the Sun and the Wind

Sukumvit soi 13 Bangkok

2011-12-10T23:13:00.001-06:00

footsteps

2011-10-08T17:06:00.000-06:00

my horse has the best feet of the entire herd
he can run on grass and stone
and snow
blood pumping with each step
blood flowing through his body

each mark he makes on the ground
is an entire world
that says
here I am
try to stop me

there is no stopping him

he says
I need no machine to propel me
on my way
and everything
to me
is enough
he says
that everything
that the earth gives
to me
is enough

Update from Pincher

2011-08-25T18:59:00.000-06:00

A slight shift in horse living. Na’anni as well as Dakota has come back with me to my friends, David and Heidi’s place at Windy Coulee. It ended up being not possible for Naha to stay over in Wideview and fate being what it always is, there is a couple that would like to adopt Na’anni. She will be in a good place there I feel, a challenge to her new people. All good. Dakota is here at Windy Coulee Ranch with Heidi’s bunch of Canadian horses until I head out again in the spring. An exceptional home for him. Lots of native grass where he’ll be able to graze upon through the fall and winter.

I am staying here until the end of September, helping out with hoof trimming and other things. David and some of his friends and I will have a concert at the end of my stay at the lovely nearby Spring Point Hall. I will then head up to Banff and the music department of the Banff Centre to work on new material inspired by my adventures.
Banff for a couple months and then off to Thailand, Compeung’s 5 anniversary exhibit in early December and then all willing, a residency there later in the winter for a month or so. Then also, all willing, insh’allah, etc etc back to the high plains to prepare for stage two of the Sun and the Wind long ride epic.

I was recently high in the Rocky Mountain foothills surrounded by forest. How wonderful it was to be there. I love the open plains and yet have so often, during my ride, dreamed of being back in forested lands again. There is a part of me that feels that with the coming times a forest may be better than the open. Not so sure, when I really think about it, though if that is smart thinking. Many deer in the prairie, many edible plants too. Of course, winter in the open Canadian plains is truly sobering but around here in SW Alberta you get some wonderful chinook winds coming through to ease things up. Of course many people live here already, in solid homes, with heat, petroleum, electricity coal, oil. In the old past the people would migrate to treed areas with great groves of cottonwoods near rivers for shelter, water. Where with spring floods you can pack up in a few hours and move to higher ground.

So much to learn from our ancestors. I’m just reading about the idea that resilience is the opposite to efficiency. That the more efficient something becomes the more susceptible to breakdown it also becomes (thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com). It’s the specialist theme … one definition of specialization being that the specialist becomes more and more specialised until they know everything there is to know about nothing.

As current systems (I hate that bloody word 'systems') collapse the technology that people will gravitate towards may be the earlier incarnations that we consider our ‘primitive’, never to be seen again past: Microchips to transistors to tubes to sitting around a winter fire conjuring fantastical stories, internal combustion engines to steam (maybe) to horse to walking, computer word processors to typewriters to movable type presses to hand writing to … speaking.

The natural pro/re/ag/gression being to find ourselves finally back using stone age technologies and finally see a possibility of living on this earth in something resembling sustainability. Stone age agriculture … perhaps … for a time, but truly I dream at this point to a planet capable of sustaining us as hunters, as gatherers. The memory of seven billion people a distant warning passed on through the ages to all tellers of stories and myth and song. This is where we are going and it would behoove us all to start moving there asap. Well, that’s what I think anyway … but then most folks reading this blog already know this about me.
More to come. Hope all is well withal!
Cath

we ain't in the missouri couteau no more, dorothy

2011-07-28T03:58:00.001-06:00

Well, here I am waiting at the Medicine Hat bus terminal

which is closed 'cause it's bloody 3 o'clock in the morning. I have my 3 bags and one cora on a cart and have rigged it so that I can lie down in it.

Pretty comfortable actually. I have to say that it is a little on the grim side. I have a 4 and a half hour wait to catch the bus

that will take me to Pincher Creek and my friends Heidi and David.
I managed to get my stuff from Trails End on Tuesday. Most of it is still at Kyla's and I'll go back in a week or two to pick that stuff up as well as m'horse.

If you think that I look tired in the first photo, it's because I am. The nasty lights aren't helping things either. And to top it all off I forgot to put on makeup today... which is just as well since my main face paint for the last while has been cooking pot soot, mixed with horse sweat, mixed with equine pin tar bug dope, mixed with nasty slough algae.

I feel qualified to say that riding a bus has nothing of the nobility of riding a horse. Especially the crowded bus that crosses the country every day. I am already looking forward to getting back on the slow traveling dignified trail again!
Apparently the adventures are not quite over with! Not yet.

Skuld Stories - the deer, the taking, the leaving, the sharing

2011-07-22T13:53:00.001-06:00

Leaving Anaíl, an Caonach and Uisce where I had left them during the still hunt (a short ways away in a coulee to the south east), I came back to the deer.

My custom is to be with the deer in the early stage of it's passing, but then once that is done, I respectfully leave it be for its final stages. I walked away to join my companions for a time. Depending on the circumstances, I will either continue where the kill lies or after basic gutting will carry, or rather, an Caonach will carry (she is the only one of my companions that can tolerate a dead animal on its back) our kill to a camp that we have been based at.

This time, because we were in the midst of traveling, I decided to stay where we were and set up a camp for enough time to prepare the deer to travel with us.

This means that we would need to stay for 5 or 6 days. It was dry and warm. Enough to dry the meat in time before it could spoil. In another time when the conditions were not so, I would take what I thought would last and share the rest with those around us. Though I myself, didn't always take or use everything from a kill, I knew that what I left would be happily eaten up by my fellow animals around and about. The coyote, fox, wolf, wolverine, marten, fisher, raven, crow, puma, the many many other birds, the millions of tiny insects, the billions of even tinier bacteria. Truly, nothing is ever wasted.

Since there were no trees about to hang the carcass which was now a shell, spirit gone on. I did the butchering on the ground. I dragged the body so that its head lay higher than the the tail. This being so that when I pulled out the innards they would flow downhill and away from where I was working. I cut the legs off at the knee, setting those aside so that I could take the hoofs and dewclaws off later on. I had promised a hoof rattle to a friend that I knew that we would see within the month. I also kept 2 of the leg bones to make a small flute out of for my friends' children.

Taking my leaf bladed small knife, I then started to cut the hide starting near the genitals all the way up to just below the jaw. I would gather the skin in one hand in a little fold and start my cut there and on. I did not want to cut into the abdominal cavity and spill the guts at this point. Once this long incision was made, I extended the cut out towards each leg.

Taking my hand mostly, pushing and pulling and occasionally carefully using my knife, I started to peel the deer skin off the carcass. Starting in the middle and spreading out from there until the skin was pulled completely away from the body. I let the skin lay flat on the ground so that I could continue on without bits of things from the ground getting onto the rest of the carcass.

I carefully cut into the abdominal cavity and then with more pressure cut into the area between the ribs up as far as I could. I spread open the ribs. I carefully cut around the ass and throat. This would allow all the innards to be easily pulled out without contaminating any of the meat.

The first thing I reached for was the heart and this I took a few big bites out of right away. For some reason I do not like to eat heart cooked but do so raw on a fresh kill only. This heart I would eat as I worked and it would feed me for the day. It had been awhile since my last kill and I could feel a great energy pass through my body as I ate it. I took out then the liver and kidneys to save for the following day. The stomach I saved to make a new water bag out of. My last one became torn on the last new moon during a fight and then flight that we became entangled within. I will tell this story soon enough.

I then pulled out the intestines and other bits and lay then aside for the others to eat. I will carry them a good distance from our camp.

The inside of the now empty cavity I cleaned with some dried grass and then moved on to take care of the meat.

I cut the meat into long strips to dry. I will take thin strips of the rawhide with the hair scraped off and make a rack out of bits of wood to hang the strips of meat. The smaller bits of meat, I saved to eat while we were encamped over the days to come. The tender meat along each side of the backbone I made sure to put aside so as not to get mixed-up with the rest. It is the tenderest part and makes the best meat dried and as well I could quickly cook fresh slices over a fire, the thought of which makes my mouth water.

Before cutting the tender back meat out I pulled off the long strips of sinew above it with the back of my knife. This sinew makes the best thread for clothing, bowstrings and a multitude of other essential uses. I always take this sinew to save, but the shorter thicker sinew that connects the legs I don't unless I have a specific need for it.

I spent the afternoon and early evening at this. Work difficult, focused but unhurried. When I was done, I dragged the now mostly stripped skeleton up the hill a ways. The hide, I folded up and put in safe place a little in the air in a small bushy berry tree about the hight of my head. Six feet or so. I dragged the skeleton with the intestines laid within the ribs up the hill and a good 100 yards from the kill site. I know that that evening and most likely the days and evenings to fallow would be alive with the sound of coyotes yipping and howling with the delight of their newfound meal. So many times I had wished to be able to shift into a coyote so that I could experience this unparalleed party. Most likely when I went up there to have a look at the end of our stay, all I would find in some tufts of hair and a few bits of bone laying about. The rest would have been eaten or dragged away for later.

in suspension

2011-07-20T19:51:00.001-06:00

Well, it seems official now. I am calling a halt to my journey for the time being. I shall hope to continue next year but I think that for now I will shift to parallel but different adventures.

Na'anni rear right leg is injured and that is the main reason for my decision. I have also been quite tired lately though at this very moment I feel well rested thanks to Kyla's wonderful hospitality.

Na'anni is going to stay with Kyla. I will either sell her or trade for one of the mares in her small herd. I know that she will find a good and loving home here, so I feel really good about this decision.

It was yesterday that the realisation that it was time to call the trip came to me. I felt it deeply in my heart. I was so upset yesterday and had a number of moments of weeping throughout the day. Today, I feel good and calm with my decision. I feel it is best for the horses and best for me.

From Kyla's place, I will be going Pitcher Creek ways to dear friends Heidi and David to help them and enjoy their company. I will be there with other WWOOF volunteers as well so it will be good to meet new people.

I have applied to the autumn residency program at the Banff Centre. (Its been a busy 2 days organising this next stage) With hope I will spend some months there where I can work on new material inspired by my adventures over the last 6 weeks (which is probably more like 12 weeks if we include the training time I spent with my horses at Trails End ranch)

I will most likely be taking Dakota with me to Pincher Creek. It would be hard to leave him behind, though I could do so if need be.

I think that a lot will come from this journey. I have many thoughts and visions to work with towards songs, stories and written work.

Though it feels sad to be writing this, I know that things happen as they happen and perhaps even for reasons not always clear in the moment. Following my heart has been a vital aspect of this journey and has kept me safe.

One thing that is ironic is that I am stopping just 1 day away from the area, the land that was a big part of the inspiration for the location of this journey in the first place. That area is Grasslands Nat'l Park. If you are ever in southern Saskatchewan, I urge you to come to visit this place. It is beautiful.

So. I have come around 430 kms, over 6 weeks, have experienced incredible things, met wonderful people, withstood (and otherwise!) heavy storms, rain thunder lightning winds. I have come to the edge of my abilities both physically and emotionally. I feel more fully myself.

I will keep posting here through the summer and especially will try to move towards creating more skuld stories woven within.

A la prochaine!
Cath

Wideview and the Continental Divide and needed rest

2011-07-18T13:32:00.001-06:00

After a good calm evening back at the wood river, we got going around 9 o'clock or so.
We were heading due south on a road that will take us part way towards Grasslands Nat'l Park.

By the time we got to about 15 kms it became clear that we needed to stop. I was feeling utterly exhausted and Na'anni was having some difficulty with her right rear leg. Limping a little. I headed towards a bunch of trees hoping that it might be an abandoned homestead so that we could rest up for the afternoon.

As it turned out it wasn't an abandoned homestead at all but a full on home and ranch well occupied. As we walked down the tree lined driveway and got in front of the house a young woman came out, I introduced myself to Kyla Davidson and asked if I could picket my horses and set up my tent. Kyla said that I was welcome to be there and that she had a extra guest bedroom and that I was welcome to stay in that as well. To that I said that I would be so grateful for the bed.

I got my stuff organised, the horses picketed and watered and then settled down into some nice rest. Kyla made steak for dinner we had good talk and I got myself to bed in a BED early.

Kyla asked me if I'd be into staying an extra day so that her friend Stacey could come by and have a look at my horses. That sounded fine to me. I had only been on the road for 2 days after Mankota but weariness was heavy on me. I welcomed the chance to rest some more.

Stacey Stengler came over the next day. She does holistic healing with horses. She pulled out her pendulum and used that to see where Na'anni was having pain. As she went down her leg both touching and letting her hand hover, the pendulum would go around in a bigger circle as she got closer to the trouble spots. It turns out that the pain is around the lower leg, just above the pastern. Stacey gave me some ointment for the strain, suggested some exercises to do with her and also gave me some ointment for the abrasions that both horses got from long days with the boot cuffs rubbing. I say 'gave' deliberately. She would not take money for her time or the medicines. Kyla also gave me a magnetic band and some solution to put on that to wrap around Naha's leg. Generosity of this sort has happened so many times on this journey and I have written before about it. The regular expression of this generosity has not diminished my appreciation and deep gratitude one bit. It is so truly moving.

Kyla asked Stacey to see if she could pick up anything off Dakota. I and others have wondered whether he had to deal with mistreatment in the years before he came to me. After a bit of time Stacey said that she thought that though he wasn't abused he suffered some neglect mostly through unawareness. She said that he was much happier hanging around with me and seemed also to be happy with the sort of traveling that we are doing.

I really can't do justice with my words about how moving this whole process was for me. When Stacey started talking about Dakota the tears started flowing. It was an amazing experience.

Stacey thought that it would be good to not travel for a few more days to let Na'anni rest some more. Kyla was fine with me staying on a little longer saying that she was enjoying my company. So as I write this I am on rest day 2, just had a bath and feel so so tired and grateful to be able to rest. I walked out a ways along the road this morning to get a cel signal and had a wonderful 40 minute chat with my Mom over in Bangkok. It is a good day and I think that I will even go down for a nap later this'aft.

I feel so good to be resting. My spirits are good yet, at this very moment, I also feel unsure if I can keep going. I know this feeling, it comes from weariness and I have had it a number of times before on this trip. I shall trust to time and healing and with hope will be back on the trail in a few days time to continue this adventure of mine. Kyla tells me that we are sitting on the continental divide here. To the south, water flows to the Mississippi and to the north Hudson's Bay.

The terrain that I am heading into as I get closer to Grasslands is stunning. I try to remember how much I love to out camping with my horses and my tent. The peace. The time to think.

Wood river camp part 3

2011-07-15T19:08:00.001-06:00

One other thing
This is totally dances with wolves country
Stunning

Wood river part 2

2011-07-15T18:19:00.001-06:00

I forgot to mention that my tent is surrounded by big badger holes. I reckon I'll either be swarmed at night by the rogue badger contingent or disappear in one of their holes when I leave my tent to pee. Where no doubt unspeakable things will befall me. If you don't hear from me in a week or so you'll know what became of me.
C

2nd wood river camp

2011-07-15T16:51:00.001-06:00

I have cel reception here so i thought i'd do a short post. Am camped by the wood river again. Day was good. Naha having trouble with her boots still rubbing her pasterns. Did fixup this aft. Hope better tomorrow. Have also ordered a size smaller to pick up with new friends in Eastend.
Here's where we are ..

and here's the wood river. note that those rocks are the road which has been washed away by the frequent rains.

Skuld stories - The deer

2011-07-14T11:54:00.001-06:00

My shot was a little short and a little too far to the right. My arrow had pierced both rear legs of the deer just around the knees. The deer, she couldn't run but was able to drag herself with her front legs and this is what she did as I approached her. As I got close enough for fear to make her forget the pain in her body that happened out of nowhere just minutes before.

As soon as she started to move I backed away enough so that she lay still once again. Angry with myself for taking such a long and risky shot, heartbroken I was. Yet there was more important things for me to do than to mourn for what I had inflicted. To end this for the deer as quickly and as quietly as I could.

I approached once again, retreated when she started to move, approached, retreated, approach, retreat. Gradually I found myself next to her, my hand stroking the side of her head. She had stopped trying to run away. She knew and I knew that she had let go. Accepted that her end was near. That her gift to me was her body to feed my body as I know and wait for the day when my body will give itself willingly to others.

With my left hand continuing to gently caress the side of her face, I took my knife in my right and quickly and deeply cut her throat. She shifted. A little. But settled right away again and I waited. I waited for her life to ebb in its time and then I waited some more. I waited to be sure that her spirit could find its way to where it surely must go. I waited until I knew. I waited.

And as always with the gift that a hunt brings I ate her body and every time I did I remembered that day, I remembered everything i remembered all and i gave my thanks.

Big storm part 2

2011-07-14T11:51:00.001-06:00

Sitting at the grasslands inn eating breakfast, I had the chance to overhear some conversations about the storm. It looks like, depending on where you were there was between 2 & 5 inches of rain, trees blown down, some road problems.

Being in my tent for much of the storm (before I cut out to more solid shelter) I need to tell you about how that felt; about even though I thought the risk of getting struck by lightning was low (there being tall structures near to me), I could feel the adrenaline coursing through my body. As primal as primal can be I would say.
I could feel my heart beating in my chest, getting more thumpy with each lightning flash.

The long dark windy rainy walk to the house felt like forever and It truly seemed as though I was the last person on earth. To walk into the house and find the bed, a relief difficult to describe.

Now I am at the stockyards waiting for my gear to dry in the wonderful sunshine and light breeze. Here is a photo of my stuff all over the place.

I will stay in the house tonight I think to get some needed rest before I head out in the morning. Pack all my gear during the day today.

I talked to the grasslands office about heading into the park and all seems good water wise and I let them know my general route thoughts. Thanks to June at the visitor centre for the help with that.

Probably won't post over the next week or so as cel reception will most likely not exist where I am headed. A la prochaine!

equipment/stuff

2011-07-14T09:43:00.001-06:00

I'm going to write about some of the stuff that I have been using on this trip. Probably through a couple of posts. Though this may well be of interest to non horse people, I specifically put it here for other long riders' information.

Saddles - I'm using a Malibaud Randonee saddle which has been fantastic. I'm using it in combination with one of Len Brown's Corrector saddle pads and Dakota has had no sign whatsoever of sores.

My Pack saddle is a steel adjustable version from Custom Pack Rigging out of B.C. Also using with a corrector pad. It has also been very good. Pack saddles are trickier I think than riding saddles because of having to deal with dead weight shifting around all day long. Still, no sores on Na'anni. There is a little bit of hair that gets kind of matted towards the rear. A little movement I suppose is causing that. It's not wearing the hair out though and no tenderness. So far so good.

In terms of cinches, on my Malibaud saddle I'm using a mohair cinch; I think 27 strand making a double layer if that makes sense. Excellent. It may have been once of those roller buckle cinches. I always take off the roller and the buckle tongue. I tie my cinches on both sides. No off billet.
On my pack saddle I have a neoprene cinch up front and a mohair string one at the back. The back cinch is tied further back on the belly than a usual sawbuck setup. It's what Stan Walchuk calls the northern method. It is working well for me.

My packboxes are also from Custom Pack Rigging. They are fantastic and pretty much indestructible. I wish they were a little lighter but you can't have both. Good to use to sit on and as a table and I often use them for a wind break when I'm cooking.

I have a duffel bag that I made from Nylon reinforced vinyl for my bed roll and clothes. That is my top pack which I tie across the boxes.

Gadgetry
I do have some gadgets of course. One of which, an iphone, I am writing this blog with. It has been great. I can update my website, write blogs, check the weather and talk with missed loved ones on Skype! Unfortunately, when I unlocked it when I was in Thailand last winter, I screwed up the gps and it is no longer accurate. That could have been useful for sure but I'm a good map reader and it is the prairies after all. How does the quote go that Ruth told me? ... ' Saskatchewan ... where you can watch your dog run away for 2 days'.
I have an apple bluetooth keyboard which is much nicer for lots of writing than using the iphone built in keyboard.
I have a solar panel to keep things charged. It works, takes time and sun and I make sure that I never go below 50% on the phone in case of emergencies.
If you are traveling in Saskatchewan, I highly recommend using Sasktel or a service that can access it. (Rogers doesn't) Given what the population and vastness of space that exists here, I am impressed with the coverage. It's not everywhere mind, but impressive non the less.
I ended up buying an Amazon Kindle with a cover that has a built in light. I am happy to have this thing. I have a number of different kinds of books and reference pdfs on it, the charge lasts a long time, it's easy on the eyes for reading.

That's about it for the gadgets. I wonder at times if having non of it would change my experience. It would most certainly. Would it be deeper. Maybe maybe. I don't know. I don't use the gadgets too much with power being a limiting factor so that helps with the addiction factor of the technology. Still it's there, always a personal contradiction and conundrum for me. Well, last night I made dinner, had some wine, cleaned up and then climbed the big stack of straw bales at the Mankota stockyards to get cel reception and watched the show Weeds.
wa'dayagonna'do??

Cook stove
I have this little wood burning stove called a littlebug. It is fantastic. It folds up small is very light and burn pieces of wood the size of your finger. For me it has been perfect. If i had a gas stove, I would have run out ages ago. Most stores I come across in the small towns wouldn't have anything to run it with.

big storm night of july 13

2011-07-14T09:42:00.001-06:00

YouTube Video

Well, it turns out that it was one hellava thunder storm! I was doing ok. Rain was hard and heavy. Some water on ground around me but not much when suddenly the wind shifted from the northeast to the west and because I had oriented my shelter for the predicted east winds that spelled the start of real trouble. In spite of the hard ground, pegs started to pull free water really started to flood into the ground around me and I decided that it was a time for a new strategy. I stuffed my sleeping bag into my bedroll in hopes it might stay a little dry. I flattened the tent as I did a while ago during that big wind storm on soft ground. Pegged that down. And headed over to Margaret and Dave's extra place where I had had a shower the other day. They said that I could sleep there and now I am in a bed and typing this little diatribe out. There is now power as the storm knocked that out. But I have my headlamp so I could figure out where the bedrooms were. I noticed that they have a dryer and washer. I expect that I may be making use of that tomorrow as well!

Once again luck has been with me via the kindness and generosity of folks that I have met on my journey. It's about 1 o'clock in the morning and I shall finally try to get some sleep! Signing off, a tired but dry Cath.

Skuld stories - cutting fences

2011-07-13T14:48:00.001-06:00

Note: skuld stories are fictional. I, Cath, am not cutting fences as we travel. Tempting as it may well be.

Uisce, Anail and I, Skuld, travel. We travel as we wish. Mostly. And as we must. At times. Likewise we stop. It seems that in these difficult and tumultuous days we travel more than we stop.

At times we find a place to be at rest. Often times we will be greeted with curiosity and smiles if we happen to be near a settlement. Often enough we will be greeted with distance and distrust. But always if we linger long enough it will become clear that it is time to move on. The settled become unnerved by the unsettled. The curiosity becoming distrust. The reflections of themselves in the mirror too clear. Grasping on to an idea long gone, these places so often bleak in their desperation; heartbreaking in their memories.

Sometimes we will find ourselves in the company of other movers, nomads, travelers. More often than not we will find ourselves welcomed if still on the outside. If our paths are in the same direction, the same envisioning, we will happily travel with them if allowed. We know we will have many chances to tell our stories, our songs, our tales of safe and unsafe places long into the evening. I will often hunt with them if there is game nearby willing to feed us.

Many of these groups that we come across are known to us and that is the most wonderful thing! Many times it will have been years between visits and there will be many tales to tell. We have moved with these friends at times for months and it always ends with sadness when it is time to part our ways. It always happens that we must part. My search is not theirs.

We travel through a scoured landscape long ago scraped clean by machines and poisons; from the mining of ore that no longer is of any use but leaves its mark never to be completely wiped clean.

Some old roads still leave a mark of the paths that they took. Linear. Grid. North South East West as though it were meant as a prayer to the Mother. Though of course they were a part of the impulse to destroy the Mother. I suppose that could be a prayer of sorts.

We follow roads at times but mostly these lines covered with holes and eroded edges are difficult going. Out on the open is our choice.

Fences. There are still fences. Here and there. Keeping nothing out or in. I cut them when ever I find them. They are mostly so rusted that one swipe from my blade cuts them clean. Cuts them through. One of many last remnants of the civilised that be encounter as we travel.

2011-07-12T20:09:00.001-06:00

Mankota and what feels like the gateway to the plains

2011-07-12T19:27:00.001-06:00

So
I'm camped in the Mankota stockyards. No permission of course. As the dear Geoff says, ' it's easier to beg forgiveness that to ask for permission'. Or something like that at any rate.
Well, there's not much happening at the stockyards right now so with hope it will be fine here.

I am going to stop for at least 2 days, maybe 3. Na'anni has some abrasion on her pasterns from the boot cuffs and they need to heal before we head out again. I think that the boots are a little too big and so are rubbing a little. I'm going to make a pad out of deerskin for the cuff so that they can tighten enough. Other than that the boots are working well especially when we hit the gravel. Yesterdays long long day (the longest yet. About 25 km. It wasn't supposed to be so long but I had to make a backtrack to find my canteen that blew off my saddle when Dakota went rodeo; got Naha's rope around his legs. Again. I wasn't on him!) and then I missed a trail that would have shaved 2 miles from our day. Merde. I apologised to the horses. I don't think they cared much for my apology.
I'm riding way more these days which also means that I have to let the ass fairies do their work on my, well, my ass, if you want to know the truth of the matter, I don't mind tellin' ya.
So
Where to next? I'm hoping to continue south into the grasslands national park area. My big concern has always been water down there. I'm going to call the park office today and see what the situation is. I may be in luck. The land is still really green and up to now I have not passed a day when I haven't been able to find water for the horses. Of course, I'm also heading into some of the driest parts of Canada.
I'm not sure if I will stay south or head up towards the Cypress Hills. They are beautiful for sure. I'll see. It's still a ways away. Grasslands is really a big reason for me doing this trip in the first place. To experience some last remnants of native prairie. We'll see if I have it in me to head north towards Cypress.
The land now is rolling plains. Lovely. Still dirt farms around but way more grazing land which makes me fell much better in my spirit.
If inch' allah, I make it to Pincher Creek, in the end, then I figure that I am a third of the way there at this moment. I'm not sure how far I have travelled to date. I might try to figure that out today. A nice restful activity!
The horses.
It always seems that after a long week of travel that when we stop the horses go as far away from me as possible! Well, it feels that way at least. I suppose that at some level we are tired of each other and need a little down time. I have my tent in the same space as the horses and because they generally like to have fun, I was expecting them to come and play around with my tent and other stuff but they have been at the other end of the large fenced in area we're in. Still, it's really nice to not be concerned that they are ok. Dakota came for a short visit this morning when I was making coffee.
A lovely woman named Melida has said I can use her outdoor tap for water. It's drinkable for me too though highly chlorinated. This seems really common with municipal water that I've come across. Maybe walkerton tainted water fears play a part in that.
Also, another lovely woman named Margaret that works at the Grasslands Inn said that I can use her shower in a small extra house that she has. She said that she'd just leave the door open and I can come and go as I wish.
Re: cleanliness, showers etc. Back when I was in Mortlach and visiting the school, the teacher called out to the kids to make sure that they wash their hands after touching the horses. I found this very amusing as I often go many many days without a shower or real washing. Touching the horses all day, soot and dirt on my hands, Stan Walchuks pine tar lard combo bug dope, cooking all the while. I'll dip my hands in a bucket of water to sort of wash them. Of course, more often than not it's the water that the horses have been drinking out of. Sometimes I'll just grab some dew wet grass and rub my hands in that. When I come across a bunch of sage, often I'll take a handful and rub it all over my face and neck and hands. Smells lovely.
Speaking of bug dope. For the last 2 days the mosquitoes have been pretty much nil. A few here and there but nothing to be concerned about. I'm sure that I could sleep fine without my netting. Yay for the high dry plains!
As I write this I am having breakfast at the motel. Coffee, bacon, eggs AND sausages. No toast, no potatoes.

For those into numbers (and who isn't, really!), I reckon I've travelled about 400 kms at this point. It's almost 5 weeks now.
On the straw bales to get Cel reception.

More wine thoughts

2011-07-10T20:24:00.001-06:00

I forgot to mention that at the crusty blue crap slough camp, I was very low on water. This being mostly because I was unwilling to drink the slough water filtered or no. To conserve water I thought it a good idea to substitute wine for water. I have a special squeezable plastic container that's made to preserve wine, the bonus being that you don't have to carry glass bottles around. Of course the downside is that I then need to get rid of said bottle, now empty. There aren't garbage cans around most towns so twice I've gone up to someone, empty bottle in hand to see if I can dump it in their trash. Wino or what! And if course I always come up to them forgetting what I look like. Which is super tanned, somewhat disheveled, and I imagine a little crazed looking to a townie.

I suppose i drank half a bottle's worth that evening which is lot for me.
I really can't decide if that was a good idea or not.

2011-07-10T20:07:00.001-06:00

George's old home homestead

2011-07-10T19:41:00.001-06:00

Here I am camped in an old homestead again. Just algae-y slough water. I've found a technique where I attach a rope to my vinyl water bucket, throw it far into the slough where the water is more open and then drag it back to shore with hopefully clearer water. You dump the first one as that throw makes a little channel through the green slime.
You cannot believe how much I long to be back in Killarney and around that beautiful canadian shield water! Every approach to water here involves getting into muck a foot deep just to get at the water. That is if you don't employ my throw the bucket on a rope technique.
So here I am as I said at an old homestead. George, who I met this morning suggested it as it is about halfway to Mankota which I hope to get to tomorrow.
All of the buildings are falling down. Crumbling. Except for the obligatory grain bin of course.
This is different here as I have a face to think of here. Someone that grew up here.

The really weird thing is that there is also an outdoor plug that still has power running to it. This trip keeps getting more and more surreal.

And this is George. 80 years young. He let me take his photo. Of course it included a hug which also included a quick ass grab. That's happened a few times here in Sask. Must be a thing. No harm. Easy to diffuse. Nip at bud toot sweet. I am also secure in the knowledge that numerous sharp bladed weapons are always near at hand and I have a good idea of how to use them. I have not had to resort to the use of any of them except for cutting wood. Xena fantasies notwithstanding.

George pointed out the one room building he was born in. It is really small!

Also he said that he and his brother slept in the grain building. No heat. They just had lots of blankets. Now just try to imagine that in a Saskatchewan winter!!!

I'm starting to think that this trip, this land is driving me to drink. I buy wine often when I get to a town. Now I like wine well enough, though I'm not really much of a drinker, but here at the end of a long day I love it and can't wait to get to a town to get another bottle! I can see clearly how those early pioneers either already were or quickly became a bunch of bloody alcoholics.

time distance calendar days

2011-07-10T19:12:00.001-06:00

I am absolutely moving into a new mode these days. There's so much of this trip that I am remembering as simply images, thoughts, feelings. When I think of them I can't easily remember when they happened. I feel as though I am moving yet not. It stillness yet always in motion. Things are becoming very non linear. Ironic in that our travel is so often very linear. Maybe this is that getting away from the industrial clock that I wrote about wanting to find. Moment. Moments.

This is my horse Na'anni. She is not dead. She just likes to lie down and sleep a lot.

Kincaid

2011-07-09T19:58:00.001-06:00

Up until today, I have crossed through three towns altogether. Brownlee (pretty much a ghost town. though people still live there), Mortalach (a couple of shops including the wonderful HollyHocks, a school and post office) and Gravelbourg (which is much bigger with more stuff)
Well, today I passed through three towns all in one 22 km days travel! Woodrow, Meyrronne and now I am camped in Kincaid which has a grocery store, post office and an RM office.
Kincaid still has people living here, not a ghost town really, but there is tons of evidence of past glory including a 3 story hotel called the Windsor. It is the usual story of the depopulation of the prairies, and yet people still cling on.
Today we walked straight west into 40-50 km headwinds which was truly exhausting, it being made worse because of us fellowing one straight ahead road. Dakota always wants to turn when we come to a new road. It must be getting to him too all this straight business. It was also very strange to have the town of Kincaid in view for most of the day. It so often felt as though we were walking on a treadmill. We are in a good camp spot on the edge of town. Tomorrow we do much the same only due south.
It is so truly vast here.

a real home!

a real cat!

and this is where we're headed tomorrow ...

bloody hell!

Blue crusty crap and related efficiencies

2011-07-08T18:33:00.001-06:00

And THIS is where it is all headed, this agriculture business...

Nature abhors bare earth and for that matter earth that doesn't have millions of life forms all at once. And for those that think that a year or two of leaving it alone will allow it to grow back to a natural state ... well, that is indeed a pleasant fantasy.
Merde.

Leaving Gravelbourg aka these boots were made for walking

2011-07-08T16:28:00.001-06:00

Two days ago I left Gravelbourg after having a good 3 1/2 days rest while waiting for the boots to come. They came in Wednesday eve and I was off first thing in the morning. Riding quite a bit on dirt roads which is always a nice change from gravel. It's hard to tell what the roads will be of from my map. I did luck out though for the last 2 days. Still, the boots are fantastic and we are good to go on the gravel as well. We have travelled further both these days than average up to now ... about 20 k.
Yay for the Aussies!
I ended up being told about a good place to camp on Thomson Lake at Gaumono Bay. It was lovely and I had a little dip in the warm lake as well. It turns out that I happened to meet some people from Australia along the road. Belinda and Brian were visiting their daughter Angie and her husband Francois and their two great kids Sydney and Campbell. Anyway, they invited me over for dinner that night and I had such a wonderful time. Had 3 beers and a glass of wine and great conversation and good will. Just wonderful. Angie and the kids and I went to look in on the horses partway through the evening and as always the horses and the kids got along right away. Especially with the gregarious Na'anni!
The mosquitos, the mosquitos...
that night were utterly horrific. The worst yet and the worst I've ever experienced and that's saying something. At the peak, the horses were going bananas so I went out (naked, it was dark! and no one around) and bloody hell, they just swarmed me literally covering every inch of my body. I dived back in my tent and put on some clothes and deet and got back to work smushing the bug dope on the horses. It's this stuff from Stan Walchuck that is made from lard, pine tar, creolin and a few other things. It works well but at that level of buggery it mostly just tempered things a bit. Helped us get through the night right enough. We survived.
The blue lagoon ...
Today was a good days ride as well. The horses in good form. I'm camped near the Red Coat Trail Highway at someones place who isn't here. I guess that means I'm trespassing. O well. I do that a lot and people don't seem to mind so far.
There is a big slough and I took the horses down there for a drink. I was worried when I saw blue crusty crap on the waters edge. I found a more clear spot but it really freaked me out. I guess I'll get some to wash dishes with but I won't even filter that stuff to drink. A big thanks to Angie for those two bottles of water! Saved my butt on this day. I'll have to conserve but should be enough to keep me going until I find some more tomorrow. I'll be going through a tiny town so maybe I'll know on a door for water. That's always a hoot when they see a person in deerskins and 2 horses fully packed at their doorstep!
The Skuld stories ...
I think that I will continue to interweave skuld stories as they come up in my head with my blog of my trip. I think that it could be a good combination. One informing the other. Skuld travels through a landscape that, at times, has suffered a great deal of destruction. I also ride through such a landscape. Often. Well every bloody day really. It's heartbreaking, but I keep going. I'm getting close to the Grasslands area. I wonder if my remembrance of more native range land down there will be true or if I'll just end up riding along crop after crop with a few patches of good stuff here and there. Onwards and sideways.

Skuld stories 1 By the river

2011-07-06T19:40:00.001-06:00

By the river

Before coming to the river, we stopped to rest and to prepare for our journey to come. It was going to take five or six days before we passed through the worst of it. Where we could drink the water without concern and where anail and uisce could browse at ease.

I took an elk and over the next couple of days prepared the carcass.

It was hot and arid and I managed to dry a lot of the elk meat; more than I needed for our journey. I pounded most of the dried elk into a course meal and rendered as much of the fat as I could collect. The two I mixed together and made little cakes for me to eat.

For anail and uisce I gathered great piles of grass and tightly tied them in bundles with laces of the elk hide.

The hide, I soaked for a day and a half, frequently changing the water. I did this that the hair could slip off easily. With the now hairless rawhide, I cut a bunch of circles a foot or so across as well as some long laces as I mentioned earlier. Around the outer edge of the circles, I cut small holes for the lacing to go through.

The circles, I wrapped around the feet of anail and uisce, securing them around their fetlocks with the lace. I left them on their feet for an afternoon while they grazed on soft footing. Enough time for the hide to partially dry and thereby hold their shape for the time that we would need them.

The little boots are to help protect their feet from absorbing the poisons left on the ground by the river. As well, I made muzzles for each to keep them from eating the grass and other forage along the way. I hoped that at times we might find a small inlet where we could drink the water and perhaps find a small amount of fresh greenery for all of us.

The river had long ago been destroyed when after years of abandonment, the banks of the made lakes broke. The lakes were filled with the effluent of the great digging for power that had long ago been abandoned.

Many years after the abandonment, great storms and spinning tornadoes started to come where there had been none before. The banks became weakened and over time they crumbled.

When the lakes spilled, they killed everything along the river’s route downriver and even upriver for a short ways. The sea at the mouth of the river was a dead zone a long ways out.

We de not want to follow this river, but we are forced to it. The land behind us is dying and the river route is our only option. The land to the south and east is blocked by those unfriendly to us.

Skuld stories 2

2011-07-06T11:23:00.001-06:00

I was born in the mists
:::: My name is Skuld:::: She who is becoming she who becomes :::: I live in the transitions the transitions between animal and human and amimal :::: between meadow and forest between ground and sky between female and male between thought and movement between joy and anguish between :::: I exist to show progress endless craving for more for destruction all will come to it's end must :::: it all does not matter end choice is one for the whole not the one the choice is to walk the path to the end when it may come with honour and compassion for all the earth the ground the air the water especially for the tiniest to the mast massive all choice includes all :::: This is how it is this is how it may be ::::
:::: I was born in mists in the myths out of the animal I oozed not wanting not thinking not seeing not taking my language was the language of all the living but the people changed they started to think less of themselves they thought that they were different and I the myth was dragged with their thoughts unwilling I believed that it could not be that I was to go with them but so it was :::: My new form was brought to the fore I lived I killed I ate I fought how much I fought and killed I cannot say none could defeat me all feared me and bowed before me :::: I killed with clear eyes. I fought the people I fought for the people I fought the people :::: The deer I killed I killed I ate the deer I thanked and cried for the deer :::: Over the people who kill as they own I cared not of their ending ::::
:::: For many skies for many years I lived this way between the two but still loyal to my true self my true past :::: and we all could soar an fiach dubh we were in the old language the black bird the raven the wolf was our friend :::: Now I am lost I cannot find the way I see as the people see and I am ashamed and yet I can still remember the way distant though it is :::: I left the old land the old language that I had come to know to love i left on the final days when I could remember to be an fiach dubh we were in the old language the black bird the raven the wolf was our friend :::: And to the new land I found a home for a short time I could be who I am who I was but that land too succumbed to the ways and now I am here on the ground and for so long have been so :::: As the people go so must I :::: No more No more No more ::::

Skuld stories 1

2011-07-06T11:18:00.001-06:00

Skuld and her two horses, Anail (breath) and Uisce (water) are travelers. Skuld originated in the myths of the nordic lands and was possibly of valkyrie or norn origins. She doesn't remember. She doesn't care. She used to be able to transform into other animals and the raven figured in this greatly. She journeys to search for the state where she can once again transform and to fly once again. When the imaginations of the people that conjured her, that myth'd her, left behind their reverence for the land, she also was lost. But she remembers. She searches. The three travel in north america and have lived here for many hundreds of years. She lived in the Celtic lands for a long time before crossing the ocean. For many of those years she existed amongst the people that lived in harmony of all the living and dying. Witnessing the steady destruction of her adopted home , she now travels with her companions and searches, finding narrow pathways between the devastated lands where she can.

By the river
Before coming to the river, we stopped to rest and to prepare for our journey to come. It was going to take five or six days before we passed through the worst of it. Where we could drink the water without concern and where anail, an caonach and uisce could browse at ease.

I took an elk and over the next couple of days prepared the carcass.

It was hot and arid and I managed to dry a lot of the elk meat; more than I needed for our journey. I pounded most of the dried elk into a course meal and rendered as much of the fat as I could collect. The two I mixed together and made little cakes for me to eat.

For anail, an caonach and uisce I gathered great piles of grass and tightly tied them in bundles with laces of the elk hide.

The hide, I soaked for a day and a half, frequently changing the water. I did this that the hair could slip off easily. With the now hairless rawhide, I cut a bunch of circles a foot or so across as well as some long laces as I mentioned earlier. Around the outer edge of the circles, I cut small holes for the lacing to go through.

The circles, I wrapped around the feet of anail, an caonach and uisce, securing them around their fetlocks with the lace. I left them on their feet for an afternoon while they grazed on soft footing. Enough time for the hide to partially dry and thereby hold their shape for the time that we would need them.

The little boots are to help protect their feet from absorbing the poisons left on the ground by the river. As well, I made muzzles for each to keep them from eating the grass and other forage along the way. I hoped that at times we might find a small inlet where we could drink the water and perhaps find a small amount of fresh greenery for all of us.

The river had long ago been destroyed when after years of abandonment, the banks of the made lakes broke. The lakes were filled with the effluent of the great digging for power that had long ago been abandoned.

Many years after the abandonment, great storms and spinning tornadoes started to come where there had been none before. The banks became weakened and over time they crumbled.

When the lakes spilled, they killed everything along the river’s route downriver and even upriver for a short ways. The sea at the mouth of the river was a dead zone a long ways out.

We de not want to follow this river, but we are forced to it. The land behind us is dying and the river route is our only option. The land to the south and east is blocked by those unfriendly to us.

Life's little necessities

2011-07-06T10:55:00.001-06:00

Every once in a while while traveling someone will ask me if I need anything. Water, food etc etc. Toilet paper also gets asked about on occasion. Do I have enough toilet paper? I always answer yes, but in truth the answer is no.
I use squat, water and finger just like I did back in old Siam. My friend Terri had given me the details of the technique and then my 4 months in Thailand last winter allowed me to hone it to a fine art.
Now for all you N. Americans cringing here, how is it that you think that a micro thin sheet of tissue paper is somehow shielding you from the horrors of your own poo poo. Please. Using the squat toilet technique is much cleaner and healthier in my opinion and on top of it you're not using up all that paper, recycled or not, it don't matter ... really. I have a special collapsable cup set aside for the task, make sure I can wash up afterwards and I'm good to go. As it were.
I appologise for not having an image to go with this post. That seemed too much for me to juggle.

Layover in Gravelbourg

2011-07-06T10:43:00.001-06:00

I'm 3 days in Gravelbourg waiting for that fedex package to come with my hoof boots for Na'anni and Dakota.I do believe that they will come in tonight and that means that we ought to be heading out tomorrow morning. It's going to be hot so I'll try for an early start and find a camp by 1 or so if we can. Gravelbourg, the heart of french speaking Saskatchewan is a very nice town and I've been able to stock up on supplies and have had a few great lunches at a place called Cafe Paris. Great food and coffee.

I'm camped at Roland and Dianne Boyer's place about 2 miles north of town and my horses have a nice large area to run around in. The water is really great and has non of that salty taste that you get so much in Sask.
On my first night, I was invited for homemade pizza to the Boyer's and afterwards they took me to see this beautiful place called horseshoe canyon on the Wood River.

It has been a great spot to rest. We really didn't have a full two days off for quite awhile. 9 days or so. We did have 1 day off a couple of times but it is much better to take 2 ever 5 days or so. Much better. Well here we're getting 3 at least. Which is also good. Ready to get on the road now.
I had a wonderful chat/interview with Paul from the Gravelbourg Tribune. Just fabulous. He is completely aware of all the stuff that I am following in terms of peak oil .... well, peak everything really as Richard Heinberg says and all sorts of other stuff in that vein. It was such a treat to talk openly about this stuff and he agrees with me about what is coming soon and the trouble it's going to cause both in rural and urban places. At some point Paul will send me the article, which with his permission I'll post up here.
More to come including a rant-like post that been forming from all this time traveling through mono-crop zones.
Here's a view of a huge canola field for ya. So beautiful with its yellow and green and blue and yet ...

The anatomy of a great sask campsite

2011-07-02T16:59:00.001-06:00

1. An old homestead site

2. Grass only a foot high and lots of crested wheat grass (Terry Leggott says it makes horses tough, so that's as good as gospel to me)

3. On a rise/hill. So that it catches some wind to help a little with nasty mosquitoes and flies.
4. It happens on a nice sunny hot day with a little wind.
5. Some water for the horses close by

Today for the first time, I didn't picket the horses right away after I unsaddled, but rather let them roam and graze on their own. It took an hour and a half for Na'anni to start to wander further off, so I've picketed her. Because Dakota sticks to Naha like glue most of the time, I haven't picketed him yet. I will though when I go to sleep. This is a nice progression of things. When I started out, I hobbled or tied them up right away while I got the picket pins in and then picketed them right away. I've noticed lately that when we stop enroute, I've been able to just throw their leads over their backs and let them graze while I checked maps and things. That's how I got the idea to try just letting them be when I set up camp. I imagine that as I go on it will get even more so.
Many thanks to Monica for a lovely breakfast of bacon, eggs and coffee to send me on my way! And also for dinner and a nice soft bed for the night as well as a couple of alpacas for the horses to play with (annoy?) all night.
Also thanks to Mike for stopping by and bringing me some water. No slough water for me tonight! Next stop, Gravelbourg, and all willing a couple of days off for us all to rest.
over and out.

A walking day

2011-07-01T16:12:00.001-06:00

Today I started my day along a gravel highway. A hateful thing to be sure with big trucks screaming by throwing lots of dust. Fortunately I was able to get off to a small road within half an hour.
We walked some more and then I rode for a bit. Soon after though I hopped off and started walking again. My sweet sister Robyn emailed my yesterday to tell me that our gramma Dolly had died. She was 98 years old.
As I walked it soon occurred to me that I was going to walk the whole day long in honour of Dolly. And so I did. About 20 kms or so.
I was feeling anger today at times at the state of the devastation of the prairies and as we walked by a field all torn up and all dirt and no life in it, tears came and I let them flow as they would. I thought so much of Dolly as my footsteps touched the ground.

I am traveling in low country and wish so much to be back in the codeau hills. As I walked south along a fairly major gravel road and lovely young woman stopped and after a chat she suggested my encamping at her place a short ways down the road. And so I did. We had been traveling for 5 hours already and it was time to stop. Monica helped me get the horses in a large pen within which live 2 alpacas! So my horses get a large space to run around, get to know a new kind of animal and I get to have a shower (first in at least a week and boy was I grubby), wash some clothes and have a bed for the night as well. Monica got me settled and then had to take off to do a few hours of work, telling me to make myself at home and that she'd be back in a few hours. I am in awe of the trusting nature of so many of the people I am coming across on such a regular basis. It fills me with hope and belief that though we are headed towards difficult times the good will of people can and will shine through. I love it and I love it because it is also what I would do.

still goin south

2011-06-30T19:19:00.001-06:00

Well ... Al did show up with some groceries, but way more than I expected and he wouldn't take any money for it either.
He came by my camp at around 9:30 in the eve with beer and burgers in hand and we sat and had a lovely conversation. An amazing person. The groceries he brought along included kale, chocolate, eggs, strawberries, bananas, cherries, sunflower seeds, hot dogs, brusselsprouts, green onions!
AND in the morning he came by before heading to rolling his fields with some really nice strong black coffee. Wonderful!
The day was nice especially for the first say, 2 3rds. All dirt roads, rode in some fields all in the codeau hills. We defended to more crop country and now I am by a busyish road camped in another old homestead. The horses were great and are in good shape. I am camped in deep grass (yuck), it'll be mosquito heaven tonight, but it's safe and protected.
I've had to order some hoof boots for the horses front feet. The gravel has been too much for them so I've arranged for them to be sent to an Inn in Gravelbourg. I hope to get there in 3 days or so. Til then I will try to ride in the grass ditches as much as I can. I really wish I had got boots for them before I left. Their feet are great, it's just been too much of that bloody gravel.

chow fer now.

A hard days night

2011-06-29T13:50:00.001-06:00

After that spectacular sunset I settled myself into thinking of sleep. Something told me to wear clothes. Normally I sleep without.
First, the mosquitos became unbelievable. The worst so far though there have for sure been some other heavy nights. The qu'appelle comes to mind on that. I got out of my tent and slathered some of the big dope that I got from Stan Walchuk. Na'anni doesn't like the stuff and will run away when I come to her with it. In fact, at the qu'appelle camp she took of so fast that her picket line swooped me off my feet landing me on my ass. I was prepared this time and grabbed her halter and lead and managed to get some on her. Dakota behaves as though he would like to eat the stuff so no problem there.
Back to my tent and within 15 minutes a massive wind storm came up. The biggest so far and it blew my tent down in 5 seconds flat. The wind was so strong that it lifted the shirt right off me! If I didn't have arms I would have lost it for sure. It's hard to explain this kind of wind. If you are from the prairies, you know. It was impossible to get the tent back up so I decided to pitch it basically on the ground level. I put one of my boxes at one end so that I would have some space for my head when I crawled underneath. Even so, I had to get out a number of times to try and secure things better. If I got 2 hours of sleep I would be surprised.

At one point Dakota got free pulling his picket pin out of the soft ground.. It was pitch dark and I just hoped he wouldn't wander off to far. I mention in the little video below that the ground is a little off. It was very soft and sandy. The wind had no trouble with my tent pegs at all!

When the wind died down a little I got out to see if I could find Dakota. It was still pitch black but my headlamp, with the red filter on is a good way to try and see the horses. Their eyes shine red. I did find him after some time and he wasn't far away as I hoped. I led him back, re hammered in the pin and then back to the tent. The wind was still up but not as much. This is when I got that 2 hours sleep hoping everything would be alright. I woke up at the crack of dawn and sure enough, me the tent, my stuff and the horses hadn't blown away.

Someone mentioned a good camp spot nearby in some trees (more wind storm tonight and possibly thunder as well) and that's where I am now. It is good spot and I think that tonight will be ok. I'm by some trees and the ground is solid. I've also made some more pegs from tree branches to reinforce my steel ones.

I was so tired and really should have been walking, but I decided to ride for a bit. Na'anni kind of wrapped her lead around Dakota trapping his legs, Dakota jumped up and I went flying over his left shoulder onto the dirt road. I have a little scrape but that's it. Probably a little sore tomorrow I'm thinking too. I am fine.
I have my camp set up have had a nap to try and catch up on my sleep a little and nice fellow named Al brought me some drinking water (slough water kinda wears on you and you can't help but wonder what sort of horrible farming chems are being drunk even though I do filter the stuff) Al is off to Moose Jaw today and is bring me back some eggs, dark chocolate and a beer!
In spite of everything the guardian angels still show up. Al thinks that I am very strange. We had a nice chat.
That's it for now this'aft. More rest to come and let's hope that I don't end up in Oz with the coming weather!
over and out.
C

Sunset

2011-06-29T11:20:00.001-06:00

YouTube Video

2011-06-27T11:33:00.001-06:00

Prairie Wool and the Missouri Couteau

2011-06-27T11:25:00.001-06:00

How is it that on a day that would be equal in length to any of my longest days
20 km
or so
I arrive and stop and camp and am filled with energy and happiness?
Where I am simply happy to be living and see joy in the wind, in the sun, in the rain and in the cool.
All of which we saw on our day.

I know what it is.
it is the prairie wool
the native grass
the unturned earth
the old growth forest of the plains

The Missouri Couteau, the codeau hills they call them
Where I can see again the plains of my dreams and deepest desires
where seeing the bison is an easy flick of an imaginative thought, an ancestral memory

where it still lives, a little, precious but alive. still

still. it is grazing land so the fences are here. one day perhaps they will not be and that gives me comfort

my heart soars like a hawk as Chief Dan George says in Little Big Man
it being one of my favorite quotes to quote

and I can see so clearly now that so much of the despair that I have felt so often through this journey
is not
the pain
the tiredness
the loneliness
mostly not at least

it truly is what I can't help but see
can't help but see a land traumatised
torn
rolled
with killing solutions
and thoughtless desires

so for now I will try to remember this moment
this feeling
this PEACE
how wonderful it is
how worthy of the warrior in us to protect, to defend
for the rest of our days
this is why I am here
I can see this
now.

Odds and bits

2011-06-27T11:24:00.001-06:00

Ticks - when I first started to encounter ticks a number of years ago now at trails end ranch, the things freaked me out. I thought every twitch on my skin was one of the little buggers. Now, though I can't say that I like them I'm ok with 'em. I can now recognise the feeling of them crawling on my skin and they always take their time to dig in so generally I manage to grab them before they start drinking my blood.
There aren't so many now and soon the season will be pretty much done with.
I'm also finding that they seem to be heavier in native grass. I'm not quite sure why.

Not worrying about time - it's been taking quite a while for this concept to sink in. I thought that it would take less time. I thought that I didn't worry about much to begin with and this trip is on part to be rid of industrial time. I guess I was wrong about myself on that. I can say that in the 2 1/2 weeks I've been traveling that has felt like such a long long time that I am well on my way. Today. At least.

Where this is all going - I have no clue. note: I have written this and then hit the Missouri Couteau. Please see the prairie wool post. I suddenly got a clue but I shall leave this because I believe more clue may be coming and at many levels it all seems like a mystery to me. Where this will take me, I do not know. This trip will take every penny that I have (and that was donated!), I don't have a landing place, a home to end up at or any sort of job to carry me through when this leg of the journey is done. Whenever that may be. It is a good excersise in trust. In the trust that if you do what you think is best it will take you to a safe place.

Weather 'forecasts' in the modern day prairies - I suppose miscasts would be more appropriate! For instance today after my first night in the couteau. It is cloudy and threatening rain. Pleasant temps but not hot by any stretch. The forecast was for 29 degrees and sunny all week long. This is how it has been all along so far. I write this in the morning after eating some of hollyhock's incredible eggs ands some nice coffee. (yes I seem to have a taste for coffee again!) and I am waiting to see where the day is going. I may well just stay here for teh day anyways. There's water, the horses are in an old rusted steel but large corral. (it was full of alfalfa, so after setting up my camp, I was in there ripping most of it out for 40 minutes or so!) and if it turns sunny, well that's good too. I might just stay here anyways.

The weather in this part of the world both in the states and canada has been crazy. It seems that 'unsettled' is what they like to call it as if it were some sort of divorce procedure. Luckily I am west of the heavy flooding but it is wet for sure. Finding water has not been the problem I thought it might be.

Saturday

2011-06-25T17:22:00.001-06:00

What a lovely day off I've had.
I went to the Mortlach Museum and was treated to tea with the ladies there.

Here I am in the Mortlach jail. Up to no good as usual.

I love small town museums!

I went back to HollyHock market and had a wonderful lunch and great conversation with Lois and Clayton

much of it circling around the state of things in the world; things like in 10 years it wouldn't surprise us if people were farming with draft horses again ... which leads to the whole concept of Peak Oil ...
Peak Oil. If you are not familiar with this please google it; look up Richard Heinberg, Colin Campbell, Mike Ruppert and there are many others.
It is very common here in the prairies to find people that do not know about peak oil at all. This is truly shocking to me and very worrisome. With the size of the farms here, I feel that this very subject ought to be front and centre and yet it is nowhere to be seen. The impact of what's coming down the pipe as it were is truly going to be felt here in a massive way. Of course, it is going to be felt everywhere. All massive. But you can't farm 5,000 acres of land without fossil fuels. This applies to everything in this world ... machinery, transport, pesticides, fertilizers. It goes on and on. Mike Ruppert has often stated that 10 calories of fossil fuel go into every calorie of food that we eat in the industrialised world.

It was really nice to talk with Lois and Clayton about this stuff. I generally keep my mouth shut as I travel. Well, mostly I do. They completely get it and their shop reflects it. I mean, they have chickens back of the store! Amazing. I had breakfast there today and a late lunch all with wonderful talk and ease. Great great great.
Heading off tomorrow morn again for who knows where. I'm back to starting the day not knowing where it will finish! No doubt something will occur. A day of rest is a lovely thing. Many thanks to all of you sending encouraging messages. I love getting them and it truly helps me keep going! I hope this days finds you all well and happy. Over and out. A la prochaine.

how a day can go

2011-06-24T16:44:00.001-06:00

How strange that on a day where I wished I could just give up, the same day ends up being one of the nicest yet with me thinking that I never want it to end!
This morning, the 24th of june, a friday, found me feeling utterly exhausted. Even making breakfast felt like it was too much for me, let alone taking my tent down, packing all my gear and then getting the horses ready. We had a huge lightning storm the night before and I am happy to say that I wasn't flooded out and besides getting woken up with the storm had a decent enough sleep. I was also deeply disturbed to see a bump on Na'anni's left side. I was worried that it might be a fistula but it doesn't seem so. With some study of my gear I figured out what the problem was and repaired it. It was at a place where a back cinch tightens. I had added an extension to my pack saddle pad thinking it would help, but it really only added a place for problems right on the seam where I sewed it originally. So, that extra bit is gone and I slightly changed the place I put the rear cinch and Na'anni seemed fine today. Great relief!
One humourous bit was that I also didn't tighten the cinches as much and at one point near the end of our day, Na'anni was eating grass on a slope with her head down and everything just slid off her back over her head. I couldn't believe it! She didn't freak out at all and just waited for me to untangle the mess and get her packed up again.

Once I got on the road my spirits soon started to change. Dakota, was eager to get going and would nudge my backpack now and then as if to say that I was walking too slowly; that I'd better get up in the saddle. So I rode for a good part of the day towards the town of Mortlach.

It was a shortish day all in all and I managed to get to Charlie Smith's place by 1 o'clock, got my tent set up in his yard and the horses in a pretty big corral with lots of grass. Terry Leggot had asked Charlie for me if it was ok for me to stop at his place.
The night before last, I stayed at Terry and Jackie Leggot's place and was treated to a wonderful dinner and breakfast, great company and a nice relaxing time in their very peaceful place. Terry played some of his videos of Ray Hunt and Buck Branaman (sp?); 2 great natural horsemanship legends. Fab.
So today, 3rd day traveling in a row on this leg, has brought me to the lovely town of Mortlach, near the transCanada HWY and west of Moose Jaw. As I rode down the road to town, a woman who teaches at the Mortlach school stopped to chat and asked if I could stop by the school on the way to Charlie's. It wasn't much out of the way so of course I did so. My first school visit! The three of us went to the school yard and a bunch of kids came out to see. It was fantastic and the kids asked all sorts of great questions. Even though the energy was pretty high (it was after all pretty close to the last day of school) the horses were great and calm and let the children pet and feed them.
After a while I left the school, headed to Charlie's and got set up as I've mentioned. I then took a walk into town and went to a shop called HollyHock Market

where I got some supplies and had a super nice lunch of pulled beef and salad, some coffee and some ICE CREAM!!! It was really lovely. I also got them to set aside a couple of dozen eggs for me to pick up tomorrow afternoon. (so they won't be out of the fridge too long. Though 2 doz last me about 8 days and I just keep them in my pack boxes. So far it has been fine with the eggs unrefridgerated) The chickens live back of the store and the eggs are as fresh as fresh can be. I can't wait to eat them!
Here is a photo of the wonderful Andrea and Gwenda who were so thoughtful and kind and happy to have a chat.

As I headed back to Charlie's I had a nice rest waiting for 2 massive trains to go slowly by.

So there ya go. We head out on Sunday with a short rest tomorrow. I must remember this day and others that I've had like it; to be sure to keep going and trusting that difficulties are just what they are and that they may pass and to keep going as long as I can. Such a good lesson! Now that I've crossed the big highway I shall continue south and west into the Missouri Coteau.
over and out from Mortlach!

Pelicans on pelican lake

2011-06-21T16:56:00.001-06:00

ok ... one more day

2011-06-21T16:36:00.001-06:00

The day threatened thunder storms so I asked if I could stay on for one more which was graciously given.
The main problem is that now I'm edging into that world of being afraid to get too comfortable! Which is exactly what this is here, as I've already mentioned ... very comfortable. So I have pledged to continue on tomorrow morn rain, snow, tornados or hurricanes! Luckily for me the forecast is for warm sun, so I feel fairly confident in continuing on. This is not to say that I will always stop for bad weather. I promise I will not but shall sally forth unhindered by the fickleness of prairie skies. For now, I am grateful for a hard roof for one more night. Tomorrow, I head towards the town of Mortlach which will be one or two nights til I get there. There is a shop there that I can purchase some supplies and maybe even a bottle of wine! Terry Leggot has helped me with possible camp spots down the road and has kindly called ahead to tell the folks at those places that I am heading their way. Normally I start my day without really knowing where it will end. I like that actually and the effect that it has, but it is also nice to know that people are ahead of me. The people the people. It's an amazing thing!
Below are some photos with me and Chantal and Grant.

Stupid things I have done

2011-06-19T10:25:00.001-06:00

So far ...
Hobbles - didn't secure them properly and lost them. the fix- made some out of rope.

Spot emergency device - left it outside during that torrential June storm. the fix - it seems to be pretty waterproof and is still functioning. Don't do again. Ever See Murphy below.

Pickets - picketed in soft moist ground. Horses bolted and easily pulled them out of the ground initiating an hour and a half search for them. the fix - found the horses, changed camps, will never ever never try that again!

Assumptions - easy to do, hard to fix. Murphy's law rules at all times. the fix - try not to assume, but accept it as learning experience when it inevitably happens and a new trial presents itself.

No doubt more to come on this theme.

Avante, Avante! On to fresh disasters! (With affectionate thoughts to Anne Southam)

Today today today

2011-06-18T20:38:00.001-06:00

Saturday june 18 - It has been a day of guardian angels. Grant and Chantal Devine invited me to their house to have a shower. And a lovely shower it was too. They then invited me to lunch and we had a feast with Chantal throwing all kinds of food my way, which I happily ate up with gusto. We had eggs and salmon, sausages and tomatoes and cucumbers, toast with homemade cranberry jam, coffee, rhubarb crisp with ice cream and of course wonderful easy conversation that was the best part of all! I was in such heaven. They then insisted that I spend the rest of my time in their guesthouse. Of course, the last thing I want to do is to take too much, but it is also important to accept gracious hospitality with grace and thanks. So I have a bed and a beautiful place to hang out in for the next 3 nights. The horses are fine in some pens with hay. All of my gear is pretty much dry and I have a few days to recoup before I head back on the road. It's looking as though that will be on Tuesday all willing.My friends Chris and Lyle Benz, more angels at large, drove down from Trails End Ranch to pick up the instruments and other gear that I have decided to leave behind. It was a good decision to do this and even today I am pondering how I can create a storytelling/music sort of thing mit out instrumentation. Actually, I do have some instruments still. A bone flute, a deer hoof rattle and some tin whistles and I think that I might even have a Cambodian bamboo Jaw harp that my brother gave me still with me as well. A part of getting rid of stuff is of course to lessen pack weight, but it is also to lessen the inner weight that unnecessary things bring with it as well. At some level it doesn't seem like much, but it is. Very much so. It wearies the mind having to worry about where everything is. Simple simple simple is becoming my mantra.One thing of many that I am experiencing since I started 10 days ago is a real heightening of my senses. I feel my emotions very upfront; joy and despair come easily and unfiltered; the minuteness and subtlety of everything around me feels thick and so very palpable and powerful. I feel pulled to see how far this aspect of the journey can take me. Very exciting.I let the horses run around the arena for a time this afternoon after Chris and Lyle came by. I thought that they would like to run around unencumbered. Mostly they rolled around in the sand and jogged around for awhile. It wasn't long though 'til they seemed eager to get back outside so I haltered them up and we moseyed for a while with them eating grass on our way back to their pens where I gave them some hay for the evening and packed up my stuff to head to the Devine's place just a little down the road. Where I am now writing this in what feels like unbelievable comfort. I will be sleeping in a bed for the first time since early April! I promise to enjoy it utterly. From here, I will be heading slightly north then west and then south to get around Pelican Lake and head down to Mortlach where I will pick up a few supplies. I expect that it might be a 2 1/2 day ride to there and Terry Leggot has given me a name of someone that lives in the south end of town that might let me stake out for the night. More rain to come over the next couple of days. I look forward to the sun. over and out for now.Here are some short videos of Na'anni and Dakota rolling around in the sand this afternoon.
YouTube Video

YouTube Video

The rain and the wind project ...

2011-06-17T14:56:00.001-06:00

Day 8 was pretty longish. I thought it was going to rain but it didn't happen. On the other hand I knew that there was a big storm coming in and I needed to get somewhere secure to sit out for a couple of days. By the end of the day a fellow I happened to meet at his home (I had come by wondering if it might be one of those un-lived in sites) The man's name is Grant and we had a great chat and he gave me some drinking water. He also suggested that I go down to Chantal and Grant Devine's place a couple of miles down the road. He thought that they would be able to help out. As we were walking down the road, we met Terry who is the manager at the farm that raises horses and cattle. I asked if it might be possible to camp out for a few days and he said of course. There was no question in his mind I could tell and Terry has been so amazing and helpful. He said I could put my horses in some pens that they have. Yesterday he graciously suggested that I sleep in the bunk in the ranch arena. I thought that I would set up my tent non the less, 'cause I love my tent! So I had a very nice night and a good long sleep; got up; made breakfast and then headed down to my bed to catch up on sleep. I woke up when the rain started kicking and added a small tarp to make my tent more rain proof on all sides. Well, I wandered over to the arena and had a visit with Terry. He had drawn a map for me to get myself to Mortlach on the Trans Canada Hwy. A few days away I would think.As the rain got heavier and heavier I decided I'd better head over to my tent to make sure that everything was alright. Well, bloody hell! It weren't! My tent was now 2 inches deep with rainwater and it was getting deeper by the minute. Well, I can tell you that I will spend the next 2 nights in the arena and will happily sleep in the bunk, dry and warm. I dragged all my stuff over the 200 yds to the arena and it now all draped over every rail in the place drying out. The rain is still falling as I write this on Friday afternoon, pouring pouring down. Wet wet wet. My mom suggested writing about how I deal with wetness while traveling. I will in a future post for sure. Speaking of my mom, right now, what I'm dreaming of is being out with her on one of our lovely afternoons in Bangkok! I know that good weather is coming, but hoo wee, how I would love some mango sticky rice right now in the tropical heat!I keep going on and on with this but a constant theme in talks with people I meet are how different things are here these days. Whether it is someone remembering the days in early part of the century or 30 years ago the prairies keep becoming more and more abandoned. Small farms and communities left. The sadness of it hits me in a subtle way regularly. The sadness being about community and relationships. For those wondering what has happened to me lamenting the loss of farming; that know that I believe that a very bad turn was made with the advent of agriculture; my lamentations are very much in line with nature. That it's community and relationships within and without ones own species that is so very vital. It's not that there is less farming of course, it's just that the farms get bigger and bigger. It seems to be the only way to make them pay, at least to a certain degree. This is naturally only possible because of fossil fuels. Mike Ruppert has said that every calorie of food we eat has 10 calories of oil in it. This of course is changing and will continue to be so exponentially. Peak oil is upon us.I have had to make a sad decision. I really have too much of a load for lovely Na'anni and I have decided that I will have to jettison my instruments that I have been carrying up to now. I originally envisioned this trip as a sort of musical tour so this gives me a sad heart. The health of the horses must come first. As things often go, this might end up having a bright side. Perhaps I can continue to think of in terms of performances but structure them more in storytelling form, perhaps referencing my roots in tradition Irish singing, which was always sung without instruments if you go back far enough. I will have to rethink this part of the journey. I hope that it goes somewhere.I wrote a better, more amusing post yesterday but somehow it didn't get delivered. This one feels heavy and I feel tired and discouraged and I fear that this may not have a lot of clarity. I will leave it non the less. Brighter times will come as they always do and adventures will continue and no doubt in a few days time a bright light will be presented. For now over and out. I think that I will go and play my cora for a while now knowing that it will make me cry. C xox

Wednesday, june 15 day 7

2011-06-15T20:11:00.001-06:00

camped - in an abandoned homestead again. Mostly just a bunch of grain bins open space with grass and trees. Trees! i could actually tie the horses to trees today.
Yesterday camped on the edge of the town of Brownlee (people live there but no stores or anything. So many town like that in Sask now) in an abandoned school yard and teh met the most wonderful people, Pat and Stan Williams. I had some great chats with them and they gave me water and Pat in the evening drove me down the road to scope out possible camp spots. It was such invaluable help. This is tricky part of the journey as it is mostly dirt farms and not a lot of open grass. I think that it will be better when I get into the south where there is more range land.

Hobbles- The hobble fairies took mine away and they are nowhere to be found. They must have fallen off my pack at some point. I made a set with some rope that another fairy told me to buy at Canadian Tire one day. I now know why I bought it. I have the picket hobbles still which I can put together for a 2 leg set, so i'm good to go. If I can find some along the way though I will get them to have in addition to my makeshift rope hobbles.

Pickets- if yau picket in moist ground there is a chance that your horse could pull them out and then you might spend the next hour or week looking for your horses. If the ground is a little soft (which you can tell when you pound the pickets in) then make some wood wedges and hammer them in by the stake. Snowshoes for picket pins!
Water- Many rivers here are quite muddy (like the qu'aplelle). the horses don't mind but it will clog your water filter up super fast. Slough (kind of small pond in the middle of the prairie) water is often clear, especially if there are aquatic plants growing in it. You still have to filter it to drink, or boil I reckon, but it is often much clearer.
Zone - I can feel that I'm starting to shift into a much different headspace. I feel it especially today.
Coffee - for some reason I have lost my taste for it. This will amaze those that know how much I like good coffee. So I ditched all my green beans in an old farm building. Maybe I'll look for it again when I am back this way again.
I'm obsessed with getting my pack load lighter.
hoofs, hooves or whatever you call em - my horses are barefoot. ie. no shoes. Because I'm mostly on dirt/gravel roads at the moment, when it's wet I am afraid that the hoofs will wear too fast so I've decided, for now, to either not travel or make sure that the travel is light on rainy days if I can. It won't always be possible of course but I will try. When it's dry their hoofs are hard as rocks. i can tell you, as a hoof trimmer, that it is always easier to trim on wet days. Riding on range land wouldn't be as much of a problem I'm thinking.
It also sucks big time to travel on roads when it's rainy. miserable miserable. day 6 was like that in the morning. uuuuuuck.

Days - the longest so far was about 20 km, the shortest about 8, like today. I'm taking my time to get the horses ... ok I admit it, and ME ... to get used to all this tomfoolery. We're getting there and we fall into a good travel rhythm quite quickly now. I usually walk to start the day and when I feel the good vibe going on then I hop on. I have to keep Dakota walking slower than he wants to at first, cause Nahanni is smaller, carrying a fair load and can't walk as fast, though she can actually run like a rocket and generally zooms past D when their galloping (in a field for instance. My goal is to avoid galloping when we are traveling ... train wreck , here we come!
We shall see what tomorrow brings, which I suppose is all any of us can say.
over and out. Cat

Qu'appelle

2011-06-12T20:06:00.001-06:00

camped by the qu'appelle river

2011-06-12T12:14:00.001-06:00

Yesterday, day 3, we made it to the qu'appelle. I had originally thought that it would be 4 days, wanting to give us lots of time to get used to traveling together. we're going to stay here for 2 full day so that we can practice the fine art of doing SFA. That would be sweet fuck all. Which I can say I am quite good at and have always been so. I can also say that 4 months in Thailand helped me to hone it further.
Now you might be thinking that doing SFA would be an easy task and it is once you learn how to fully do it. However, in our puritan work ethic culture, it is not as simple as it sounds.
So, today is mostly rest, washing in the river, going for little moseys with Nahanni and Dakota so they can be ride of those damned picket hobbles for at least a short time. Tomorrow I shall do a few equipment adjustments and of course some more SFA unless the horses take off and then it could be more of a long hunting expedition which, in truth, can also fit into SFA if you do it right as SFA isn't about doing nothing exactly, it's more of a state of mine.
Our camp is as good as it can get. Right beside the river, native grass everywhere. (to me being on/in native grass prairie is very much like being in an old growth forest and probably has as much diversity, much of it happening underground but I can still feel the power of it. It's wonderful and not fully appreciated I feel.
Being by a river is a great luxury and I will strive to be by rivers whenever I can. My friend Edward Poitras suggested traveling along the Frennchman and Milk rivers as part of my journey. A better bit of advice could not be had!
Speaking of advice. I'm already realising that taking advice regarding routes from someone in a motorised vehicle is enough to make my eyes glaze over. We are operating from SUCH time and distance perspectives that though not exactly useless to me, certainly takes some mental gymnastics to interpret.
Our riding yesterday was long and windy and sunny. I picked a good name for the project! The surprising part of the day was the amount of time spent off roads, riding through grass fields quite a bit of the time.
Riding through heavily farmed areas has a certain desolation to it and now that I am here I understand, again, why that feels so. I am thrilled to be here in the qu'appelle. feeling the great beauty of the prairie as it should be and all willing may once again be everywhere.

a photo looking out from my tent at sunset

and here's one that Chris took on my departure day from Trails End Ranch. I think I look like a little kid in her cowgirl outfit and at that moment that's pretty much how I felt! I'm going to have a full post on equipment later on but for now I can say that I am so happy to have decided to take my smoke tanned deerskin clothing on this trip. Fantastic in the wind and sun, warm and also not too hot, if that makes any sense. A brilliant material that makes me marvel that the knowledge and skill of making it and using it has so diminished in our time.

day 2

2011-06-10T16:46:00.001-06:00

Well, day 1 was an experience! I first camped in a lousy damp spot with really high grasses and willows. Because the ground was soft the picket pins ripped right out and the horses were ... gone trolling picket ropes and pins! I was having visions of my trip suddenly coming to a quick end, with horses gone and possibly essential equipment lost or broken. for sure i walked 2 km to find them. It is truly lucky for me that Sask is pretty treeless and pretty flat.
So, I did find them and the ropes and the pins. We walked back to our site and I decided to pack everything up and go back the way we came to a place that I should have stopped at to begin with!
We got settled with horses hobbled AND picketed and teh rest of the evening and night went without any problems. I was totally exhausted and couldn't believe that luck had gone my way. I went ot a nearby farmhouse to see if i could get water for my horses and me and met a truly lovely elder woman named Violet. She is 93 years old! She gave us water and we had a nice chat and she was very excited to find out that one of my horses was half Canadian. She had never seen one but she had read about the breed. She offered my a bed for the night but I had to decline as I needed a good place for the horses and she no longer had such spaces.

So now it's day 2 and it went very well. I've decided that I will start looking for a place to camp at around 1:30 or so and take the first good one that comes up. Well, today that site came just at 1:30, so true to my promise, we stopped in this lovely place that probably used to be on old lot with a farm house. You can tell because there are trees ... this is the prairies after all! ... and the trees are arranged in a more or less square outline. Planted to break the wind and especially the 40 degrees below zero winter wind. Right now there are just grain bins and lots of grass for the horses and a slough nearby for water. Filtered for me, straight for the horses. Its' really nice here with the wind in the trees and the birds singing and to top it all off because we had an early camp it's been a lovely quiet afternoon. It's wonderful!
And I feel very happy to be doing this journey. I really thought it might take a couple of weeks to get to that point. Still, lots of fresh learning curves to come, no doubt. C

softening a deer hide on a cable

2011-06-05T21:35:00.000-06:00

more camping practise

2011-06-04T18:01:00.001-06:00

Today we went for a really long walk with the task to cross the highway, which I will have to cross on my first day of traveling. one nice thing about traveling around this part of the country is that highways are not all that numerous and non would compare at all in business to one in S. Ontario for instance.. I'll cross the one here then the trans Canada highway about 70 or 80 km away and few others here and there. Anyways, the highway crossing went without a hitch. Wonderful. Now we are comped out in one of the ranch pastures for the night. The horses picketed and I in my traveling tent, which is really a 3 sided sort of tarp. It design is called a Whelen Tent and it is a truly brilliant design at that. It is cotton, which is heavier than nylon and more bulky, but much more durable in the sunlight and has the added benefit of not being noisy in the wind. In S. Saskatchewan and Alberta this is more valuable than you can EVER imagine.

2011-05-29T19:32:00.001-06:00

an abrupt change of strategy

2011-05-29T19:29:00.001-06:00

Well, though on the whole, I think that consistency is one of the hallmarks of good horsemanship, I have decided to do away with the electric fence idea. I am instead going to use pickets with my horses as I travel. For those not familiar, picketing is where you attach a single hobble to one foot, attach a long rope to that, which is then attached to a picket pin (stake) sunk into the ground.

Picketing was my original idea, but at some point last winter I thought that a fence could be good as it would allow the horses to walk more freely and reduce the risk that a rope attached to them can add.

The fence though really well made, was a little problematic. It was finicky in terms of keeping a consistent charge. I found that it worked fine if the soil had some moisture to it (has to do with the grounding I thought), but of course, here in Saskatchewan dry rocky sandy soil is the name of the game.

So it's back to pickets. One nice thing about going this route is that it is lighter and takes up less space. Nahanni, who will be my packhorse for most of the time is fairly young still and not a large horse. I want to keep my weight down. Because I'm also traveling with instruments, I must keep my other gear at an absolute minimum. Nahanni, as with most things for her has no issues with the picket. Dakota as usual has more to say about the whole idea, but even he was getting into the swing of things during our last training session.

Speaking of instruments and music ... small performances are a part of this whole idea ... my friends Heidi and David are going to set up a concert for me when I get to them out in Pincher Creek. Sometime August perhaps. So that's ONE place booked!
chow fur now. C

Respecting the fence

2011-05-26T11:39:00.001-06:00

One of my goals is to have the horses respect the portable electric fence so that they will stay within without hobbles. They do know what an electric fence is. So I am keeping them here all day away from the herd, which they are VERY attached to. It is where they feel safe. This is good in many ways, I think, as they have good herd manners and haven't gone all dull and mad from isolation.
I an trying to make the fence feel like a safe and nice place to be Gave them some oats; groomed them and just generally hanging out with nothing they have to do bit eat grass and drink water Still, it is a bit trying for them at times. I wonder if i may need to hobble them anyway at least for the first while until we are a good distance from the ranch Bit by bit as usual!

a third of the way through May

2011-05-12T07:57:00.000-06:00

Just a quick update here. More, I think, to get into the habit of writing this blog again as much as anything else. It's all about the horses at the moment for me. Getting them as well as myself ready for the start of our adventure. A lot of the things I've been getting a deeper sense of are difficult to express in writing. Things like focus and intention, confidence and will. Things are moving along well, bit by bit, steadily. I have a strong idea of where we need to go and Nahanni and Dakota easily sense that and respond; probably with relief that I actually have a bloody concept of what to do. Over these last few years and especially now daily, I am in awe of the sensitivity that horses have. A thought from me, at times, are read with absolute clarity. I know and see this concept regularly from my friend Chris, who's ranch I am on at the moment and who has shown me so much about horses; and which has also allowed me to see how much further there is to go and that can be got to. All one can be is where we are at the moment and that seems a good place to be. It makes me think of the few times people have said something like, 'I know horses are stupid and all...'. Stunningly, often with the thought that I might agree with them!bHow so unobservant and ignorant such a statement is. What a world it would be if we could be as honest and sensitive ourselves. Where a false statement, is seen instantly for what it is and laughed at for it's ridiculousness. If we were such, politics as we know it would not nor could not exist. Hell, we might even be able to drink the water and breathe the very air without fear for our lives.

So. I generally work/play with my two horses most days ... often a few days on, a day off; dictated more by the moment than by plan. I do start the day with a strong idea of what to work with, which helps things along with that focus thing. I do not fret if we miss a day due to nasty weather or something else coming up. Often in the evening, I will do equipment building and repairs that need doing. Heading up to my tent, getting the wood stove going, with a few hours of daylight left. I almost have no more of this handy work to do now. It's pretty much all done. A few things that are waiting for materials to come. While not a problem, I do miss the fact that there is not much of this to do. I find that using my hands in this way helps my to think and imagine where next to go in my preparations and keeps me centred.

The big things that need doing over the next few weeks, other than continuing horse work, are: those few repair things; drying a bunch of meat for jerky and pemmican; picking up last minute items in town; I have a deerskin tunic that I want to make. I might get it started here and finish it once I get going; I am almost finished my cora case. That'll take an afternoon; I guess that I'd better start getting music things together again, though that seems to come together very quickly these days. There's more but they aren't coming to mind this morning.

I suppose a big shift will be to get into a different way of being with time and place. I am half way there now. Living in my tent. Simple cooking. Living mostly outdoors. But I still have access to easy electricity and easy internet. That will change of course and once I get over the DTs of global communication depravation, I expect to be quite happy with the situation.
Well, this is not such a quick post after all. I hope all is well with whomever happens to be reading this! A la prochaine
Cath

Nahanni. Dakota and some of the herd

2011-05-11T17:09:00.000-06:00

Saskatchewan Birds

2010-12-04T11:15:00.001-06:00

Click on the title above to listen to a repeat audio podcast of the amazing bird sound that surrounds us in the summer at Trails End Ranch in Saskatchewan. I am setting up podcasts to work on my blog and thought that this would be a good file to put up to start things off with. The birds bring to mind a quote from David Abram's The Spell of the Sensuous, 'As technological civiiisation diminishes the biotic diversity of the earth, language itself is diminished. As there are fewer and fewer songbirds in the air, due to the destruction of their forests and wetlands, human speech looses more ond more of it's evocative power. For when we no longer hear the voices of the warbler and wren, our own speaking language can no longer be nourished by their cadences. As the splashing speech of the rivers is silenced by more and more dams, as we drive more and more of the land's wild voices into the oblivion of extinction, our own languages become increasingly impoverished and weightless, progressively empties of their earthly resonance.'

A wonderful video made by Eric Beug of ETSY

2010-11-02T15:56:00.001-06:00

filmed at Trails End Ranch in Saskatchewan. How I miss those hills!

a quote from Lierre Keith

2010-09-28T09:48:00.001-06:00

who's writing and thinking I admire greatly:
"It's time to put away our fairytales, all of them, and assume our responsibilities, the adult responsibilities that begin with adult knowledge. Our planet needs us. She needs us to think like healers and act like warriors. And if you think that's a contradiction, then get out of the way."
2009, The Vegetarian Myth by Lierre Keith

Our Veins

2010-09-28T09:28:00.001-06:00

One day,

the incessant roar

of that damned internal combustion

bore

will wend its way

to the furthest reaches of

our memory.

Where the understanding that the

catastrophe of the agricultural

will be a tale

of morality

of the futility

of the myth

of modernity

of technology

and science

misunderstood and blindly scaled.

One day,

we will know

that to live

is to give.

Where here

for ten thousand years

we have taken,

our true hearts

forsaken

for a paucity

of nutritional

and cultural

diversity.

Where here

we take with unfeeling

entitlement. With

no understanding

that a mere inch of earth is

home, to so many

an eternity.

Where once we stood

we now grovel

pathetic and trusting in the lies

that tell

that are told

that have been tied.

Our veins sore and oozing

bleeding and bruising

from the pounding

of the daily newsing.

It is a lie and a falseness

a degrading baseness,

and i'm tired

of trying to say

what I see

to those that

would feel

it better to not to speak.

Of the blindness to the

ancient wildness

that struggles every day

to come back from

its recesses. To tell

that of the pieces

that we love and honour,

they have more in common

with the wild and free

than in our flaccid and

self-absorbed societies.

One day,

when today

is a distant memory.

When the forests and wetlands

and grasslands and mountains.

Embrace us once again

as their children.

When we can see

that we can live from

and not take from.

When we can see

that there is a difference.

And the silence of this moment

is replaced by a cacophony

of life and love and kindness

of co-operation and oneness.

With all with all with all with all

there is nothing but the land

the living the dying

the searching

for a touchstone

to an old place

to a new place

to a fine and kind place.

This is what will come,

I know it.

And in the struggle to find it

I search for the joy

of everyday

when today the leaves

of all the trees

are falling like they have

for eternity.

This is what will come,

I know it, but I can't help

but feel sadness

that though my efforts one day

may bear fruit,

in some small way,

I may not, in this life,

live what dreams can say.

2010-09-27T08:13:00.000-06:00

today i woke up

and looked up

at the white canvas

that has been my rounded home for the last 6 months

I am sad to be leaving

its gently flapping shelter

in the wind

it's shadows at night

when the moon is out

where I wake up at the witching hour

and watch herds of horses

I will never know

moving overhead

and dream and vision of things

that may

or may not

the so needed embrace of loved ones

will be on me soon

and the beginning of travelling

to far off places

to near off places

back to this place

eventually

where

slow movement and quiet careful stepping

will take the place of jets and cars and trains

where

I can look to find those herds

that come to visit at three or four or two

in the morning

calling and suggesting

but never promising

this summer of rain

2010-09-22T08:47:00.002-06:00

this summer of rain now becoming the autumn of rain
that was
the spring of rain

in the prairies

there are thousands and thousands of rosehips

where once there were thousands and thousands
of wild rose flowers

this summer

there were no choke cherries

there were no saskatoon berries

this small prairie valley

with its ancient grass and stone

shields from the truth

of the world

gives a respite

a time to have a breath

to think of what must be

but isn't

now it is close to being time to leave

this place

a return soon will come

but in the meantime

all must

change

strategies strategies! the hobble adventure

2010-09-07T13:09:00.005-06:00

Well, today was the day to get going with hobbling. In case you're not sure what hobbling is, it is where you put 2 ankle cuffs that are connected together on the front or back legs or some combination thereof to attempt to limit the travel of a horse. Useful when travelling as the horse can graze and theoretically not run away.
Having asked the advice of Chris and Doug, a mutual friend, and done some google type research I tried to gather as much savvy as I could for this next bit of fun.

Now, to me having my feet tied together would most definitely be the cause a great deal of freaky-out panic type response-ing. On the other hand, I am used to and quite enjoy carrying stuff on my back through many years of backpacking and canoeing. If you have been following this blog, you would know what Dakota thinks of stuff on his back so it dawned on me that maybe having his feet tied together might not prove a problem. Kind of the opposite of myself. Reasonable as it appears, it was really too much for me to hope for such a result.

First off, I did the packsaddle and saddle boxes thing as I try to do every day. It went quite well. Again, twice as fast as the time before. Ah! A pattern emerges. Pretty soon, he'll be putting the damn things on himself thinking me too slow. So all good. Took the boxes off and gave Daha and Laddy (trusted companion!) a little break while I got my gear together.

So ... Here's where the strategies come in. I decided that since Daha needed his hoofs trimmed, I would do that first and do it in the Amish trimming stock that we have here. It is a big kind of frame thing that the horse walks into and allows you to secure the horse and his feet. The key element is that you can secure a foot with a cuff that buckles on.
Strategy 1 - make sure that he knows that something around his ankle ends up in good things. In this case, a nice pedicure.
after trimming I took him back into the indoor arena (the outdoor arean, which I like better, is all muddy today as it has been for much of the year due to the crazy amount of rain that has fallen in Saskabush this year)
Strategy 2 - put a pile of hay on the ground with some oats, (yum, dessert so early in the day!) on top. If I had a cherry, it would be up on there too! Got Daha and Laddy to go ahead and eat away ... while doing that, I clipped on D's lead rope then slipped the hobbles on, grabbed my camera, heart pounding, stepping aside so's I don't get runned over and let the circus begin!

WELL, wasn't it just a non issue. A look down at his feet, a few bunny hops and shuffling around and then to hell with it and back to eating some hay and the last kernels of oats.

As super-duper fun as the rodeos are, I am very happy that the hobbles were ok with Dakota, that we didn't break any more fence rails and barbed wire and that the day turned out sunny.
A la prochaine!

more horse packing adventures

2010-09-05T11:21:00.004-06:00

Well, I'm back in Saskatchewan for a month and a half. It's back to getting Dakota, who I often call Daha, (and me!) comfortable with horse packing. It's been an interesting few days. I'll start this post with 3 days ago and end with today's play.

Sept 3 - Freshly back to getting Dakota easy with the pack saddle (which rattles) and pack boxes (which go boom and bounce around). I left things in an ok state when i left for Toronto in mid August. Not nearly enough though. A lot, but not all, of what I'm dealing with is my own lack of confidence.
Anyway, back to work. It took me a good hour but I managed to get the pack saddle and boxes onto D and have no freaking out. All good. Well, in my questionable wisdom, I decided to just let him wander around on his own and get used to the stuff on his back. I was working in an enclosed area, the indoor arena that we have here. The arena is covered over most of it but the south end has a a good 20 or 30 feet of space not covered and surrounded by wood rails.
I could see that Daha was about to bump the boxes on one of the fence posts. Oh, good I thought, it will give him a chance to get used to the boxes hitting things. Well ... the rodeo that ensued what awesome in the truest sense of the word! As soon as the boxes hit the post, he took off at full blast to the north end of the arena ... opps nowhere to go, so he turns around and goes at lightning speed headed straight for the rails on the SE 'corner' (it's rounded) of the arena. SHEEIIIT!!!! He's gonna go through! I started to run to that corner to head him off (a dubious decision with a 1000lb animal running as fast as he can).
He burst through the 6 inch in diameter rail and splintered it like a toothpick. By then the boxes where flying around all over the place (please see photos of a previous rodeo a few posts below ) one lid was off but both boxes where still attached. Well, didn't he just decide to burst through the barbed wire fence and also decide to run around a giant thistle field, loosing one box in the process. I waited and watched as ran in his mad panic thinking that he'd come back eventually. Maybe. Within a minute or two, there he was standing in front of me, packsaddle underneath, one big plastic box still attached dragging on the ground with that 'what the hell just happened' look that I have become familiar with. i undid the pack, let the stuff fall to the ground, took him back to the arena and started all over again. I got the stuff back on, kept him calm-ish and then unpacked hoping that this last bit would do as a positive experience. It's important to finish a session with a positive experience if you can. No injuries, except for my bruised sense of my ability to get this bloody long ride off the ground.

Sept 4 - Talked with Chris (friend, mentor, horsewoman extrodinaire and owner of Trails End). She made the suggestion that I have another horse around when I work with Daha next. Definitely one of those ... 'Oh yeah, I knew that' moments. Ba-duh.
I hiked to the SE corner of the ranch (a distance) to grab the horses. I decided to halter Laddy, one of the lead horses of the herd thinking that the rest would follow. Which they did, for a while and then changed their mind. So it was just Laddy and me. I needed to trim Laddy's feet anyway so we walked to the arena area to get him trimmed up.
After our trimming, I decided to try out my packing stuff out with him. No problem, no rodeo, the epitome of calmness. He just happily grazed in the outdoor arena as I got to work. I even got a chance to try out some diamond hitches. So ... that was good as it let me know how the whole process is supposed to go.

Sept 5 - All the horses came in early this morning wanting some oats. Great. An early start! Taking Chris' advice I brought Laddy and Daha together into the outdoor arena, left them to themselves for a bit while I had a cup of coffee and steeled my nerves and then off I went with the day before solid on my mind.
Great success! It still took a while to get the pack boxes on, though much faster than ever before, no trouble with the packsaddle. Once I got the boxes on his back, D had a short bucking fit, maybe 3 bucks, gave him a good phase 4 crack with the lead line, boxes stayed on and I was able to get his energy back down quickly. Well, we walked around for a good hour, banging the boxes, bumping them against his sides etc etc. all the while giving lots of comfort, petting and soft words. Laddy decided to help out by chewing on the boxes and ropes scratching himself on the edges, nudging them with his nose etc etc. PERFECT!!! I couldn't have asked for a better helper and maybe in the end Laddy did way more than me in getting Daha at ease. Today is a good day.

Laddy on the left and Daha on the right with a pile of stuff on him

Great success!!!

Fwd: more photos with me n dakota

2010-07-27T19:05:00.001-06:00

thanks to Cecilia Lee for the photo!

more packing training photos

2010-07-19T20:18:00.002-06:00

me 'n dakota

ahhh.... a triple grooming session!

it's a box! and it smells like plastic. and you get to carry it!

apparently, i get to carry it.

whoa! that's a scary face.

what a great view for a pee.

packing training

2010-07-17T07:38:00.002-06:00

Olivier Delausnay & I at a quiet evening of horse packing practise ....

btw. that's Dakota. my very own horsie. In spite of how it looks, D is doing super well. very calm and standing still for packing, loading and saddle-ing and after this explosion he stood in front of us as if to say, 'what the hell just happened there?' good to know that my equipment survived and the pack saddle didn't slip in spite of only one cinch and airborne boxes. i have to say, though, that i was glad that it was the boxes on his back and not me!

what do I have?

2010-04-08T09:28:00.000-06:00

Against the tyranny of
the written word
the written note
the written thought

if the people could read about
a life
a thought
a moment
in a footprint
could they not also read the music of
a place in the clouds
the wind
the way a tree sways
a river runs
THIS is the language of all living and speaking
and where
our own arrogance of percieved power cannot
even
ever
in the end
move a leaf
to fall
upon the earth

Bethoven

2010-03-06T22:39:00.000-06:00

This eve
Exquisitly played
Which makes it all the more horrific

2010-02-02T16:17:00.000-06:00

On our way to the moraine at lake louise

2010-01-24T17:00:00.000-06:00

December in Saskatchewan 38 below

2010-01-23T23:57:00.001-06:00

2009-10-01T22:42:00.002-06:00

2009-10-01T22:42:00.001-06:00

2009-10-01T22:37:00.001-06:00

salmon tree feeding

2009-02-07T23:28:00.001-06:00

my body will feed you
my body tired and shredded
will help you live
to tell the story of how
my life is your life
and you will grow so
tall and long in time

my body
my body will feed you
my short life
in this water
will be within you
and my children
will remember
where to come back
to find you

i promise all this
but i cannot find you anymore
it is now lost to me

elements

2008-10-27T10:14:00.000-06:00

elements
Elements of despair
here and there
I step out to see
the sun
and must walk a ways

I try not to stray
too much
because there is such
Joy if I can
Stop
In that Perfect
Spot

Nomad
Is the nomad a traveler?
one that knows the land
the ground
that the bird sees
from so many points

of view
the scent of spring
the raw earth
brings the new place
the time to move
to the summer

Space

Someone to whom the wind
speaks and tells
Asks
but moves on without
an answer

Is this traveling
or being in the same
Place?

Recipe for a new world
Take 4 equal parts from the earth, the sky, the air & the water
Mix that together until a beautiful or a nasty sound comes out
Or a combination of the two

With eyes closed, continue stirring for a minimum of 10 minutes but do not stop until you hear that you are being lied to from every corner of our world

Open your eyes and see what you see

Be sure to take what you've made
Wherever you go.

For Madeline

2008-10-27T10:13:00.003-06:00

Lift your head
Little one
Lift your head

See your beauty
And your strength

The thoughts of those you love, loved
Layered upon you
Were not for you
They were for them
They didn't know how to
Behave differently
In the end they saw
Who you are

Perhaps

Believe

And they still love you still

If you could show yourself
What you have shown me
You could not doubt yourself
Not for one moment

expected

2008-10-27T10:13:00.001-06:00

What's expected
is diverted
In one last gasp
last grope
last grasp
of the expected

I allowed myself to see
what could lie before me

Truly
nothing arrived
as I put forth
tried to will into being

I fell
I broke
was alone
tried to dream two horses
towards my path
but they refused
not convinced
that I
could lead
them

Fences

2008-10-27T10:12:00.003-06:00

Fences
So
            What do I have to say about fences
            There's not much of them in the north
            Protecting small gardens more interested in surviving the frost
            Than a lack of liberty

So
            There's lots in the prairies the plains
            Some geographical mostly wire
            Four rows smooth if it's kind
            barbed to draw blood from interloapers if not
            Three and half feet high
            Low enough to step over unless it's got a current
            The Deer simply leap over it
            The antelope simply under it
            Not a barrier at all
            Horses can't jump it much
            Buffalo can't jump it at all
            I'll bet they could trample it though
            In their millions
            Crushed into rusted
            Twisted piles
            Occasionally snaring an unsuspecting leg or hoof

Please
            People
                        Dance that dance
                                                That brings
                                                            Them back from the Ghostlands
So I can ride
            Un hindered
                        Un encumbered

                                                Like I do in my dreams

Decisions decisions

2008-10-27T10:12:00.001-06:00

I can't decide
Will I always love the wind … Or not
I can't decide
Would I rather be a wolf than a human … Or not
I can't decide
Would I rather be a Puma than a wolf … Or not
I can't decide
Would I rather be a Raven than a Puma … Or not
I can't decide
Would I rather be an old White Pine than a Raven … Or not
I can't decide
Would I rather be a great big Rock than an old White Pine … Or not
I can't decide
Would I rather be a River than a great big Rock … Or not
I can't decide
Would I rather be a wild Salmon than a River … Or not
I can't decide
Would I rather be an Eagle than a wild Salmon … Or not

If I was the Eagle I would eat
the Salmon that lives in the River
that erodes the great big Rock where
the Old White Pine lives that
the Raven roosts on
that the Puma up and down climbs
that the Wolf chases her kill from
that makes the human dream
of being the Raven

I can't decide
Does the land care at all … Or not

When I am gone

2008-10-27T10:10:00.002-06:00

My spirit
keeps me light on the earth
And when I am gone
my body
heavy with matter
Will soak the ground

When the earth takes
the ooze of my body
I will dance
with the light that sparkles
on the water
I will feel the sound
of the wind
in the pines
I will rest in the down
of the raven that
circled me this morning
I will taste
the scents
of my home
in every part of
my self
I will stick to the green
pine
cone
that drops to the ground helped
by the squirrel
I will be tossed
rolling past the
deer fucking and pulled
inside the doe's womb
I will be born running and challenge the wind to a
great race
And my hoofs will thunder across the valley
and be a testament to
my spirit
my place
On this earth

I cannot be stopped.

Tetanus

2008-10-27T10:10:00.001-06:00

I fell
I busted my shoulder
They gave me a tetanus shot
At the hospital

I couldn't remember when my last one was

Maybe
If I hadn't fallen
I would have stepped
Onto
A rusty nail
With no tetanus
Shot

we walked forever to find some water

2008-10-27T10:09:00.001-06:00

I hold in my hand an egg of sand
we walked forever to find some water

the water in the river had slowed to a shiver
the water I held in my hand was this egg of sand

The sun released has taken all the water
and all that is left is in this egg of sand
that I hold in my hand that I give to you
so that you might stand so that you might remember

in the transitions

2007-12-07T14:44:00.000-06:00

::::My name is skuld :::: she who is becoming :::: I live in the transitions between animal & human & animal between meadow & forest between ground & sky between female & male between thought & movement between joy & anguish between :::: I exist to show progress endless craving for more for destruction :::: All will come to its end must :::: It all does not matter end choice is one for the whole not the one the choice is walk the path to the end when it may come with honour & compassion for all for the earth the ground especially for the tinniest to the most massive all choice includes all :::: This is how it is – this is how it may be::::
::::I was born in mists in the myths out of the animal I oozed not wanting not seeing my language was the language of all the living but the people changed they started to think less of themselves they thought that they were different and i was dragged with their thoughts unwilling i believed that it could not be that i was to go but so it was :::: My new form was brought to the fore i lived i killed i ate i fought how much i fought and killed i cannot say none could defeat me all feared me and bowed before me i killed with clear eyes i fought the people :::: The deer i killed i killed i ate the deer i thanked and cried for the deer :::: Over the people who killed as they own i cared not of their ending::::

For many millennia i lived this way between the two but still loyal to my true self my true past we could all soar an fiach dubh we were in the old language the raven the wolf was our friend :::: Now i am lost i cannot find the way i see as the people see and i am ashamed and yet i still remember the way distant though it is :::: I left the old land the old language that i had come to know to love i left on the final days when i could remember to be an fiach dubh we were in the old language the raven the wolf was our friend :::: And to the new land i found a home for a time i could be who i am but that land too succumbed to the ways and now i am here on the ground and for so long have been so :::: As the people go so must i :::: No more::::no more::::no more::::

the falling wall::autumn::mid journey

2007-10-11T10:55:00.000-06:00

::::my name is skuld::::i, anaíl, an caonach agus uisce::travelling now for many days::in the far seeing, a great high square built thing by the people who kill as they own::for four days we journey'd towards this great thing::coming to it::square and straight lines towering high above us, across the whole of the lush valley below us::in the centre a great jagged gap::tumbles of tumbles of what was once square::now sharp edged waiting for the rain to take it back to the sea to one day becoming the home of a snail to one day lifting to the top of young mountains looking onec again from up high::now strong chunked heavy::remembering the great water held back with such confidence and faith::water easing it's paitient self into cracks::freezing::thawing::freezing::expanding ::contracting::lifting::moving::just as we witness in the mountains that we call our home::we saw how the water trickled through to the other side of the great dam::long green mossy strips::dripping tricleing to the tinkling river stream below::we could see where one day the seeping water became a torrent and within the time we would have taken to drink our own fill the world itself became unhinged::the great water held back for so many long time::waiting::came crashing:the great reservoir created by the people who kill as they own now a great river remembering its free time and revelling in it::bouncing crashing over the tumbled rubble::joyful to meet again the smooth stone not taken away remembered further down the valley::the banks of the great lake now green and rich from dumping upriver earth::green and rich and eager to once again move down to the sea::we stayed the four of us for many days at this place listening to the memories in the air and the water and the earth::there was good food for us to eat::::

on the train

2007-09-23T12:37:00.000-06:00

::::yesterday yesterday::::leaving the train::::standing in the aisle i met eyes with a woman::::elder::::beautiful::::bigspirit::::she said::::it looks like you are on a great adventure::::i am::::i said::::

the helper the teacher the guide

2007-09-22T12:47:00.000-06:00

::::what is the horse to the skuld project??::::the horse is the helper the teacher the guide::::the point where the transition between the domestic and the wild exists::::the one that knows both worlds::::the one that may show may help may guide to where the balance of the wild can pull the destruction of the domestic to a new beginning a new view a new sight a new vision. because as we all know, it's not human that is the fullest realised form::::right?

2007-07-06T20:11:00.000-06:00

my name is an mór riogain::::today talking speaking about the magical birds and their long seasonal travels::::lamenting the tragic loss in our time of the sacred and the magic of so much::::this evening i watched hundreds of fireflies in the dark dark cloud covered sky dark night::::a moose is in the marshy pond just down from where i am dwelling::::i am immersed in the magic of life and i am full full where no food can fill::::joy is all that is needed joy and magic and sacredness for wholeness::::joy lives in the now in the diversity of nature to think otherwise is your end my end our end::::it's time::::

wild foods

2007-06-06T08:06:00.000-06:00

ongoing adventures in learning about wild foods: yum ... dandelion flowers in full bloom. dip them in a some batter (flour, egg, water, salt) and cook in a pan with some oil in the bottom . i used olive oil. cook flower side down first until brown and then flip them over for a bit. drain on paper and then eat 'em up. a little plum sauce is nice with them. good food NOT nasty weed!

!!Excititng New Skuld Project Evolutions!!

2007-06-06T07:57:00.000-06:00

the skuld project has evolved into a long musical and storytelling tour on horseback. Preparations are happening now with a planned 6-8 week tour through rural new brunswick in the late summer of 2008 and an extended tour travelling from east to west in the spring of 2009. please go to www.fiain.com/skuld.html for full details.

2007-04-27T14:11:00.000-06:00

nomadisism being nomad. i've been thinking of people that are considered to be traditionally nomadic. what does being nomadic mean anyway? does it mean someone who travels from place to place? un settled, un rooted, un trusted. is that what it is? i wonder who is the nomad anyway? is a family that travels seasonally according to tradition from a summer place to a winter place nomadic? i wonder. would you not be simply moving from your backyard to your front yard in out industrial western thought? one place is part of the other place connected together aware of the ground. i wonder, would not the person who drives 100kms/day to and from a job in a building in a city never aware of the earth that they travel on never aware of the food that goes in their mouth be a .... be a ... be a ... well, what is THAT anyway?? i guess that being a nomad is to be in one place in one thought in one awareness on one earth in one sky.

2007-04-02T10:29:00.000-06:00

my name is skuld:::: searching i have been searching for so many years so many years for a place a time a people a land a forest a mountain a water a past a future a sound a murmur a speak from the trees the birds the rivers the wind :::: for so many years i have searched and now i am beginning to see that the search must stop the place must be one :::: i wonder where is that place::::and i am afraid that i am back to the beginning::::

2007-02-11T15:25:00.001-06:00

millions of dollars for a scrubber solution to the carbon question. yours to get. from a guy that owns an airline. right. i am saddened saddend saddend. we have a rare opportunity to look at ourselves our world dare i say the gift of it all to change our way of interacting with the world the nature that we are children of we do not we do not step up more of the same isn't good better best it will kill us and the rest of our kin of plant animal stone the shame is much to bear

2006-12-06T14:24:00.000-06:00

i just had the most most beautiful walk in the deep snow with the trees all covered so that i could see their living like great sentinels in the silence of winter i walked to the top of the hill and watched the full moon and then was drawn into the unpathed woods and my life was transformed and all i could see was beauty so utterly pure and simple and then i walked to the pond and sat under the tree that i often eat under and sat protected by it's branches heavy with snow and looked...

2006-10-04T06:54:00.000-06:00

my name is skuld::::she who is becomming::::i live in the transitions the transitions between animal & human & animal between meadow & forest between ground & sky between female & male between thought & movement between joy & anguish between ::::i am the teller the warrior::::i exist to teller that path is false that are lost that need look within behind ahead::::i exist to show progress endless craving for more for destruction::::all will come to its end must::::it all does not matter end choice is one for the whole not the one the choice is walk the path to the end when it may come with honour & compassion for all for the earth the ground especially for the tinniest to the most massive all choice include all::::this is how it is::::

2006-09-29T06:52:00.000-06:00

::::my name is skuld::: i was born in mists in the myths out of the animal i oozed not wanting not seeing my language was the language of all the living but the people changed they started to think less of themselves they thought that they were different than us and i was dragged with their thoughts unwilling i believed that it could not be that i was to go with them but so it was

my new form was brought to the fore i lived i killed i ate i fought how much i fought and killed i cannnot say none could defeat me all feared me and bowed before me i killed with clear eyes i fought the people the deer i killed i killed i ate the deer i thanked and cried for the deer::::over the people who killed as they own i cared not of their ending::::for many milenia i lived this way between the two but still loyal to my true self my true past i had sisters and we all could soar an fiach dubh we were in the old language the raven the wolf was our friend::::now i am lost i cannot find the way i see as the people see and i am ashamed and yet i can still remember the way distant though it is::::

::::i left the old land the language that i had com eto know to love i left on the final days when i could remember to be the raven::::and to the new land i found a home for a short time i could be who i am but that land too succomed to the ways and now i am here on the ground and for many many hundreds i have been so:::as the people go so must i::::no more no more no more::::

2006-09-22T08:21:00.000-06:00

i take the red leaf in my hand i hold it to the sun to see where it's life flowed i press between wax paper thoughts now long gone to try to keep it i cannot keep it it is gone for the moment

2006-08-28T03:16:00.000-06:00

::::my name is an mór riogain::::i was born in the very earliest time when both people and animals lived on earth a person could become animal if wanted animal could become a human sometimes they were people and sometimes animals and there was no difference all spoke the some language that was the time when words were like magic mind had mysterious powers a word spoken by chance might have strange consequences it would suddenly come alive and what wanted to happen could happen – all you had to do was say it nobody could explain this that’s the way it was ... nalungiak to knud rassmusen, source:: the spell of the sensuous by david abram

2006-08-19T18:30:00.000-06:00

i walk walk walk

follow the sun sun sun

in the dark dark dark

i find a soul soul soul

the fence fence fence

keeps me away way way

from you you you

2006-07-17T15:01:00.000-06:00

today today today i found a bird a hummingbird in the rafters of a hot hot dry dry dry building...it winged back and forth hitting itself on the rafters...how long was it there i cannot tell you...i tried to catch it and after a while i did bring the wee thing outside near death cobwebs wrapped around it's beak i scaped that off with a piece of dry grass...it did not move from my hand and seemed content to stay to die i don't know...i gave it some water from a tiny cup and it drank instantly darting such a fine long tongue so dry days no water just hot dry...it seemed to stir...a little...i sat with it for a time deeply moved moved deeply deeply moved deeply to small tears...i brought green hummingbird show beth to see what she thought...i should do...beth of the beautiful garden of many flowers of many beautiful thoughts...we brought green hummingbird to different flowers and in some it stuck it's tiny head long neck deep within...eight flowers later life flowed deeply and flew from my hand to sitting on a branch above us for a time...our comunion comming to it's happy end...once again my life has changed