Cat Tales ~ St. Paws

Recently Mommy had a pile of unwanted items that she wanted to donate to a thrift store. But she wanted a thrift store that supported local animal shelters. She looked and looked and she finally found one. St. Paws.

St. Paws helps other organizations who are engaged in protecting, sheltering, and caring for abandoned, neglected, and abused animals. They have two thrift stores - one located in Colorado Springs and the other in West Columbia, South Carolina. 100% of the profit from the sales at their thrift stores go to helping these rescue organizations. As of April 2013, they had donated over $100, 000 to local rescue and animal welfare groups.
You may not have a St. Paws where you are, but Me's sure you have a local animal shelter or rescue organization. Please support them any way you can - your help will be greatly appreciated!

Purz and Catnip Dreams.......Gomez

3D Drawings

The Art of Ramon Bruin

My Ent

I recently posted a picture and ask everyone what they saw. 
Click here to go to that post!

What many of you saw was a face on a tree. Here is a clearer picture of the face. See the nose?

the dogs' mother called him an Ent. And, yes, He is an Ent. And this Ent lives in my front yard. He is a Silver Maple. 

When we first moved in, one of the Grands thought the tree was an old woman. But as time has gone by, I have discovered that this Ent carries male energy and He is quite playful. The Skirrels (as Gomez calls them) love to run up and down His branches.  And He has such good energy. All the plants which He sheltered for the short bit of Summer sprang new growth quite rapidly.

I am very fortunate to have this Ent peering in our windows. I can hardly wait till He puts on His Autumn colors!

Weird Wednesday ~ The Great White Whale

Migaloo the White Humpback Whale

To learn more, Click Here!  Or Here!

Cat Tales ~ Silly Skirrel!

Purz and Catnip Dreams.......Gomez

More Leaf Art

The Art of Lorenzo Manuel Duran

The Winners Are...

I know you want me to get to the good part and not wax on eloquently about how grateful I am for having so many wonderful people who follow my ramblings. But you know, I am very thankful I have such lovely friends as you around! ♥

So now for the good part ...

In no particular order, the winners are...

Danni 

Lola Enchanted

the dogs' mother

Send me an email with your snail mail address and I will get your treasures sent out to you.

Email me at   jeanne.wildwoodsart@gmail.com

Now I am off to an Ancient Remedies class to learn about home remedies from native plants and things found in the kitchen. And on Sunday to celebrate Autumn, Hubby & I will be off to the mountains hoping to see bits of color here and there. Hhhhmmmm....I see a road trip in our future.

Happy Fall Y'all!!!!

A Walk in the Woods

Trees are like our Grandmother. When putting up a tipi, we never step over them, we go around.

Northern Ute Elder

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Ute Medicine Trees

There is nothing so sacred as a tree. It joins the above and the below. During the day, it takes the energy from the Sky and gives it to the Earth. At night it takes energy from the Earth and gives it to the Sky.

Northern Ute Elder

Prayer Tree

Trees were an integral part of Ute culture. They were a source of many things to the Utes - fuel for fires, poles for tipis and travois, food. But many trees were also a source of medicine, used as message boards or were used in spiritual practices. These trees are sacred to the Utes, they see the Trees as ancestors. A project is currently underway whose goal is to locate and map these trees. 

Ute culturally scarred trees can be divided into four categories - Medicine Trees, Prayer Trees, Burial Trees, Message Trees. Ponderosa Pine were usually used for Medicine Trees and Prayers Trees. Cedar Trees are Burial Trees and Aspen Trees are Message Trees.

Medicine Tree

Medicine Trees can be identified by the patch of missing bark. When Ute Medicine People needed to do a healing, they would first have a dream or vision in which a specific tree would speak to them. Trees or Tree People were spiritual helpers of The Ute. The Medicine People would then go to that tree and slice off a section of bark in the area where the person was afflicted. The inner bark was used to make medicine for the patient and the fire to make the medicine was started with wood and bark from the cut.

Medicine Tree

Prayer Trees were selected at an early age, usually when they were saplings, and bent or twisted using yucca rope. The leaves of the yucca plant are fibrous and can be used to make rope or baskets or mats. Once the tree was tied into position, everyone would circle the tree and pray. The members of the band would know that the tree would survive and hold their prayers for 800 years and each breeze would give their prayers new breath.

Prayer Tree

Burial Trees ~ Ute Medicine People carried the seeds of the cedar tree with them. Whenever a Medicine Person or a Chief died, a seed or seeds would be planted nearby. Should a seed be planted on or near rock outcroppings, rain catch pools and canals would be etched into the rock to ensure the trees survival.

Message Trees had Ute Signs or Glyphs carved into their bark. Utes did not have a written language but used pictures to tell a story.

*** I was unable to find any pictures of Burial Trees or Message Trees on the web ***

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The Utes

The Utes were the indigenous Native American tribe to most of Colorado and several of its neighboring states. They were not a large cohesive tribe but numerous nomadic bands that followed the migration of the herds. The Utes lived primarily in the Four Corner states but roamed further out when hunting buffalo, antelope, deer or elk. Many of the roads and highways in these regions follow old Ute migratory paths.

  

It is estimated that the Utes have lived in this area for a thousand years, having migrated from regions of northern Mexico. Their language belongs to the Uto-Aztecan language found in that same region. The Utes were skilled warriors who specialized in horse mounted combat.

Chief Ouray and his wife Chepeta are two of the more famous Utes. The town of Ouray in western Colorado is named after this Ute Chief. Chief Ouray was known as the Great Peacemaker and he negotiated several treaties with the U.S. Government.

The Tabeguache Band of the Ute traveled through the Pikes Peak region. They called Pikes Peak, Tava, which means "Sun" and took their name from the same word. Thus they were known as "People of the Sun or People of Sun Mountain".  They are one of  a few tribes which have an emergence myth rather than a creation myth. The Utes believe they originally came from the Pleiades constellation and emerged into this world on the slopes of Pikes Peak.

Isle of Nantes

Les Machines d L'ile Nantes
Click Here for more info!

Friday the 13th and other Magick

Happy Friday the 13th Y'all!

What better day to speak of magick and mystery. 
And the world is filled with both.
I often ponder the road that has led to this chapter of my Life and the coincidences and synchronicities (are they really coincidences & synchronicities?) that have occurred.

I have found that Life strives to give us the tools or experiences we will need for the future. We just need to pay attention and learn the lessons. If we don't, we will be forced to experience those lessons a second (or even third) time. We may not always know what the lesson is until a later stage in our life, at which time it all seems to become clear.

A recurring theme in my Life is living close to a prominent mountain. The times I have lived close to a large mountain have been times of enlightenment for me. These residences have also involved large quantities of quartz. And we all know what kind of a transmitter and amplifier quartz is.

I am amazed at how much our 'new hometown area' feels like home. From the moment we moved here, there has been a joyous feel to the air - as if we were being welcomed home. And every day that I gaze upon that gorgeous mountain, I feel a thrill - like I'm greeting an old friend.

Many say that Pikes Peak is magickal, mystical. Some say that there is a portal, a worm hole on the Mountain. Maybe. Others say that unexplained things happen when in the shadow of the Mountain. Can't say for sure. But I do know, that for me, living here is truly a magickal experience.

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