YAY  In spite of the return of Trichomonas in doves, pigeons, and those that survive on them, it's been a pretty good year so far.  Just released a miracle roadrunner and 2 more young Cooper's hawks this morning!  There are 3 more young Coops waiting in the "wings", along with a ferruginous hawk, a couple of Brewer's blackbirds, and a few robins.

This was the perfect time of year to teach "Plant and Animal Medicine" at Ardantane last weekend with my dear friend, Connie Henry.  Between rehab and myson learning plant ecology while making tinctures and oils, that is clearly where my focus lies right now.  It was a wonderful weekend!

What a neat idea!  Spilled Candy Books (www.spilledcandy.com) is running a contest to choose the cover for my revised and re-released edition of "Mabon".  They have 2 beautiful covers up on their site right now so please go check it out and tell them what you like best.

On the bird front, they are still coming in - another long-term Ferruginous Hawk that was shot, and a few that may very well be releasable: a Peregrine Falcon, a Cooper's Hawk, and a Great-horned Owl.  Speaking of Great-horneds, we're already seeing babies!  And our goal this year is return as many as humanly possible to their parents, whether we wire up a milk crate or can actually get them back into their nests.

What a year it has been already!  I've received 2 ferruginous hawks, 2 red-tailed hawks, a northern saw-whet owl, and 6 sharp-shinned hawks and it isn't even March yet.  VERY sadly, 4 of them were shot <grrr>  Apparently, we need to focus a bit more education on human-wildlife interactions.  But the energy around here has been interesting.  I must admit that the nestling pigeon I had for a few days was a real sweetheart.  Every now and then, I do enjoy rehabbing birds that don't want to kill me LOL

So migration is happening and nesting has begun.  Be kind to the critters in your area and be mindful of the beauty of the cycles of life too!

Blessings of rebirth and inspiration to you and yours!

While I'm at it, I may as well post my upcoming classes.  Perhaps I'll see one or two of you there!
 

March 22-23              Advanced Teaching Intensive

                                        with Amber K

                                        Ardantane, Jemez Springs, NM

April 19-20               Enlightenment IV

                                        Las Cruces, NM

                                        sponsored by the Pagan Student Union of NMSU

June 7-8                     Path of the Shaman

                                        Ardantane, Jemez Springs, NM

June 19-21               Gathering at the Mystic Crossroads

                                        Cloudcroft, NM

                                        Olympiasbc@aol.com/505-624-2126

                                        P.O. Box 8327, Roswell, NM  88202

                                        http://www.tarotbyolympias.com/mysticcrossroads.html

June 28-29                Plant and Animal Medicine

                                        Ardantane, Jemez Springs, NM

July 25-28                    Vision Questing

                                        Ardantane and beyond, NM

And what a fall/winter it was.  Parties and training and writing and more writing.  Oh yeah, I cleaned out my office, and more frighteningly, my office closet.  Talk about a wild ride.  Yikes!  Found some really cool stuff though, like my old pilot headphones and maps, baby pictures of my son, and old books I stopped working on but stashed away for the future.

I wrote a mystery birthday party for my son's 12th that was a big hit!  The kids all looked so grown up in their costumes and they really got into it.  The interrogations were hilarious but very insightful.  I was laughing so hard that I was crying!  And they all got very close to the complete Who, Why, and How.

Now I'm back in wildlife rehab clinic mode, planning for the upcoming busy season.  And we are back in homeschool and fencing modes.  The young fire spinner just went into 7th grade and already has regional (possibly national) tournaments scheduled.  This should be an interesting year.

I'm happy to report 2 new books will be out this year and a 3rd in 2009!

What a fall it has been so far!  After the deaths of 3 of our birds all within a month, I taught 2 Deathwalking weekends that were incredibly eye-opening and powerful.  Then I did more shamanic healing teaching and drumming at Florida Pagan Gathering and a healing center in Sanford, FL.  All of this really allowed me to experience my grief, to move into joy, and to accept the renewal that has manifested in several ways since then.

Now I am home for 4 days before I head off to teach and offer healing sessions in Tennessee.  And I have new birds to train and spend time with.

In addition, it seems that I have a new book deadline.  I've been talking to a publisher about releasing a sequel to "The Book of Shamanic Healing", an advanced healing book.  They say that if I can get it to themby the end of the year, they will have it in print by the 7th International Conference on Shamanism where I will be a guest speaker in January 2009.  Very cool!  So now I'd better get back to work and finish this thing.

When my son and I began exploring the Bill of Rights, we were surprised to discover how few American citizens know their rights.  And many of them didn't think that the Bill of Rights was really relevant to their daily lives!  Amazing.  This journey (and we are only up to the 8th amendment) has been a fascinating and enlivening one, to say the least.  If you're interested in checking out some of our resources and the little blog I just started, you can find it here  www.kristinmadden.com/Homeschooling.html

Do you know your rights?

I suppose I should post my schedule for the rest of this year too.  These are my public events for the remainder of 2007.

 

October 20-21              Deathwalking Weekend Intensive

                                        at Ardantane (www.ardantane.org), Jemez Springs, NM

November 1-4               Florida Pagan Gathering (www.flapagan.org)

                                          at Camp Ocala, Altoona, FL

November 10                13 Magickal Moons, Occoquan, VA

                                            readings and workshops all day!

                                            http://www.13magickalmoons.com/

                                            703-492-2211

November                    The Goddess and the Moon, Nashville, TN

                                              two nights of workshops and book signings

      12th                          "The Shamanic Otherworlds"

      13th                          "Reclaiming Power"

                                          http://www.goddessandthemoon.com/

                                            615-383-3039

December 1-2            Soul Remedy: Shamanic Retrieval and Extraction Healing

                                       at Ardantane (www.ardantane.org), Jemez Springs, NM

I'm very excited to report that I have been invited to speak at the 7th International Conference on Shamanism in Santa Fe, NM in January 2009 (http://www.bizspirit.com/shamanism/sh_index.html).  What fun!  Not only do I get to blather on about one of my favorite subjects but I get to sit in on other folks presentations too!  And hang out with a ton of really cool and interesting people. 

Gwinevere Rain's wonderful Copper Moon e-zine has moved to an interactive blog site where readers can comment on individual articles, subscribe through e-mail or in a RSS reader! Gwinevere says that, while they used to be a quarterly publication, now they will update *much* more frequently, with a goal of at least one new article or book review up each week!

Below, I have included her new description of this fantastic resource for young Pagans.  Please check them out and submit something for publication if you're between 13-26!

Copper Moon (www.copper-moon.com) is an online blog magazine for Wiccan/Pagan practitioners in their teens and early twenties. Our features include eye-opening author interviews, articles, book reviews and more! This interactive site enables readers to comment on individual articles, subscribe through e-mail or in a RSS reader! Our aim is to have at least one new article or book review up each week. Since 2002 we have been providing a venue for young practitioners to express their opinions and have their writing showcased. If you are 13 to 26 we'd love to read your submission. Thanks for considering Copper Moon, one of the leading publications for young adult Wiccan/Pagans on the web.