Friday Feature: An Icy Spray of Stardust

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

It's our Friday Feature at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a trio of related works that are animated by the the light of the stars and the guiding spirits of the skies. And on a night like the one to come when the clouds serve as a veil, we will still be granted an icy spray of stardust, their frozen shimmer fallen to earth like a blanket.

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

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

New boots.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

New boots.

Today was the farrier appointment, and Miskwaki, as always, handled it like a champ. He goes to sleep while getting his pedicure just because he's relaxed. Miika, on the other hand, has to be drugged to the gills to tolerate it.

We were afraid she'd do like Shade and find a way to pry the boots off, but she seems to love them, actually. Probably because she's been in a lot of pain, something we had attributed to the extremes of temperature and weather (common in laminitic horses here this time of year), but it turns out her laminitis is doing fairly well. This is something else.

So. We now have to look at inflammatory response, both metabolic and allergic. It could be that the grass hay, which is basically alfalfa-free but still has timothy and some clover buried in it. is simply too rich for her. Or, it could be that she's having an actual allergic reaction to an ingredient in the LaminaSaver supplement, or a rebound reaction either to its active ingredient or the way it interacts with her Equioxx and Pergolide. So now it becomes a process of elimination, and of titration off the supplement, and it's going to be an expensive hell for a while until we know for sure. Wings went out and bought the last of the pure grass hay we could find in the county, about a dozen bales, so that's a big cost we weren't expecting, but here we are.

And I'm way behind today, as well as on the week. To be able to do everything I absolutely have to get done, I am backing off on everything else again, online and off- alike. I had to reschedule my eye appointment for another six weeks out, because I'm not in a place physically where I can manage two hours down and twos back accordioned into the truck, never mind all the waiting I'll have to do there. I'm not sleeping and that's keeping my pain levels sky-high, and this month is overloaded with obligations as it is.

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

And on top of all of that, I'm still trying desperately to get caught up on a bunch of the things I haven't been able to do these last three weeks, having been so sick with this godforsaken lupus flare. Still need to make sales, though. Today's is brand new, just completed, and there's more work in the pipeline, too, incredible stuff. Links are here:

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

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

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

#TBT: Rumors of the Water's Return

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

It's #ThrowbackThursday at The NDN Silver Blog, with a #TBT work that dates back only four and a half months, one with deeply personal meaning to me. It's a cuff wrought with Wings's sweeping hand-made stamps and now signature freehand microstamping techniques, one that evokes the lands of my home and the rumors of the waters return.  

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

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

Nesting season.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

It's nesting season here. The crows and ravens are busy making use of the branches on the old gnarled tree by the south fence. That was yesterday, and that one managed to make off with a twig longer than its own self.

Seventy degrees again today. Supposed to drop 15-20 degrees over the weekend, and in the last few minutes, they've added a halfway-decent chance of snow to both days, so we'll see. Nice as it might be not to have to wear a jacket, this is far too warm for the opening days of March.

I wish it were nesting season for us, but no such luck. To be able to do everything I absolutely have to get done, I am backing off on everything else again, online and off- alike. I had to reschedule my eye appointment for another six weeks out, because I'm not in a place physically where I can manage two hours down and twos back accordioned into the truck, never mind all the waiting I'll have to do there. I'm not sleeping and that's keeping my pain levels sky-high, and this month is overloaded with obligations as it is.

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

And on top of all of that, I'm still trying desperately to get caught up on a bunch of the things I haven't been able to do these last three weeks, having been so sick with this godforsaken lupus flare. Still need to make sales, though. Today's is brand new, just completed, and there's more work in the pipeline, too, incredible stuff. Links are here:

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

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

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

The Threshold Blues of Time and Tide

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's Wings's newest work, completed only within the last couple of hours and weighty with substance and symbolism alike. It's a cuff wrought in traditional vintage style, paying tribute to the threshold blues of time and tide and to our own place in this unsettled season now.

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

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

New month, same old.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

New month, same old.  Except at 70 degrees.

This doesn't bode well.

Of course, a lot of things today aren't boding well. Not the least of which is my lack of sleep and jacked pain levels. The depression, due mostly, I think, to all that pain and no sleep, is overwhelming me now to the point where my brain can barely function. I should've scheduled my ketamine therapy intake earlier, but I wasn't sure I could swing even one treatment. As it stands, I'm rescheduling my eye appointment, because I'm exhausted and so overloaded with tasks and deadlines and I just can't lose a whole day to one damn thing and I don't think my bod could handle the trip right now anyway.

Also? I need to focus on making sales somehow. We are out nearly $700 cash just last week on medical stuff, and there will be more than $300 in cash costs this week as we pay for the horse vet and farrier for Miika [I'm saving us, temporarily, the more than $1K my eyes will set us back, but that's gonna have to happen soon] That doesn't even count the hay and firewood stock-ups before it's all gone for the season. Which means that I really need to sell a couple of big pieces or several smaller ones. Trouble is, I can't even block out any time to chase sales.

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

And on top of all of that, I'm still trying desperately to get caught up on a bunch of the things I haven't been able to do these last three weeks, having been so sick with this godforsaken lupus flare. There's more work in the pipeline, too, and it's incredible stuff, one of which should be up tomorrow. Links are here:

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

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

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

Red Willow Spirit: Following the Water, and the Light

Photo copyright Wings, 2022; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's an edition of Red Willow Spirit for the first day of meteorological spring, and for the challenges of winter that remain. It's a reflection, too, upon the obligation to bear witness while not becoming attached to arrangements no longer available to us, and upon the truth that following the water, and the light, is always a path to the medicine of life itself.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. As always, his photos are available in any of the usual three formats; simply inquire via the site's Contact form. We will still need to make consistent sales to make it through this third year of pandemic and loss, so shares of the site links are much appreciated.

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