Updates in one! A wonderful soul has offered a $500 match and $300 of that match has been met! We only have two hundred more dollars to go in order to meet the match. We can do this. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
I’m so thankful to report that more donations have come in and the match has been met! Bless each and every one of you for your recs, tips, shares, kind comments, and donations. You have eased the hurt in Aji and Wings hearts today and that is always a gift beyond measure. Thank you so very, very, much.
Aji is exhausted but asked me to share this with all of you—
“I am SO grateful. I don’t even have words. Especially on this day, so terrible in one way, and yet, I’m finding that I’m less sad than I expected to be. I think because his pain was so terrible since Saturday morning that I wanted him free of it…….and now this.”
I was struggling yesterday, not for any one reason I could pin down. It could have been the birthday of a loved one who had passed away. It could have been the death of a friend’s wife last week. God knows it could have been the state of our country and the fractures in my own family caused by the Presidential election. It could have been any number of reasons filling the heart with sorrow.
But foremost on my mind was knowing that the day before, Aji and Wings had found their much loved horse, Ice, down with severe colic. I had planned on doing a fundraising diary for Aji and Wings at some point to help them finish building the home they so desperately need, but the news about Ice had me quickly putting together a post about him and their fight for his life. They’d asked for all our good thoughts for him and I was ready to publish when further news came yesterday afternoon.
Their much loved Ice, the abused and abandoned horse who had found them on Christmas Eve of 2013, and who they had poured so much love and care into, had “walked on.”
Giga-waabamin minawaa, Mikwamii. Ice, birthdate unknown, arrival date 12/24/13, walks on, 08/06/17.
I will see you again, Ice.
He had — has — many names: Mikwamii. Shongeska. Ice. Tough Guy. Warrior. My Boy.
He walked on about 10:30 this morning. He's out by Cree in the ank of wild sunflowers, awaiting Johnny and his tractor, which will probably be tomorrow.
His earlier neglect before he came to us made what happened probably inevitable; the liver issues and the cancer would shorten his life anyway. But I knew, when I went out at 8:00 this morning, even though I still fought it. The earlier compromising of his gut set the stage for displacement. He was a fighter to the end, willing to try that one last thing if it was possible. But he was suffering, and we would not let him suffer more.
Maybe someday I'll be able to write about what the damage of his early years of abuse and abandonment caused. Today is not that day. (It is not the day for much else here, either. I will put up Wings's post, probably late; that will be it.)
For now, my Warrior Boy is already on his way to Cree, who he loved so much . They will have their own herd of two right now, up above the Thunderbirds, in the brilliant ice of the stars.
We love you, Ice.
My heart is torn in half.
It’s not the first time Aji and Wings have opened their hearts and home to people and animals who needed sanctuary. This isn’t the first time their hearts have been broken by a loved one walking on. It won’t be the last. No matter the risk or the cost, emotionally and financially, they never turn away the lost and hurting.
Aji’s blog is full of posts about the people - two legged, four, and winged, that they have helped through the years. I was up until four in the morning reading about them all and finding the story of Ice.
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
One Year On: Gift of a White Horse
I took these today, on the one-year anniversary, almost to the very moment, of this boy's arrival on our land. Either Monday or Tuesday was the anniversary of his first appearance in the area; he had materialized, seemingly out of nowhere, on the north side of the fence. It took him until late afternoon on Christmas Eve to work up the courage to cross onto our side.
He never left.
I have no idea what his name was before, or if he ever even had one. For the last year, he's been Ice, because the slanting late-day sunlight made the white of his coat and mane look like tiny ice crystals. He responded to it immediately, although that may have been more tone of voice than the shape of the word itself.
He was starving and spooky, but he took some hay from my hand nonetheless.
That scared, skinny, bony horse never left.
Back then, he'd hang out in the field near the pens holding the other horses, but it took him a few weeks to work up the courage to go near the fence. He'd come to me, but then shy away just as quickly; like a lot of abused animals (and their human counterparts), he wouldn't look you in the eye.
That's different now.
It took weeks to start putting weight on him. It took months to get him to come into the pen, and only then when the other horses were all out grazing.
A stall? Forget about it. This Indian pony, this mustang, was not used to being fenced in, much less stalled, and he was having no part of it. He'd turn and run the other way, giving me the fish-eye.
Not anymore. Now, I walk outside, and he fixes both liquid black eyes on mine and won't look away. He comes when called — and sometimes, even when not.
He assumes he's always welcome, because he is. He knows he's home, because not only did we keep him from dying of starvation and dehydration, but when the time bomb lurking in his gut went off in May, we spent weeks, months, defusing it.
He's not supposed to be here. Sand colic. A case that had been developing over Spirit only knows how many of his twelve to fifteen years of life. A minimum of 75 to 80 pounds, rock-hard, thoroughly impacted over a period of years, a compromised bowel. When it finally manifested, thanks to getting real nutrition and the proper amount of food for probably the first time in his life, it was almost too late.
The vet said he might not make it. She made clear to me privately that what she meant was that he most likely wouldn't. He shouldn't even have been alive then, she said. Initially, she called him the third-worst case of sand colic she'd ever seen in her career — and the first two, she made clear, didn't make it. A day later, she upgraded him to second-worst. She prepped us for the worst.
Then his guardian angel stepped in and gave us a hand. Two rounds of intravenous lactated ringers later — with him hooked up to the monstrous contraption in the stall, and me out in the middle of a howling rainstorm at four in the morning to change hook-ups so there would be no risk of air in the line — and several tubings and endless walking and doses of Banamine and other treatments later, and his body began to do what we all needed it to do. It took a couple of weeks, and even then — hell, even months later — he still wasn't out of the woods.
And so he gets to graze every day. He gets a grain mixture containing multiple specific supplements every day. He may get both for the rest of his life.
He still doesn't like anything near his mouth. It made syringing him . . . interesting, as in Chinese-curse interesting, during the first months of treating the sand colic. We found a way around it, involving a hitching post and a halter and a lead wrapped multiple times around the post with me cranking on the end of it with every muscle in my body while Wings jammed the syringe in to get the meds into his system. It meant a setback in his recovery from the PTSD that was so clearly ingrained, of course. And he'll still turn his head if you get too near his mouth.
But now, he'll come up and stick his face in mine.
He's a nosy butt, after all. You never know; that camera I'm holding might actually have some grain in it. Maybe even molasses. I mean, clearly, it's there just for him.
And this is why, tonight, the camera has horse drool on it.
He's been here a whole year now, so it seems safe to say it: His name is Ice, and he is home.
Aji and Wings made a home for Ice, just like they have for so many others. They healed him as best they could. They gave him years of love and care — love and care he’d never known before he found them. It’s what they do.
Now, they need our love and care.
A group of us have written about the toxic, dangerous tin can of an RV that Aji and Wings have been forced to live in these last years.
After the second fire due to the RV’s wiring happened early this year, Aji was forced to the conclusion that if they did not do something, the RV would kill them. Since then they have both been working their hearts out to build a safe home. Wings extraordinary work as a silversmith and photographer have been their main source of income, while Aji has been acting as both General Contractor and laborer.
They’ve both done so non-stop for months in spite of health issues that makes all of it doubly difficult, including the latest — the massive water dispenser they get their drinking water from falling on Aji’s foot leaving her hobbling around with broken toes.
I honestly don’t know how they keep going except out of pure desperation to get out of that damned RV. Aji has stated point blank that they won’t survive another winter in it. The wiring is bad. There has already been two fires too many. The tin can is riddled with mold, freezing in the winter, and an oven in the summer. And you do not want to be in it during severe weather — blizzards, heat waves, or a tornadic storm that almost took the RV skyward the other day.
They’re so close to getting their new home finished. They’re so close to being able to live in a safe, warm, home this winter. We can help them get there.
Please share Aji and Wing’s web sites. Now, more than ever, they badly need shares and sales of Wing’s extraordinary work.
I thought I had a grasp of the depth and breadth of Wings creativity until I went through Aji’s blog posts into the wee hours of the morning. I was wrong. It is so much more.
Including this —
Sunday, August 6, 2017
From the Center of All Things, Love Grows
Now posted at The NDN Silver Blog, it's a work that was slated for today's feature a week ago, but has somehow wound up being especially apt for this extraordinarily difficult day. It's reminder that things return naturally to their source, and that from the center of all things, love grows.
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), so shares of the site links are much appreciated.
Shares of the site helps create sales of Wing’s work. Sales will fund the completion of their home. So won’t you please share the links and help spread the word.
There are always birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, and the holidays are coming up. Wing’s work will be a gift that is always treasured.
If you’d like to peruse specific categories of Wing’s work, the following are some helpful links from Avilyn’s wonderful post in June.
If you’ve stayed with me for this long, thank you. I’ve seen comments in the past with people who have trouble with Wings’ website, especially on mobile browsers. Here’s some links to help with mobile browsing:
In addition, here’s the nice concise list of links and ways to help — either through purchasing or sharing:
- Wings’ Paypal Account — and by the way, since that’s a PayPal.me link, you can copy/paste it into twitter for easy sharing there (or if it’s easier for you to type, it’s www.paypal.me/DiegoWings). If for some reason the link doesn't work, it's tied to his e-mail address: wingsoftaos [at] newmex [dot] com.
- Their Amazon Wishlist — the Lowe’s gift cards in particular are extremely useful, as that is where they have to buy many of the materials for the house — they will really be needing these in the days to come, for flooring, fixtures, interior doors.
- Home Depot Gift Cards — that link on the Home Depot site lets you send the gift card electronically or mail one to Aji & Wings directly.
- Wings’ Website — Shares thereof or purchases from help fund their day to day living expenses. Client Testimonials also welcome!
And yes, donations are always welcome, as are Lowe’s and Home Depot Gift cards.
As Avilyn said, if you’ve hung in with me thus far, I can’t thank you enough. I know the post is long but it was impossible for me to help Aji and Wings without honoring their much loved, Ice. They are inseparable and Aji wanted all of you to know about their — Mikwamii. Shongeska. Ice. Tough Guy. Warrior. My Boy.
Sunday, August 6, 2017
Today was much more horrible than yesterday.
Right now, I need to remember my beautiful boy as he really was, the way he was on his best days with us. This was not that, but it's still my boys in the photo up there. We both also really need rest — better yet, actual sleep, although I'm not hopeful for myself on that score. Many thanks to everyone for the kind thoughts and wishes; I'm sorry that I don't have it in me right now to respond, but my heart is in pieces. I also don't have it in me to go through the drill beyond cutting and pasting the links, so here they are:
- Wings's site, for sales;
- Lowe's cards (the physical version) via our Amazon wishlist;
- Lowe's e-cards (delivered via e-mail) here; and
- Home Depot cards via the company site. The e-version using my e-mail address is great; I take the tablet to the store with me, and they scan it off the screen.
Wings and I had to go outside again this evening to check a few things, and as we were just about to head back in, he pointed to the dead aspen (blown down in the storm the other day) now propped against the chicken run fence next to the horses' pens. Atop it sat the tiniest bird I've ever seen outside of a hummingbird. I would've thought it was an unusually small goldfinch, but it was white. There's no such bird here. Especially not one with dark blue-gray underfeathers. Sort of like our white horse with the blue-tick undercoat. He chirped and skreed, looked straight at us, and then flew off northward in a flurry of white. Ice began his journey only this morning, but maybe he's already powerful enough to say good night by way of a tiny white bird.
We’re not alone.
Together, we can help comfort Aji and Wing’s broken hearts.
Together, we can help Aji and Wings finish the home they so desperately need. Together, we can help them continue to give a home to the hurt and abandoned.
And that will lift all out hearts.
Never forget - together, we make miracles happen.
For those of you interested in more of Ice’s story, here are more posts Aji wrote about him during his first year with them.
Sunday, July 27, 2014
The Ice Chronicles: Sand Colic, Second Phase
ajijaakwe.blogspot.com/…
Monday, June 23, 2014
"Look at me."
ajijaakwe.blogspot.com/...
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Monday, June 2, 2014
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Friday, May 23, 2014
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Monday, May 19, 2014
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Friday, February 28, 2014
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Friday, January 31, 2014
Saturday, January 18, 2014
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Deepest thanks and blessings to you all.