sentinel Archives - Owl Medicine: Shamanic Healing

Snowbeing in the Wild – Photo: L. Weikel

Lonely Sentinel

Our walks of late have been upended and disturbed by a confluence of interrupters – from weather events to political storms, our routine was thrown into disarray. When we finally managed to coordinate ourselves and the elements, we were surprised to meet this lonely sentinel silently keeping watch over field and forest.

As can be seen, this was no well-orchestrated, grandly planned snowman, replete with stovetop hat, corncob pipe, and two eyes made out of coal. (Earworm!) No. This was a haphazard creation, clearly spontaneously inspired and hastily assembled.

But a presence nonetheless.

Works of Art

Some people go to great pains to create magnificent snow sculptures. You can always tell the ones who eschew the classics and go for the Pixar version of snow creations. They create true works of art.

They’re labors of love – love of the craft. Love of grand gestures and attention to detail. Love of whimsy and imagination. If you’re lucky enough to walk or drive by a yard that offers such a creation, it’s a rare treat. Most of us only see photos of the more epic creations, helping them ‘go viral’ by sharing them on social media.

The ‘traditionals’ are fun too, though. Especially when they sport clothing raided from the hall closet or features pilfered from the ‘fridge. It’s more common now than when I was growing up to see entire snow families created by their fleshy counterparts.

In the Midst of Nowhere

And so it was a rare treat to come upon this back-to-basics minimalist snowperson. Not only was this being obviously created spontaneously, a veritable ‘found object’ snow-sentinel, but it felt like a part of the wild. Field and forest can go about their business because it’s on its watch.

Most of the time Karl and I go out of our way to pick up any errant signs of humanity we may find along the roadside as we walk. We always carry a bag in which to stow the disappointing remnants unconscious humans leave in their wake.

But this creation, this lonely sentinel, while admittedly offering a taste of domestication within a half-feral environment (the fields are fenced and occasionally plowed, after all), felt like a sweet spot of overlap between ‘us’ and ‘them.’

Snowperson-in-the-Wild (closeup) – Photo: L. Weikel

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Mushroom Family Update

“They grow up so fast.” We say this about our human families, and often about our four legged family members too. And now, here I am, offering a Mushroom Family update a mere two days after first introducing you to the newest family to move into (onto?) our maple tree.

I have to admit, when I wrote about the Mushroom Family a couple nights ago, I never expected them to mature quite so quickly or dramatically. That’s especially true when I compared the current family to the photos of last year’s crop, which I took two weeks later in the month. I don’t believe last year’s mushrooms ever reached this level of magnificence.

And who knows? The conditions may be just right to produce the most astounding crop of mushrooms ever! If they continue to flourish, I will keep you apprised of their status.

Red-bellied sentinel – Photo: L. Weikel

Disturbing the Vibe

While I was taking these photos of the Mushroom Family earlier today, I was surprised to find myself having a close and somewhat surly encounter with a Red-bellied Woodpecker. We were privy to a couple of Red-bellied families this year, one of whom I’m pretty sure built their nest in a hollow of this very maple. Indeed, the hollow would probably qualify as ‘just around the corner’ from the Mushroom Family, so I’m guessing that this avian sentinel is just conducting some routine Neighborhood Watch activity.

I can attest that it did seem perturbed that I was directing a significant amount of human attention toward the Mushroom Family. And while I’ve taken lots of photos of the Red-bellied peckers that frequent our feeders, this is the one I specifically took this afternoon, after it fluttered its wings in the general direction of my head and then rather defiantly perched above me.

I can appreciate that Red-belly didn’t care for how I was disturbing the vibe of the neighborhood. I think we can all appreciate the disruptive nature of my behavior, and I assure you, I apologized.

But I did warn her: if the Mushroom Family continues to expand their girth in ways that are shocking and newsworthy, I’m going to be back and I’m going to be taking more photos.