April 2, 2005 to May 6, 2005

 

May 6, 2005  I have added some images of recent work.  Check here.

The weather has shifted to warm again.  After my delight in a healthy winter, I have come down with some sort of flu that has me with aching joints and muscles and some respiratory congestion.  I have not stopped other tasks, just slowed down and with more discomfort.  That too will pass.

The Face of Creator shirt is finished

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Click on images for larger view.  You can also go to this page for more detail on the shirt.  However, as before, I will discuss the significance of the images only in a one-on-one discussion.  If you are interested contact me directly about this.

April 26, 2005  The ritual fast and blessing of the Sacred Hoop have ended successfully.

I wish to persoanlly thank the many people who supported this undertaking with their prayers and best wishes, and the many who took time to visit with me and pray at the Sacred Hoop over the past 4 days.  Although I could not offer you food as a sign of hospitality, I hope you know that your presence and your sharing in prayers with me was deeply appreciated.

The ritual was concluded at midnight on April 24, under a clear sky, blazing bright stars and a full moon.  The frog chorus and the spruce grouse drummers provided the musical accompaniment, while the wind in the trees provided the whispers of assent to the prayers made over the final offerings and to the prayers that went forth from the whole universe from the Sacred Pipe.

My mental image and perception of what I could eat after that fast were bigger than what I could achieve in reality. Nevertheless, fresh bannock, pan fried fish, delicious ham and bean soup and a berry mix for dessert were great.  The remains were sufficient to enable my four-legged friend and constant companion and prayer partner, King, to have a good meal too.

On my return to the house this morning I found a phone message indicating some more good news; the NGA has voted to change its name to the Green Party of Saskatchewan  I am delighted, and the solid future of this political party was part of my prayers over the past days.

April 19, 2005   A short update;  Spring has arrived with the re-emergence of the frogs, the return of cranes and geese and many song birds, the blossoming of the willow and aspen trees, and the dissappearance of the snow banks that we have seen since early October

I am completing preparations for my Spring Fast.  The site needs a bit of work and some firewood is to be gathered.  It will be a time of blessings in many ways.

I will need to find time to keep my promise of updated photos of recent work and the forest.

April 9, 2005  With a few days of double digit temperatures that snow that has resided here since early last October  has finally decide to recede and give way to our second season.  Our neighbourhood wolf pack has been joining me in morning prayer  for the last while.  Although  they are not right at hand, it is nice to hear the pack morning howl as the sun rises.  Geese have arrived to inspect the pond ice for a potential nesting spot, and it is nice to hear their  wings in the evening air and the loud  honking as they come to land and announce to the world that they are here.

I have added the first  three bands to my "Face of Creator" shirt, and am most impressed with the work of my friend.  I will post new images as promised, when they are all on the shirt.  One was still on the loom the other day.

My preparations for the four day fast and blessing of the Sacred Hoopare progressing nicely.  I have many of the necessary items out in the forest.  I managed the heavier things while the snow was hard frozen early in the mornings.  That saved a lot of extra walking all the way around the pond.

I have been gifted with elements of some of my Spirit Helpers recently, and I hope that I handle them with the deep respect they are due. 

There is a gravel pit near  Friendly Forest and during the week past I obtained permission from the proper R.M. to access rocks for my fire pit and for the use in Sweat Ceremony. It is like going into a treasure box and certainly saves a lot of work just digging into the clay and rock sub-strate that underlies the entire area in which we live.

I attended two funerals in the past week and  assisted an old friend move into a Nursing Home in the City.  The following day I was called to come to take him to the hospital.  He had fallen down the first night there.  It turns out that he had fractured  the bone in his upper arm.  He is now functioning with a broken hip, a broken leg bone and a fractured arm.  I fear that he maybe in for even more injuries as he does not seem to understand the great danger he places himself in when he tries to move without support or assisance until he has fallen and hurt himself.  Watching his difficulties  makes me really hope and pray that I never get Parkinson's disease.

April 2, 2005  The sun's longer hours and finally, the return of higher temperatures, seems to announce the arrival of Spring.  In order to rise before the sun in the morning, I  need to get up and out shortly after 06:00.  Sunrise is at 06:40.

This morning it was cloudy and some snow pellets were falling, but I was determined to drag some spruce rails out to the Sacred Hoop site.  I had cut and peeled these earlier in the winter, and had them drying inside the house.  A few days ago I hauled them out and sanded them smoorth and treated them with a clear wood preservative.  I impressed myself in being able to drag all of them out to the site where I will be raising the shelter cover as soon as possible.  It took four trips and my old bones and muscles protested.  As I puffed and ached I remembered to be thankful that I was able to puff and able to do things that made my muscles ache.

I had  time to consider how difficult it must have been to move for traditional peoples before the arrival of the horse.  I was just moving the poles for the  shelter, and will have other time to haul out the cover and other  necessary materials.

The shelter will be a canvas teepee, and I raised the poles in the traditional manner.

I continue to make other preparations for the time of prayer and fast  later in April.  If any reader of this Journal is planning to join with me for a part (or all) of this prayer time, I want to know this  by April 16.

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