On The Farm
What a month! Earth month, with Earth Day celebrations and activities today as I write this. Eclipse earlier, which was truly amazing. Mercury in retrograde most of the month, keeping us on our toes! A full, rich month.
I returned to work this month, and it was a bit like someone opened the doors to a blue-light special at K-Mart. (You have to be old to remember those) So I’m still adjusting. I appreciate your patience as I regain my rhythm and stamina.
I drove to Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Cleveland, Ohio, to view the totality of the eclipse with a friend. We hiked along a wildflower trail with little jewels of early spring flowers covering the forest floor. To view the phenomenon of the eclipse, we settled on a ledge next to a waterfall. Only one other person was in the vicinity, so we experienced the event in near isolation. As the sky grew dark, I could see stars. The native bees that were active near us began to return to their little hole homes in the ledge. At totality, the sky was a deep blue, the moon was purple with a silver glowing ring and little pink ‘pearls’ around it in places. Four vultures flew across the moon to complete the magic of the moment. We had four minutes of magical wonder.
As I made my way back to Michigan later, what usually takes 45 minutes from one side of Toledo to my home in Michigan took 2 1/2 hours of bumper to bumper, stop and go traffic. There was no road rage, just a very slow progression, almost ceremonial, of people still in the aftermath of wonder. Totally worth it.
Can you imagine what Earth would be like, what our lives would be like, if we could maintain a sense of wonder every day? I’m going to aim for that.
Art For Grief
Images and symbols are the language of the heart and soul. They express what words cannot and our spirit feels the messages deeply. I met Patricia Denys through the animal chaplaincy training program—we have companioned each other through nearly two years of spirituality for and with animals. A multi-disciplinary artist, Patricia has spent her life as an artist, activist for animals, educator and now, an interfaith interspecies animal chaplain. She is the co-founder and creative director for Animal Culture magazine, an online feast of photography, articles and artwork.
Patricia’s latest endeavor is a virtual Animal Loss Healing Workshop, designed to combine the healing power of art with compassionate support and deep listening to create a space for individuals coping with the profound pain of losing a beloved animal companion or experiencing any animal related loss, even with wildlife.
The workshops are held two consecutive Saturdays each month and are virtual. No art training is necessary and no supplies are needed until the second session after exploring various art-making options for expressing one’s experience with grief, including sketching, collage, photography, altar making or painting among others. Patricia’s art expertise and compassionate chaplain’s guidance help participants find the medium that fits, and from there, the heart’s expression takes over. Below is work by Michelle Tinkham in honor of her beloved dog.
If you would like to explore this workshop format for management of your own grief, you can find more information here. The May/June link to register is here.
‘Tis The Season - For Ticks!
Because of milder weather in recent years, ticks are now active through nearly every season. I find them on our dog, cats and horses. It has become a daily ritual to run my hands through their fur a couple of times a day and to investigate any bumps I encounter. Since the possibility is high that they carry diseases which have fatal consequences, it is important to know how to remove them safely, as soon as they are discovered. It’s also important to use proper technique.
You can make a little kit for tick removal that includes:
*Tip tweezers
*Disposable gloves (protection against pathogens entering your skin)
*Disinfectant (I use either iodine or alcohol)
*Treats
Online, there are a variety of tools, charts, and kits. I have used a tick key on myself, but find that fur gets in the way when I’ve tried it on the animals. I found a kit on amazon.com for tick removal—it has a pair of tweezers and a tick fork, which, gently slid under the head can remove it intact along with the tweezers. It comes in a neat little carrying case for camping, tack box, or medicine cabinet—if I find one on my animal, I always check myself as well.
Most important is to remove the tick quickly, keeping your animal calm. My best advice is to visualize what you want your animal to do, NOT what you don’t want them to do. Try not to have a strong mental intention to remove the tick—your animal will pick up on the energy of that intention and move away from it immediately. Take a deep breath, stay calm and make it a time for snuggling, petting and treats. Having a second person available to keep the animal calm and distracted is helpful. If you try to force the animal to stay still, they may become frightened or aggressive if they can’t move freely. The calm, stillness is important, so that when you remove the tick, you get all of it. If a part of the head is left in the skin, it can become infected. The daily routine is helpful, because they get used to being handled.
Tweezers with fine tips are recommended, so you can get close to the animal’s skin without crushing the tick. That’s why I prefer to use a tick fork or key, because it lifts the tick out without crushing or squeezing it. Pull straight and upward at about a 45 degree angle with slow, steady movement. Dispose of the tick in a sealed container or bin. Zip-loc bags are handy for your kit.
After removal, check the site to make sure nothing was left behind. If it was, ask your veterinarian to remove the rest asap. Disinfect the site, and then monitor it to make sure it heals. If it turns red or becomes swollen, or the animal develops a fever or uncharacteristic fatigue, have your veterinarian check for complications.
Prevention is the best course. Your veterinarian will be able to recommend the most appropriate measures for your particular animal. There are herbal and holistic remedies, as well as conventional medications to assure that your beloved animal stays healthy and protected.
The Bookshelf
Sandra Mendelson is an animal communicator, author and medium whose books, articles and interviews have helped thousands of people understand their animals, and animal sentience in general, at a deep level. Communicating with 85 different species, from snails to blue whales, Sandra has given us the animals’ witty, perceptive and deeply compassionate observations of human conduct. We also get messages of hope, inspiration and vision. She helps us to process life’s challenges using wisdom from the animals, helping us to co-create a world that can thrive.
This is a book you could spend a rainy afternoon buried in. For those of you who have experienced animal communication through me or through another communicator, these conversations will confirm how important it is that we are part of the web of life along with our animal companions, not on the outside looking in.
A COUPLE OF BEAUTIFUL RESOURCES
Reverend Ginny Mikita conducts a monthly grief group online for those who would like support with animal loss. For more information, click here.
Four Pawsis a global animal welfare organization with offices world-wide. Services include sanctuaries, disaster relief, protection for wild animals, and education about animal endangerment in industrial complexes. The website also has practical resources to use at home. For more information,click here.
Upcoming Classes
Find full descriptions and costs of the classes and events on the website - https://JudyRamsey.net. Registrations are on the website. Once registered, a Zoom invitation will be sent with the meeting i.d. and passcode. If you want to attend a journey circle, please contact Judy at info@judyramsey.net. All classes and journey circles are recorded for your convenience.
Please note: Some of the classes listed last month had to be rescheduled to accommodate my recovery. I apologize if this created any inconvenience for those who were planning to attend. The following are the correct, current dates for classes.
May 18, 2024
Shamanic Gardening From vision to harvest, take the steps to manifest your life dreams and goals through shamanic gardening. Learn how to work with your blocks and challenges so that everything contributes to your growth and synchronizes with your own pace and flow. Pre-requisite: basic journeying skills. The class will be taught online via ZOOM.
$90 per person, $45 for repeating students.. 9am-4pm EDT
May 21-July 30, 2024
Shamanic Healing for Animals I —Working with animals of all species, explore unique perspectives for animal healing that draw upon core shamanic practices. Students will develop a toolkit of techniques within a supportive, interactive, and experiential learning framework of instruction from a professional animal communicator who also practices shamanism. Prerequisite: journeying basics. Knowledge of animal communication not necessary. The class is taught via ZOOM.
$400 per person, $200 for repeating students. 7pm-9pm EDT. No class on June 18 or 25.
May 25-26, 2024
Basic Journeying: The Art of Shamanism for Practical and Visionary Purposes in Daily Life —The shamanic journey is an easy and powerful tool we can use to access spiritual information. In this class you will meet and begin to develop a relationship with a compassionate spirit or power animal who is coming forward to help you at this time in your life. You will learn techniques to help you develop a self-directed practice of empowerment, allowing you to move safely, intentionally through the world in a balanced way.This class is a prerequisite to ongoing and more advanced shamanic studies. The class will be taught online via ZOOM.
$160 per person, $80 for repeating students. 9am-3pm EDT each day
June 8, 2024
Shamanic Personal Safety: Creating Sacred Protected Space—Learn techniques for energy hygiene when doing shamanic work and why it is so important. Be able to set protected space for yourself in practice. Pre-requisite: basic shamanic journeying.
$80 per person. 9am-4pm EDT
July 6-7, 2024
Ancestors: The Power Within - Ancestors can be powerful allies in your practice, and healing our ancestral lines can help us heal ourselves and our families. Explore your heritage, deepen your connection with the grandmothers and grandfathers in ceremony, in initiation and in the shamanic journey. Prerequisite: basic journeying skills. The class will be taught online via ZOOM.
$160 per person, $80 for repeating students. 9am-4pm EDT each day