Shamanic Gifts

There have been many surprises on this, my MooseBoots path.  Sometimes, it might be a situation where I have the opportunity to comfort someone unexpected.  Sometimes, it might be an unexpected gift.  Perhaps, the latest is the most pleasant of all, a simple reminder that while I travel this path I am accompanied by my family, although sometimes they are kicking and screaming.

Wendy, the girls, and I make a lot of the gifts we give.  I'll admit that with my work schedule, Wendy and the girls do most of the work.  As such, it was no surprise to see the girls working hard to make all of the gifts they would give - Big, Little Sister's knitting needs clicking away, Little Fire Faery learning to use the sewing machine to make a rattle for her new niece, or Precious, drawing and painting.  They worked diligently for weeks to have something for everyone on their lists.

Christmas morning, we opened our gifts.  You may know, or you may have guessed, we are not particularly religious.  In fact, if asked, I would say we are not ... I am not saying that we are not spiritual, just not religious.  I opened an envelope from Little Fire Faery.  Inside, I found this drawing.

Little Fire Faery had journeyed to retrieve power animals for Wendy and me.  Wendy's new guide is a frog.  Mine, specifically, is a rattlesnake.  We attended a shamanic journeying workshop this summer so that Wendy, Big Little Sister, and Little Fire Faery could learn to journey.  I thought it had ended there.  This, beautiful act, was a clear indication that I am not alone on my path.  I knew they supported my work, but I didn't clearly understand that they are right beside me on the path.  It is amazing what kids learn when you don't think they are paying attention.

I know that I am blessed.  I, unlike many people, have the full support and encouragement of my family to pursue my true path.  How many people do you know that can honestly say that?  How many other "MooseBoots journeys" are cut short or take unnecessary detours?  My journey, while not defined, is clear.  I have heard many times, and it rings true in this regard, that it is my intent that matters and that I need to let go of outcome.  For me, an engineer who has been trained to plan everything out and set goals, this can be difficult, but I know that I have the support, love, and company of my family.  Thanks, guys.

Hive Clean-Up

My Mooseboots journey, as is life, is filled with pleasant successes and disappointing failure.  The bees were a sad example of a failure.  From the exciting beginning steps to the ultimate recognition of failure, they provided a lot of food for thought and learning.  Where did I go wrong?  I will never know.  Did I release the queen on installation?  Was the hive infected with a virus from the breeder?  Was the colony robbed of all resources and died out?  I know for a fact that I was queenless at one point ... the sheer number of drones was out of proportion with the rest of the hive.  Perhaps, I had a laying worker.  The only thing to do is try again.

I have removed the legs from the hive and removed all of the dead bees.  The hive is indoors right now.  I will paint it and prepare it for next spring.  I have also removed all of the comb from the bars.  I figure that if there was an infection, it might do no good to keep the comb.  So, assuming the risk outweighs the benefit, I melted it all down.  I am now the owner of 1 half-pint of bees wax.  Wendy and I have talked about what to do with it a bit, but it is still sitting there.

Last year, I put my name on the list for a breeder in Vermont.  His bees have been bred and raised in Vermont, so they should be better suited to my area anyway.  I believe he is also very careful about the chemicals and techniques he uses for his bees.  All around, I hope the bees arrive healthy and ready to set up their new home.  I may just put my name on the list for local swarms, to be safe.

The further I travel on this MooseBoots path, the more I learn how much there is to learn, whether it is the bees, mushrooms, friction fire, basket making, or something else entirely.  I am often overwhelmed, and yet simultaneously excited to continue down the road.

Basket Making

While cruising down my MooseBoots path, I have been fascinated by arts and creative endeavors.  I do not consider myself artistic in the least, but find myself drawn (hee, hee, hee, pun clearly intended) to things like drawing, carving, and ... basket making.  Of course, I don't normally do things the easy way or the "traditional way" of easing into new skills.  I dive right in.

Over the spring and summer, I worked on gathering materials and building skills for making a basket.  Of course, it was and on again, off again project.  Most of the basket itself was made with Aunt Tammy in my thoughts.  I finished the weaving part the day she died, so really there is a lot of her in there.  Over the summer, I found some material for the rim and finished the project.

The basket is made with Iris and Lily leaves and a small piece of cattail cordage in the bottom to hold things together.  The rim is made from a hardwood slat we got from a business in a local industrial park.  The top finish piece and the binding cords are basswood cordage that I twisted myself.  Here are the finished photos of my very first basket.

I find great peace in working artistically, in spite of my clear lack of skill.  I also decided that my baskets would probably come out better with purchased materials that are dimensionally uniform ... of course, if you are here, you know that that is NOT what I am about and it is NOT how I work.  My MooseBoots journey is really about connecting with Nature and the Earth.  As such, I can't think of a better way to gather materials.  Maybe the next one will be a little better.