The 2-year shamanic apprentice group honored a pin oak in the grove (with gifts and love) who volunteered last night to be a prayer tree for the Farm and everyone who comes here. We then tied our prayers onto her branches in the form of “clootie” rags or prayer flags so she could carry them for us to the creative forces of the universe. In many shamanic cultures, trees are considered sacred for their ability to bridge heaven and earth.
The Continuing Saga of Deirdre & Lily
As most of you know, State Supreme Court Judge Don Cerio dismissed my Article 78 petition to the court on November 8th. At first, I didn’t want to talk about it, so deep was my disappointment. The Article 78 was filed at the end of May, asking for a reversal of the NYSDEC Special License Unit’s denial of my application for a License to Possess (LCPEE), on the grounds that the denial was arbitrary and capricious. I had applied for the LCPEE so that I could save Deirdre & Lily (two orphaned does I had raised and/or rehabilitated under my wildlife rehabilitator’s license) from certain death. The details of their stories have been expounded elsewhere, so I won’t bother to reiterate.
But there are some things I finally want to talk about. [Read more…] about The Continuing Saga of Deirdre & Lily
New “Mommy Deerest” Coloring Book Featuring Deirdre & Lily
It’s finally here! The Deirdre & Lily coloring book is available for download!
This coloring book tells the story of Deirdre & Lily, two orphaned white-tail does that wildlife rehabilitator Cindy L. McGinley rescued as fawns and raised on her horse farm. It tells the story of how Deirdre cared for the younger Lily and became her “seeing-eye deer.” You can download this small half-size coloring book (unlimited quantities) to print out on your computer for just $1, and so help offset the legal costs Cindy has incurred while trying to save Deirdre & Lily’s lives against an order to euthanize from the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation. Children will enjoy reading and coloring the story, and can learn a great deal about the rehabilitation of baby deer in the process. A membership card for the “Big Ear Club” is included.
You can find the coloring book here: https://www.blackhorsespirit.com/publications/
Thank you for your support!
Time for a Rant
Time for a rant. To those who say, “Oh, the deer are in my garden” or “What about all the deer on the road that people hit?” In my family, we were taught how to live WITH wildlife. That was one of the perks of living out in the country — you could see and enjoy wildlife! As a child, I was taught to respect that we shared this earth with other sentient beings. I was taught to respect that they had a right to be here, too.
We helped any animal that needed it without any permits or licenses necessary. That’s just what we did. We didn’t debate it, or question whether or not we were supposed to help the animal. Higher moral reasoning guided our actions. We raised wild rabbits to adulthood and kept injured birds until they healed and it was safe to release them. Sometimes they died, in spite of our best efforts. And in that way, we as children learned about the circle and cycles of life. [Read more…] about Time for a Rant
Sacred Fear
This morning I was texting about my fear to a trusted friend and mentor, when I accidentally typed “sacred” instead of “scared.” The closet Freudian in me recognized a subconscious message coming forth in the slip, and it started a train of thought about the idea that fear can be sacred. That the difference between “scared” and “sacred” is only a barely perceptible re-ordering of symbols for certain sounds… a slight shift of perspective. And sometimes the sacred can indeed be scary. [Read more…] about Sacred Fear