after 10 PM.

So if I suddenly vanish offline, you'll know why. Our grids here are infamously fragile. And I really, really need them to stay stable right now, because I have way too much work to do.

It feels like it's been a week already, and it's only Monday. Wings picked up feed and other supplies this morning, plus the mail; at some point, we have to squeeze in grocery shopping. We have more bureaucratic stuff to handle later in the week, and then there's the reason for that: this stupid well problem.

He finally got hold of someone at the drilling office this morning, but we still don't know whether the tank is in, never mind when they'll be out to dig. Until this is resolved, we can't relax about anything, because we cold lose water completely again at any moment; [because the tank is apparently so badly shot that the new pressure-pump assembly began burning out after something like three days]. So the week I had intended to spend almost entirely here, getting caught up? LOL, no. That's not happening. 

And of course, all that expense to come means that we still need shares, and we most definitely still need sales, several grand's worth of sales, until I can get everything covered that has to get covered. Which means I have to get caught up on the work somehow. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (new priorities, needed for Miika, are 3-4 pairs of the fly traps [the second item on the list]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year last year, and the first half of this one at least as bad, we urgently need to move 2025 onto a better footing, because taxes to this Nazi administration have already tapped us out and we still owe more anyway, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                     

Monday Photo Meditation: Reflecting Upon the Waters

Photo copyright Wings, 2025; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a Monday Photo Meditation for the spirits of the water and their gifts, including those we take too often for granted. It's an image that dates back some seventeen or eighteen years, one of a small series of casual shots that Wings captured in appreciation on an irrigation-related trip up to the river, this one illustrating the value of reflecting upon the waters.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We have had huge expenses looming over us, including the replacement of our well tank hopefully this week. We need to bring in consistent sales each and every week to cover it all.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.    

Watching the rain come.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Hot and bright this morning, only some haze at the horizon. That was changing by noon, though, and early this afternoon, we were out there watching the rain come this way.

We've gotten a little rain; in theory, we're supposed to get more, but I don't know if we can put any real stock in the forecast. They're wrong most of the time, and of course, nothing they do takes account of climate collapse. Still, even the clouds are welcome right now. 

I'm so tired. I'd planned to get caught up on so many things this weekend, and the pain and fatigue just won't let me. I'm hoping not to have to go anywhere for most of the week, but one thing we do have to deal with is this well situation.

We have to get an answer from the drilling guy tomorrow about whether the tank is in, and about they'll be out to dig. Because the new pressure-pump assembly began burning out after something like three days [so the old tank must be completely shot], and it's only getting worse by the day, I would really, really like to get that taken care of before we lose water again, especially in this kind of heat. Of course, all that expense to come means that we still need shares, and we most definitely still need sales, several grand's worth of sales, until I can get everything covered that has to get covered. Which means I have to get caught up on the work somehow. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (new priorities, needed for Miika, are 3-4 pairs of the fly traps [the second item on the list]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year last year, and the first half of this one at least as bad, we urgently need to move 2025 onto a better footing, because taxes to this Nazi administration have already tapped us out and we still owe more anyway, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                     

Of Waters Renewed and an Earth Restored

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work for the very midpoint of summer, for the paths and patterns and cycle we thought lost, and the earth hoops that seem ready to return, at least in some small way. It's a contemplation of the healing offered us by today's rain, of waters renewed and an earth restored, and even if only in part, it's a gift beyond price all the same.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We have had huge expenses looming over us, including the replacement of our well tank as soon as humanly possible [we had hoped last week, but now we're in a whole new week]. We need to bring in consistent sales each and every week to cover it all.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.       

Harbinger.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

That was this morning. Beautiful, bright, sunny. The clouds are innocent-looking, right? Welp. That's a harbinger of things to come.

It's powwow weekend, so right on schedule, here comes the weather. That spot in the sky is now a solid iron gray; on the opposite side, to the west, it's a giant blue-black wall. These are the kinds of skies that actually do deliver real rain, so we might actually see today's forecast come to pass.

It's cooler today too, which is good for the dancers; it's also a lot less smoky than yesterday, so it's better for them to be outside now than it was last night. We're not going; neither of us has the stamina for the walking and standing that's required now, even if we weren't already buried by work.

And we are — buried by work, I mean. I'm so glad this week is nearly done, but the summer is just flying by, and I'm getting nowhere fast. The last two, three, four weeks have been such a mess on so many fronts, and we've got more of that ahead. We still don't have an answer from the drilling guy about whether the tank is in, never mind when they'll be out to dig, and given that the new pressure-pump assembly began burning out after something like three days [so the old tank must be completely shot], and that's only getting worse, I would really, really like to get that taken care of before we lose water again, especially in this kind of heat. Of course, all that expense to come means that we still need shares, and we most definitely still need sales, several grand's worth of sales, until I can get everything covered that has to get covered. Which means I have to get caught up on the work somehow. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (new priorities, needed for Miika, are 3-4 pairs of the fly traps [the second item on the list]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year last year, and the first half of this one at least as bad, we urgently need to move 2025 onto a better footing, because taxes to this Nazi administration have already tapped us out and we still owe more anyway, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                     

Petaled Sparks of Flame

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work for the intense power and electric beauty of summer's fire in all its forms, from bolts of lightning to blazing sunset skies. It's a pair of earrings in a cascade of fiery colors and materials, petaled sparks of flame that dance with the season's rains.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We have had huge expenses looming over us, including the replacement of our well tank as soon as humanly possible [we had hoped this week, but we're now out of week and haven't heard from the driller yet]. We need to bring in consistent sales each and every week to cover it all.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.       

Smoke everywhere today.

Photo copyright aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Smoke everywhere today. At dawn, it was much worse than what the photo shows, and it's worse again now, too. At least now we finally have some thunderheads building, and the wind is rising, so maybe it will tamp it down with some rain, or at a minimum, blow some of it out of here. It's been bad enough that I'm masking up every time I go out to the studio or elsewhere.

I'm so glad this week is nearly done, but the summer is just flying by, and I'm getting nowhere fast.The last two, three, four weeks have been such a mess on so many fronts, and we've got more of that ahead. We still don't have an answer from the drilling guy about whether the tank is in, never mind when they'll be out to dig, and given that the new pressure-pump assembly began burning out after something like three days [so the old tank must be completely shot], and that's only getting worse, I would really, really like to get that taken care of before we lose water again, especially in this kind of heat. Of course, all that expense to come means that we still need shares, and we most definitely still need sales, several grand's worth of sales, until I can get everything covered that has to get covered. Which means I have to get caught up on the work somehow. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (new priorities, needed for Miika, are 3-4 pairs of the fly traps [the second item on the list]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year last year, and the first half of this one at least as bad, we urgently need to move 2025 onto a better footing, because taxes to this Nazi administration have already tapped us out and we still owe more anyway, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                     

Friday Feature: The Flowering and Fiery Love of the Spirits

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with a pair of works created independently of each other, but with focals from the same parcel, their elemental power seemingly magnified when grouped together. It's a necklace and a pair of earrings set with extraordinary specimens of Rosarita, both embodying the flowering and fiery love of the spirits for our world, and for us.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We have had huge expenses looming over us, including the replacement of our well tank as soon as humanly possible [we had hoped this week, but we're now out of week and haven't heard from the driller yet]. We need to bring in consistent sales each and every week to cover it all.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.       

And the week's not over yet.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

That's what the skies looked like this afternoon and evening. It's smoke frm a controlled [not prescribed" burn, altough how well controlled it actually is is anybody's guess. It's in the Santa Fe National Forest, allegedly sparked by a lightning strike, and they decided they would "control" it. We all know how well that worked out with Hermit's Peak and Calf Canyon.

Anyway, tonight's Berry Moon is now a blood moon, courtesy of all the smoke.

And on top of that, it has been a day.  And also a week. And the week's not over yet. We had to go out of town today, always a dicey proposition for me anymore, but all the more so when I only fall asleep sometime after 6 AM and then wake every 10 minutes thereafter. I'm on virtually no sleep at all, in other words, and it's nearly midnight and I'm barely getting to the stuff that I should've been able to do well before noon.

We had to take some paperwork to our credit union; had to run a couple of other errands, and we still don't know whether the well tank is in or not; Wings is going in to see him in person again tomorrow morning. We need this thing in and DONE; the new pressure-pump assembly began burning out after something like three days [so the old tank must be completely shot], and that's only getting worse, and I would really, really like to get that taken care of before we lose water agai, especially in this kind of heat. Of course, all that expense to come means that we still need shares, and we most definitely still need sales, several grand's worth of sales, until I can get everything covered that has to get covered. Which means I have to get caught up on the work somehow. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (new priorities, needed for Miika, are 3-4 pairs of the fly traps [the second item on the list]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year last year, and the first half of this one at least as bad, we urgently need to move 2025 onto a better footing, because taxes to this Nazi administration have already tapped us out and we still owe more anyway, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                     

#ThrowbackThursday: Small Sparks That Blossom Into the Flames of Young Spirits

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

It's #TBT at The NDN Silver Blog, with a #ThrowbackThursday featured work that dates back only two or three weeks, to a very special commission for a friend. It's a traditional baby bracelet created for my friend's new grandson, set with an old and fiery cabochon of natural coral, like the small sparks that blossom into the flames of young spirits.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. 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 have had huge expenses looming over us, including the replacement of our well tank this week, we hope [although we're running out of week now]. We need to bring in consistent sales each and every week to cover it all.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.   

Nope.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

The next one in the pipeline. All he needs to do is set the stone, which is seraphinite, and buff it, and it'll be available for sale.

Today, we were both so beat that we decided to move today's planned tasks to tomorrow . . . thinking that that would give us a little breathing room today. Nope. We have both been running all day, and in my case, falling farther and farther behind. The next two days, at the very least, will be more of the same.

Today was also extremely hot, no chance of rain, and just . . . hot. Uncomfortably so. The kind that keeps my brain from working properly. Like yesterday, remembering that it was 7 years ago late yesterday afternoon that we were forced to say goodbye to Shade [at that point leaving Miskwaki alone and in mourning, hence the need to take in Miika; now my boy is gone, too], but not remembering to point it out. I'm so tired, and there's nothing I can do about it.

The mutual-aid group seems, at just shy of nine months, to be reaching a kind of critical mass finally, which is great. The problem is that there is so much that goes into pushing people's fundraising needs, and so that's added to my workload in a big way lately. And after a very long dry spell, we're getting a bunch of commission inquiries all at once, which is also great, but all the back-end prep work falls to me.  if I were to do everything I need to do just today alone, I wouldn't get any sleep before Sunday.

And then there's the well mess. We have a call in to the drilling company, but no response yet, so I don't know whether the tank is in yet or not. I hope it's in by Friday, at least; the new pressure-pump assembly began burning out after something like three days [so the old tank must be completely shot], and that's only getting worse, and I would really, really like to get that taken care of before we lose water again. Of course, all that expense to come means that we still need shares, and we most definitely still need sales, several grand's worth of sales, until I can get everything covered that has to get covered. Which means I have to get caught up on the work somehow. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (new priorities, needed for Miika, are 3-4 pairs of the fly traps [the second item on the list]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year last year, and the first half of this one at least as bad, we urgently need to move 2025 onto a better footing, because taxes to this Nazi administration have already tapped us out and we still owe more anyway, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                     

A World In Bloom By the Sun's Fire and Light

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's an all new trio of works, created together but offered separately — a celestial fire of sunsparks and atmospheric flames. It's one necklace and two pairs of coordinating earrings, all built around the sunny shades of. natural spiny oyster shell and manifest as that daily gift of our nearest star, a world in bloom by the sun's fire and light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We have had huge expenses looming over us, including the replacement of our well tank this week, with luck. We need to bring in consistent sales each and every week to cover it all.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.       

Red Willow Spirit: Painting the Earth With Fire

Photo copyright Wings, 2025; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's an edition of Red Willow Spirit for the brilliant flames of the summer season, the kind that deliver no destruction, only beauty and medicine. It's three images from nearly two decades past, linked by two current and patly matched works of wearable art, all of them tributes to the power and beauty of Indian paintbrush its practice of painting the earth with fire.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We have had huge expenses looming over us, including the replacement of our well tank in hopefully yet this week. We need to bring in consistent sales each and every week to cover it all.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.   

Out of order it is.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Clouds gathering, but a lot less chance of any rain today.

And I am having a day [and not in a good way], so everything is out of order. Yesterday was overloaded; today's worse, if that's possible. And then tomorrow will be more of the same, probably Thursday, too.

I need more hours in the day. Why is that too much to ask?

::Sigh:: anyway. The big boulder of stress that's sitting on my chest is not going to budge if I don't get some of this off my desk immediately, so out of order it is. 

We have a call in to the drilling company, but no response yet, so I don't know whether the tank is in yet or not. I hope it's in by tomorrow or Thursday, at least; the new pressure-pump assembly began burning out after something like three days [so the old tank must be completely shot], and that's only getting worse, and I would really, really like to get that taken care of before we lose water again. Of course, all that expense to come means that we still need shares, and we most definitely still need sales, several grand's worth of sales, until I can get everything covered that has to get covered. Which means I have to get caught up on the work somehow. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (new priorities, needed for Miika, are 3-4 pairs of the fly traps [the second item on the list]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year last year, and the first half of this one at least as bad, we urgently need to move 2025 onto a better footing, because taxes to this Nazi administration have already tapped us out and we still owe more anyway, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                    

Nonstop, all day.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Bright and clear and hot this morning, barely a cloud in the sky, and then by afternoon, it looked like that. A few scattered showers, and two relatively short but steady episodes of real rain, so we're good.

Of course, we got caught in it, natch.

It's been a week, and it's only Monday. Okay, a day, but man . . . .  We both had to be up early because there were things we needed to do before the chimney service guys got here a little before nine. We have two clean flues for another year now. But ever since, it's just been nonstop, all day. I'm finally sitting down to, you know, my work — in the evening. Again. 

Tomorrow is going to be more of the same, and so is Wednesday, it appears. My bigger concern is that Thursday and Friday will wind up being like this, too, and if that happens, I'll be useless by the weekend, because I'll have pushed myself way beyond what my body will handle anymore. Because I still don't know when the well tank will be here, and whenever it arrives and they can come out, everything else has to get rearranged, canceled, postponed, whatever, so we can deal with that.

I hope it's in by mid-week, at least; the new assembly began burning out after something like three days, so the old tank must be completely shot, and I would really, really like to get that taken care of before we lose water again. Of course, all that expense to come means that we still need shares, and we most definitely still need sales, several grand's worth of sales, until I can get everything covered that has to get covered. Which means I have to get caught up on the work somehow. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (new priorities, needed for Miika, are 3-4 pairs of the fly traps [the second item on the list]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year last year, and the first half of this one at least as bad, we urgently need to move 2025 onto a better footing, because taxes to this Nazi administration have already tapped us out and we still owe more anyway, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                    

Monday Photo Meditation: A Fiery Flowering Land

Photo copyright Wings, 2025; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a Monday Photo Meditation for a world finally ready to get down to the business of summer. It's a remembrance of what this place at this season once was combined with the hope that it could be again, a fiery flowering land of petaled flames dancing in the rain.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We have had huge expenses looming over us, including the replacement of our well tank hopefully this week. We need to bring in consistent sales each and every week to cover it all.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.    

And it's only Sunday.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; al rights reserved.

That's what was haded our way just a little while ago. It's since moved overhead, continued on to ricochet around the peaks, been blown back to deliver a few scattered drops, and is moving out again.

It feels like a metaphor for my life right now. Good god, I'm tired. And it's only Sunday.

The week to come is going to be a monster.  Chimney cleaners first thing tomorrow, and they're going to have to do a repair to one of the stoves. All that bureaucratic stuff I thought we'd be doing a week ago? There's still all that to be done now. And presumably the well tank will be in, and we'll have to get them out here to dig. Which likely means a day or two without running water again. In the meantime, there's another wrinkle that I'm not even going to go into; the idea is help for Wings with stuff I can't do anymore, but . . . we'll see. This week is already completely overloaded, every single day; this doesn't feel like a time to start yet another thing.

Especially with this well nonsense still looming. I hope the new tank is in by mid-week, at the very least; the new assembly began burning out after something like three days, so the old tank must be completely shot, and I would really, really like to get that taken care of before we lose water again. Of course, all that expense to come means that we still need shares, and we most definitely still need sales, several grand's worth of sales, until I can get everything covered that has to get covered. Which means I have to get caught up on the work somehow. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (new priorities, needed for Miika, are 3-4 pairs of the fly traps [the second item on the list]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year last year, and the first half of this one at least as bad, we urgently need to move 2025 onto a better footing, because taxes to this Nazi administration have already tapped us out and we still owe more anyway, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                    

Petals of Wild Crimson Flame

Photo copyright Aji, 2025;
all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work for the first wild petals of summer, too many of them no longer able to flower here. It's a pair of earrings set with rich sponge coral cabochons in the color of Indian paintbrush, petals of wild crimson flame to match tonight's fiery sunset skies to come.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We have had huge expenses looming over us, including the replacement of our well tank this week, with luck. We need to bring in consistent sales each and every week to cover it all.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.      

Projects.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

One of his projects for today. Specifically, it's the post lying in the ground in the photo, which is now upright, but not yet thoroughly packed in or cemented. He needs a second shade sail to cover the rest of the studio front, because the single one doesn't even cover the rolling mill at certain times of day, and it doesn't reach the grinder and buffer at all.

And it's too hot to do that in this kind of sun.

It's been a slow day, or rather, it just seems that way. No matter how much I get done, I'm still so far behind on everything that I just look at my to-do list and want to give up. Not an option, but man, I'm tired.

And the week to come is going to be a monster.  Chimney cleaners first thing Monday, and they're going to have to do a repair to one of the stoves. All that bureaucratic stuff I thought we'd be doing a week ago? There's still all that to be done now. And presumably the well tank will be in, and we'll have to get them out here to dig. Which likely means a day or two without running water again.

And I hope it's in by mid-week, at least; the new assembly already began burning out after something like three days, so the old tank must be completely shot, and I would really, really like to get that taken care of before we lose water again. Of course, all that expense to come means that we still need shares, and we most definitely still need sales, several grand's worth of sales, until I can get everything covered that has to get covered. Which means I have to get caught up on the work somehow. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (new priorities, needed for Miika, are 3-4 pairs of the fly traps [the second item on the list]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year last year, and the first half of this one at least as bad, we urgently need to move 2025 onto a better footing, because taxes to this Nazi administration have already tapped us out and we still owe more anyway, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                   

The Gift of a Wide-Open Turquoise Blue Sky

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work for these hot summer days, and for the blessings we are granted when the sky opens. It's a pair of earrings in shape of raindrops touched with drips of sun, the gift of a wide-open turquoise blue sky that is nothing less than the First Medicines of the water and the light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We have had huge expenses looming over us, including the replacement of our well tank next week, with luck. We need to bring in consistent sales each and every week to cover it all.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.      

In process.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

In process. It's the latest, likely done tomorrow: a heavy-gauge triangle-wire cuff with wraparound freehand filework, with an oblong focal of red tiger's eye. Yes, it occurs that way naturally. There's a blue variant, too, known as hawk's eye, although he doesn't have any of that in inventory. He has three other red tiger's eye cabs, I believe, each a different shape.

Some friends came by this morning, so they got to encounter Cricket, the feral guard dog. Wings is doing a special commission for them, which is why he's not taking on new ones right now; this one will keep him occupied for a while. But it was good to see them in person, and they were headed to the protest in town from here, doing what we could not.

No, this isn't a day we celebrate. Mostly it's just tiring, and I'll be glad to have it in the rear-view after this weekend. We've got enough to deal with right now, starting with the new well tank, which is on order allegedly supposed to be in this coming week.

And I hope it's in by mid-week, at least; the new assembly already began burning out after something like three days, so the old tank must be completely shot, and I would really, really like to get that taken care of before we lose water again. Of course, all that expense to come means that we still need shares, and we most definitely still need sales, several grand's worth of sales, until I can get everything covered that has to get covered. Which means I have to get caught up on the work somehow. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (new priorities, needed for Miika, are 3-4 pairs of the fly traps [the second item on the list]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year last year, and the first half of this one at least as bad, we urgently need to move 2025 onto a better footing, because taxes to this Nazi administration have already tapped us out and we still owe more anyway, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.                   

Friday Feature: The Blue of Sacred Waters and Sky

Photo copyright Aji, 2025;
all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, with the medicine of a sacred sky, a trio of clearly related works for the waters and the light. It's a necklace, pair of earrings, and cuff bracelet, all created independently of each and offered separately, yet built around Skystones from the same parcel, all manifest in the blue of sacred waters and sky.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. We have had huge expenses looming over us, including the replacement of our well tank next week, with luck. We need to bring in consistent sales each and every week to cover it all.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.     

Something bright.

Photo copyright Aji, 2025; all rights reserved.

Present from my honey. Something bright in here to counteract the gray of the day.

To be clear, I don't mind gray days at all. But after sun this morning, the rest of the day's been pretty dark indoors, courtesy of the black stormclouds outside and the literal cloudburst we got this afternoon. No, I did not get a shot of the rain coming down in an absolute wall of water, but that's what we got.

There's more coming down over the north/northeast peaks right now, and we're supposed to get more tonight as well. Probably not the extreme weather we got this afternoon, but with the drought we've had, we'll take whatever we can get and be grateful for it.

Still behind on everything , hence the reason this is posting tonight instead of, you know, this morning, or at least early afternoon. Next week is clearly going to be a mess, too, in part because everything will be closed tomorrow. The stuff I thought we'd be doing the first of this week got bumped [not by us] to next week, and we're also hoping that the well tank is in and we can get it replaced next week, which is going to be a whole mess on its own, since they have to dig the old one out and then install the new one underground.

And I hope it's in by mid-week, at least; the new assembly already began burning out after something like three days, so the old tank must be completely shot, and I would really, really like to get that taken care of before we lose water again. Of course, all that expense to come means that we still need shares, and we most definitely still need sales, several grand's worth of sales, until I can get everything covered that has to get covered. Which means I have to get caught up on the work somehow. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (new priorities, needed for Miika, are 3-4 pairs of the fly traps [the second item on the list]); 
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

After such a grim year last year, and the first half of this one at least as bad, we urgently need to move 2025 onto a better footing, because taxes to this Nazi administration have already tapped us out and we still owe more anyway, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2025; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.