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NOW, THEREFORE, I, RONALD REAGAN, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate August 14, 1982, as National Navaho Code Talkers Day, a day dedicated to all members of the Navaho Nation and to all Native Americans who gave of their special talents and their lives so that others might live. I ask the American people to join me in this tribute, and I call upon Federal, State and local officials to commemorate this day with appropriate activities. Ronald Regan 1982Yesterday, August 14, I traveled to Window Rock Arizona to be [...]

This is part of a series on stuff I collect. If you follow my blog it will be no surprise that I love rocks and stones.  Unfortunately I could not bring this happy fellow home from Sand Canyon where I collected this photo instead.I can never go anywhere in the natural world without filling my pockets with rock and stones.  I should have been a geologist.  My collections fill my house and yard and garden.  I love the colors and shapes and textures.  They are all treasures to me.  On a recent hike [...]

(hogan prepared for Kinalda)Several weeks ago I had the honor of attending a traditional Navajo puberty ceremony for the daughter of family freinds in Saw Mill.First I had to find my way to Saw Mill.  I arrived in time for the Noon run.  The girl must run to the east from the entrance of the hogan, three times a day, morning, noon and evening.  Her friends and family join her and cheer her on with long, loud, high- pitched yelping sounds.  I ran too.Then we all helped to prepare a feast and ate: [...]

As the sun set on Wednesday, in Chinle, we gathered at the Drapper home.Baby slept.Fire Ready.William Yahzee treated us to drumming and songs of the Navajo People(the Dine) and other tribes from the Southwest.He also played the flute and brought along some sheep...visual aids for a love song about herding sheep.The evening was to honor Teddy Drapper Sr.  codetalker form the second world war.William treated us to a song Teddy composed in Navajo when he witnessed the flag as it was raised on Iwojima.We danced the Navajo two- step and did the circle [...]

On a recent trip to Portugal I found much in common with Chinle, Arizona where I live now and that Eropean country.  OK maybe half of Portugal is bordered by the sea and I live in a desert but:Portugal Much of Portugal is rural.  All of Chinle is.  Both have free range live stock.ChinleBoth have amazing sunsets:Guess where the sun sets over the ocean?Yep we even have shells in the desert.  Possibly a billion years old.  They are not in the water.  Portugal?  They can be in water or on white sand beaches.Wind and [...]

Here is how I spent four days last week celebrating sheep.  Dying, carding, spinning wool, felting slautering sheep, cooking mutton and fry bread.  Lots of material for yarns weather you spin a yarn or weave a yarn....write a yarn or tell a yarn....Churro wool..lovely natural colors.Or hunt down the weeds and herbs and roots and leaves that give the yarn more color...it's all about detail.Time out for lunchPulling, carding, spinnng, felting- all a part of the story and getting the tension right.  Reworking it when you don't get it right.The setting counts too.