2 posts tagged “rainmakers prayers anthology”
Carrot Therapy
Oregon’s coastal mist rolls in, darkening the tree line. Shapes of Douglas fir, Sitka spruce and alder fade as rain pounds on the barn’s tin roof. Its another gray morning at Ocean Ridge Stables, where my neighbors have given me an open invitation to visit, pitch hay, muck the stalls or engage in any other desire of my heart.
The air is cold on my cheeks, reddening my hands. I zip my jacket, pulling the collar around my neck. It’s early, 6 a.m. Only the horses stir, assuming I’m the person who’ll dump grain into their buckets, throw sections of alfalfa into their stalls. But today, I’m not here to feed them, but to nourish myself.
All week, I've sandwiched my writing, early morning, late at night, around the twelve-hours each day of a care-giving job. Stressed and exhausted, I need to renew myself, not with a beach walk, a mountain hike, nor a hot bath or gardening but with carrot therapy—offering vegetable treats to these four-legged friends.
As I lift the metal lid on the feed barrel, the horses whinny and neigh, trying to get my attention. Feed me! Feed me! I scoop a handful of grain and carry a shoulder sack full of the sweet, orange roots from my garden. Strolling from stall to stall, I nod at Curly, Smokey, Tinker, Choctaw, Flower, Star and Woodchuck. The horses paw and stomp in their beds of straw.
Curly reaches toward me with his muzzle. Stretching his lips like a chimpanzee, he begs and I offer the grain. Choctaw, a colorful brown and white Appaloosa with black spots, whinnies with his head high. He’s looking for breakfast and snorts at the orange appetizer, but munches it down anyway. I run my cold hand down the warm hairs on his neck.
Offering carrots, I savor the musical crunch and chomp of each horse. Woodchuck, a coffee brown Arabian, stretches his neck toward me for another treat and I oblige. These animals have shown me a giving and receiving of sensual pleasure, similar to chemistry with the opposite sex. Their sounds, smells and textures satisfy a primal part of myself. Perhaps that’s because I was born in the Chinese year of the horse.
I delight in their neighing and the smells of hay. I love their warm breaths on my hand. In feeding them, my soul is
nourished, my body grounded. I return home, refreshed and present.
“We are the miracles we are searching for,” says Afia Walking Tree. Women rediscover their ancient birthright that traces women as the earliest known shamans whose religions revolved around the beating of the drum.
Afia Walking Tree and Drum Amazonz take a stand, utilizing mastery and miracles of the drumz saving our planet with poignant percussive dexterity…riveting drumbeats… vocal invocations…ancient stories… heart opening messages of love! Walking Tree’s fervent passion is felt in her musical dexterity. Her drum songs, invocations of joy, love, and liberation, are held with riveting drum vibrations. Drum Amazonz Dance is the unfolding of miracles of liberation through women’s drumming.
SkinSongs: Women on the Drum
Sat., Oct. 27 8pm and Sun., Oct 28 at 2 and 6 pm
Dance Mission Theater 3316 24th Street, San Francisco CA 94110
Dance Brigade presents 3 shows with women drummers representing different musical cultures of the world. The number of women redefining percussion traditions and drumming for art, spirituality and healing grows every year, especially in the Bay Area, as more women are rediscover their ancient birthright that traces women as the earliest known shamans whose religions revolved around the beating of the drum. This showcase of local talent will inspire, delight and invigorate. There will be a Healing Circle with Vicki Noble after Sunday evening show. For complete program information please see www.dancemission.com
Afia Walking Tree and Drum Amazonz take a stand, utilizing mastery and miracles of the drumz saving our planet with poignant percussive dexterity…riveting drumbeats… vocal invocations…ancient stories… heart opening messages of love! Rooted in a core belief that we are the miracles we are searching for, Afia Walking Tree is joined by talented Drum Amazonz: Querido Galdo, Larissa Montfort, Shawn Nealy, Mar Stevens, and Jeni Swerdlow. Walking Tree’s fervent passion is felt in her musical dexterity and ability as a performer and facilitator to inspire all she encounters. Her drum songs, invocations of joy, love, and liberation, are held with riveting drum vibrations. Strands of Afro-Caribbean, Cuba, West African, Jazz, Hip Hop, R&B genres are only the beginning of what constitutes Walking Tree’s contemporary sound; giving this world-class percussionist-songwriter-performer-visionary an evolutionary edge that is magical and fiercely innovative. Jamaican born and raised, Afia Walking founded Spirit Drumz in 1996, a non-profit organization and institute for leadership and drumming. Drum Amazonz Dance is the unfolding of miracles of liberation through women’s drumming.
