The spirit of ravens...

After a long, no excuse pause on this little blog, I'm back!

I have been reflecting on so much these days including the importance 

of moving slow through life and observing.

I was spending chunks of precious time on the fast-food of media

Facebook and Instagram and decided that I want 

to journal on these pages again. 

FB and IG can be notoriously up to date

and entertaining but I found it was taking me away from 

what I used to love to do...record the world around me.

I had a good ramble through previous posts and was reminded of so many 

moments in mine and others lives that got me thinking about 

the importance of observing, reflecting and sometimes 

diving deep into life. 

Such as my 2 incredibly moving encounters with ravens.

About a year ago I was rambling around in the bush with true companion, Jed,

when I found a ravens carcas with the head barely attached.

I thanked the bird gods for the gift and gently carried it home...

...looking a bit gruesome, I know, but I've never had the blessing of finding

a raven's skull, so I was very happy.

I asked a curator at a museum workshop I was doing, what the best way to

clean up all the remaining feathers and junk (The 'meat' of the brains and eyes were gone) so I could reveal the skull.

He told me just to put it in a large jar of water for a week or two, changing the water and rinsing the skull daily...sure enough it worked like a charm!

I found it so interesting that the black part of the beak 

is actually a sheaf that comes off.

So I've had the skull cleaned up and sitting around since then and last week I finally got around to putting it into a shadow box.

I felt it deserved something regal to rest on so I chose a piece of lovely,

vintage silk velvet in a twilight blue...

That BEAK!! 

It will sit in a place of honour because these birds are 

magical and powerful in many cultures. 

Some have dark and gloomy meanings,

others are more spiritual and mythical.

They are a highly intelligent bird and a very tightly knit

family/community bird.

My second tale of raven encounters will be next on the blog.

This one affected me very intensely and deeply.

I hope you can take the time to have a look.