There are a lot of ravens around Tiny House Ontario this year. I am beginning to believe that they are there for a reason. I think that one of the messages that ravens give is to look North. They are also bearers of fortune and magic according the book Animal Speak.
Funny thing is, that I just love to look out this window to the North. I don’t recall doing this so much last year as I do this.
This is taken in the morning while I had a coffee.
Do you find it interesting, or is it just me?
If you have ever owned property, you will probably know that almost everything that you do is basically two steps forward and one back. In my case, when the steel went up, the gate went down and the stone walkway which was just laying there settling, had to be removed.
Today we had fairly good weather warm but with a nice breeze, so I resized the gate and put it back in. It also had to be turned around so that the hinge side is on the post and not on the house because I do not want a bunch of screw holes in the steel. Because I turned it around I also need to buy a gate hitch.
I did not put the flag stone back into place because I did not have the time. Instead I had a shower at my sister’s home and drove to Kingston for the wake of my friend’s mom. I am slightly uncomfortable with going to services such as this in my bike because someone made fun of me when I attended one such service last year on the bike. Nonetheless, I think there are some things that cannot be helped.
Today, both life and death have stumbling blocks and rocky paths. Still, the sun is shining and I am taking time to treat myself well. I have a comfy seat here where the coffee and service is great (at the Mug and Truffle at 350 King East.) and I am having a lovely cuppa with a treat… mmmm. If you get a chance to pop in for some air-conditioning and perhaps something yummy, tell them that Tiny House Laura sent you. If I am there, please say hi and please don’t sit at my table, unless you will share it with me.
Space is an issue at Tiny House Ontario. I have read a lot of words from other Tiny Housers and they all have different strategies but for the most part containing yourself within a Tiny House takes some thought. I am fortunate because I have a lot of time to transition because I own another home in another city but even so, living in and containing myself within Tiny House Ontario is my objective.
My strategy was to bring the things that I knew I would NEED and also to bring the things that I feel that my life would not be complete without. Margaret Lawrence wrote in her book, The Diviners, something to the effect that she need not have kept it because her head was sturdy enough containment and I suppose she is right. Even so, there are things that simply ground me and I guess they feel spiritually important to my person. I have two shelves with just such items on it. This contains:
A large photo of my family on Violet (grandma’s) side.
An oil burner from my trip to the Czech republic which is made by burning it under the earth in the old way.
The Black Maria pewter icon from Germany.
A Pope Joan tile from my friend Ginny.
A 75 year old mutant sheep foot.
A graduation gift from my friend Aaron it is the Queen’s shield on pewter.
Photos of my late dogs.
A Chutski from Professor Kobayashi who was one of my mentors.
Altar items such as my grounding stones, essential oils, a burning shell, tarot and medicine wheel cards, ritual oil burner.
A Tiny glass globe which makes me hope that everything in the world will become clear.
A sign I made from a slice of a tree that was removed for my driveway which says: Treating yourself like a precious object will make you strong. ~Julia Cameron
A yogi from Bali.
An inlayed box from BC made my the Haidas.
A few things that my son made for me when he was wee, as well as a soapstone carving he did when he was about 20.
Rosie the Riveter on a little black box.
A penny jar that says hopes and dreams – I put found change into this because I read once many years ago that found change has a spiritual significance, if you pick it up – it brings good things to you whereas if you ignore it, then you are throwing away your opportunity at good karma.
A photo of Violet and Bob taken near the end of the Great Depression when things were just starting to look up for them and others.
The Artist’s Way work.
Books that I am writing.
If you had only about 2 square feet to contain your favourite things, could you do it?
Last evening when the dusk was coming on I realized I forgot to eat. I put the kettle on for a cup of tea and a cup of soup and opened the bread bag but found that the bread had a green spot. I put the bread out into the composter and made my tea and a cup of soup, and got a few crackers instead. I just sat down in the cloth porch to eat, when I heard rustling in the forest almost right in front of me. It got louder and louder and I started to feel a little bit nervous, so I picked up my tea and soup and went into the tiny house, closed the screen door and watched. I was relieved within a minute, when a baby racoon came out of the “prickly pear”. I grabbed my camera and went out to take some photos of the cute little coon and the sibling that I could now see. I tried to be really quiet when I slid the screen door back open but when I did this the baby coons ran up into the tree which is second in line behind the ancestor tree. The other thing that happened is that Big Mama Coon ran toward the cloth porch. She got about three feet away and stood on her hind legs, hands up and claws out. She growled really loudly at me like a bear from a Hollywood film – she was sort of scary, to tell you the truth. At the same time as this the other baby coons were climbing the trees and some were running toward the composter. I counted 6 babies and Mama.
I tried to photograph Mama but the only thing that I got was shiny photos of the fabric.
I left the cloth porch and went out to the dog garden and took a few photos which also all turned out terrible and made me again wish that I had a better camera. Sigh…
When I came back into the house and had a look at Ted Andrews book Animal Speak to see what some of his thoughts are on racoons. I was not surprised to read that they are tiny distantly related cousins to bears after seeing Mama ferociously trying to intimidate me so that she could protect her babies.
The little bears worked at the composter until they got in and then the played outside the Tiny House for about two hours while I read from the above mentioned book and tried to watch them through the shadows of night. Here are the rather Where’s Waldo sort of silly images. These are the best that I could do with my silly crap camera. Can you see any racoons? I know where they are and I have a hard time seeing them.
What a great brush with nature, I wish I could share it better with you.
I just got my art work back from a show in Kingston when the men were coming to put up the steel. There was a whole box of them, plus I had more here that I had stacked on a shelf. Because there is not a lot of space at Tiny House Ontario, I decided to put my work up on the walls. So, Tiny House Ontario is doubling as a Teeny-Tiny-Gallery.
I also have a new and wonderful painting from the Kingston artist Geoff Smith. I have not shown it to you yet, because I have not yet decided on a frame. None-the-less, if you come to see my paintings at Tiny House, I will give you a sneak peek of Geoff’s beautiful work.
I found it inspiring to have a home gallery. So much so, that despite my having men there putting up steel, that I started a new painting which is sort of abstract.
Here is a sneak peek of my current piece.
Tiny House Ontario 