#TBT: The Ghosts of Winter

Photo copyright Wings, 2019; all rights reserved. 

It's #ThrowbackThursday at The NDN Silver Blog, with a work from 2011 infused with the spirits of stone and sacred beings and the shades of this day of the season's first snowfall. Three inches of snow driven on ground-blizzard winds have left us with black rock and hard brown earth showing through beneath a slightly threadbare blanket of white, a world, like this work, that evokes the ghosts of winter.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. This work sold nearly a decade ago, and obviously will never be duplicated exactly, but if the general style speaks to your spirit, simply inquire via the site's Contact form; Wings can create a version uniquely your own. And, as always, sales are very much needed (especially now, with repairs forcibly moved up and more medical expenses still in the offing), so shares of the site links are much appreciated. 


All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Take your rays of light where you can find them.

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

You have to take your rays of light where you can find them, I guess.

Pretty dark today, though. Brilliantly clear sunny morning has turned to all clouds, and the snow (major snow) is supposed to hit tonight now instead of holding off until tomorrow. The crow is still wounded, although last night he let me treat his injuries before going back into hiding (yeah, it looks like Uncle F got him before he got away). Miika has laminitis, which is going to be costly both in money and labor to treat.

And then there's my own failure of brain power, which has us overdrawn and no income likely for almost two weeks, when my Patreon (I hope) goes through for October. Speaking of which, I'm still two months into between $400 and $650 shortages. No one has unsubscribed or deleted their pledges, and it seems to be mostly an issue of people's cards expiring and not being updated. But folks, please, even if you think yours is okay, please check: Losing up to $650 a month is a HUGE hit for us, and even with the ones updated this month, I'm still somewhere near $400 in the hole on it for September alone.

Also, we have GOT to make some sales. Normally, we're getting holiday commissions by now (normally, Wings has to juggle multiple holiday commissions and the creative process takes time, so everything begins in October in order to ensure delivery by Christmas). This year? Not a one. And sales are down so far that I despair of making up this differential. The first is still nine days away, and now Miika's vet bill and subsequent treatment have to come out of my Patreon, so I can't direct it to other bills and expenses. I also had to send my doctor a message this morning, because the reaction sparked by the corticosteroids over the spring and summer is flaring again, and right now? I can't even refill my pain meds scrip, much less a new immunosuppressant kind of thing. 

So where's that ray of light thing again?

Yeah, I'm worried. And way overloaded with tasks before the snow hits this evening.
On top of it all, I still have to try to make at least some sales this week, so the rest is all the cut-and-paste, short version, of the other day.

With regard to the other stuff referenced above: For those wondering about my own health issues, see here; with regard to the work being done, some of the details are here. I need help to get all this done. Folks can help in several ways, and we really need the help now:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Wishlist here;
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

Please share everything, because I'm suddenly back behind the eight-ball on a whole additional front, and yeah, I'm scared about covering everything and surviving, too. Thanks.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Spirits of the Night

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's one of Wings's most recent works, one to honor the night way, our road through the dark hours. At this season, it's a cautionary tale, too, about who and what may be abroad in the dark, but at bottom, it's a reminder to honor the spirits of the night who keep us safe by lending their light to our path.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. Inquiries via the site's Contact form. And, as always, sales are very much needed (especially now, with repairs forcibly moved up and more medical expenses still in the offing), so shares of the site links are much appreciated.


All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Always another wounded creature.

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved.

Welp, this day started off badly, and got worse from there. And around here, there's always another wounded creature that needs help.

Today, we have two. One is the crow up there in the photo; I caught that shot a second after the one of Uncle F screeching to midair halt as he was [he thought] coming in for a landing. Or, rather, not so much a landing as a scooping up of said crow for dinner. So Uncle F's not very happy with me right now.

The second is Miika. The vet came out to look at her this morning, because after Wings was finally able to begin trimming her damaged hooves last month, she's been completely tenderfoot, and it seems to be getting worse. [For those who don't know, Miika was a rescue who came to us last year at the age of nine. For the entirety of those nine years, she had almost no human contact, and her hooves had never been trimmed, leaving them to grow out with huge hooking flares that turned her pigeon-toed. It took a year of steady desensitization work for Wings to build up enough trust with her to be able to begin the laborious process of bringing them to a safe length and a healthier line.]

Miika has laminitis.

Now, in all likelihood, it was already there when she came to us. It's just that the overgrowth was the obvious problem (along with her equally obvious weight problem). And it's likely why she was brought to us; something watching out for this sweet girl, knowing that we have entirely too much experience in working with laminitic and foundered horses. Still.

And then, of course, there's me, wounded in body and in brain these days. To top everything else all off, I screwed up badly; something I thought had cleared long ago? Oh, no, it went through this morning, and we're now in the literal red. Fortunately, our horse vet rocks, and she knows we're good for it, so she was willing to evaluate and treat Miika and wait until after November 2nd, when my Patreon will presumably have cleared, to get paid. Speaking of which, I'm still two months into between $400 and $650 shortages. No one has unsubscribed or deleted their pledges, and it seems to be mostly an issue of people's cards expiring and it not being updated. But folks, please, even if you think yours is okay, please check: Losing up to $650 a month is a HUGE hit for us, and even with the ones updated this month, I'm still somewhere near $400 in the hole on it for September.

Also, we have GOT to make some sales. Normally, we're getting holiday commissions by now (normally, Wings has to juggle multiple holiday commissions and the creative process takes time, so everything begins in October in order to ensure delivery by Christmas). This year? Not a one. And sales are down so far that I despair of making up this differential. The first is still nine days away, and now Miika's vet bill and subsequent treatment have to come out of my Patreon, so I can't direct it to other bills and expenses.

Yeah, I'm worried. And way overloaded with tasks before the snow hits later this week.
On top of it all, I still have to try to make at least some sales this week, so the rest is all the cut-and-paste, short version, of the other day.

With regard to the other stuff referenced above: For those wondering about my own health issues, see here; with regard to the work being done, some of the details are here. I need help to get all this done. Folks can help in several ways, and we really need the help now:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Wishlist here;
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

Please share everything, because I'm suddenly back behind the eight-ball on a whole additional front, and yeah, I'm scared about covering everything and surviving, too. Thanks.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Red Willow Spirit: Cold Bones and Bare Branches

Photo copyright Wings, 2019; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's an edition of Red Willow Spirit for a season of costumes, of our world's shifting body and dress — a skeleton's bare bones, a pale ghost of itself, a revenant not so recently departed as to have forgotten the warmth of summer, keening in its grief upon a cold and wintry wind. But for all the sudden change, it's a reminder to us that it is still the same world, merely wrapped in a different kind of beauty, stark and yet filled with hope, cold bones and bare branches still capable of reaching toward the light.

The post is here. Wings's main page is here. As always, his photos are available in any of the usual three formats; to order them or the silverwork shown, simply inquire via the site's Contact form. Also as always, sales are very much needed (especially now, with repairs forcibly moved up and more medical expenses still in the offing), so shares of the site links are much appreciated. 


All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Armor.

Photo copyright Aji, 2019; all right reserved.

No, not Wings's latest. Well, actually, it is, but it's not for sale; that's my birthday present. Yes, all seven of them, a sacred number. Each is set with seven stones, magnifying the power of the whole set. Each bangle is sterling silver, about four different sizes and patterns; the stones are aquamarine, turquoise, coral, carnelian, amber, opal, and iolite. I could hardly bring myself to take them off last night. Talk about spiritual armor; these are a collective medicine shield if ever there was one.

[No, he won't make any that are identical. He can make bangles unique to you, though.]

For now, I'm buried under a ton of work. Among other things today, pear butter: Our tiny little pear tree, the one that never yields more than a few dozen pears that never make it to maturity? Gave us about 1,200 ripe pears this year. A bunch got left to the earth where they fell; we've also given away two big buckets' worth, and I've got the first round of preserves in the pot on the stove.

I also have a ton of other work to get done, and that wind yesterday aggravated not only pain but my breathing; it's really, really cold here this morning. On top of it all, I still have to try to make some sales, so the rest is all yesterday's cut-and-paste.

With regard to the other stuff referenced above: For those wondering about my own health issues, see here; with regard to the work being done, some of the details are here. I need help to get all this done. Folks can help in several ways, and we really need the help now:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Wishlist here;
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi  here. 

Wings has a lot of new work on the site, with more to come over the next couple of weeks. It's also time to get holiday commissions in, which you can do via the form here. And for my birthday? Mostly I really, really want to make some sales to keep us going. It's bitterly cold here today with an awful wind chill, and we're supposed to get snow before the week's out. Winter's here.

Please share everything, because I'm suddenly back behind the eight-ball on a whole additional front, and yeah, I'm scared about covering everything and surviving, too. Thanks.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.

Monday Photo Meditation: A Haunted Land

Photo copyright Wings, 2019; all rights reserved.

Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a photo meditation for a week when winter hovers just around the corner, and signs of dormancy and disintegration are everywhere. It's a contemplation, too, of a haunted land, of the spectre to fear and the spirits to heed before we become ghosts ourselves.

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. Also as always, sales are very much needed (especially now, with repairs forcibly moved up and more medical expenses still in the offing), so shares of the site links are much appreciated. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.