A Few Things We've Learned

WolfDance Sanctuary

A Few Things We've Learned

Tho we felt pretty well prepared when we first moved to the land, we encountered a lot of difficulty when we tried to actually homestead. The land is steep and the soil rocky with few level spots. We worked hard and we have quite a lot to show for it, including the ability to live there for times of the year still, 20 years later, in the very first cabin we built, starting at 14 degress with a couple inches of snow - pretty intense to say the least.

Trying to live in Harmony and Balance among the various and numerous creatures whose home we were invading, we tried our best to be respectful of them. We made prayers, offerings of tobacco or some other plant we held as a medicine being, and Especially we used conscious intent - that the species of which we were killing a part, would thrive in other locations. We learned just how hard that can be. Even asking a hill of fire ants to move so you can build there is a challenge to your sense of the Sacred and how it is appropriate to interact with the ants in a good way. That one was a challenge... And that's only one example.

We have always made a point of working in this manner whenever we clear a new place for our use. Doing so has helped us embody the intellectual concept of interconnectedness. When you Physically destroy the home of another creature - a creature you know has the same rights to their homes as we do, you Feel it. It's not just something you're thinking about.

Though it’s hard to see the Hawk in the distance over Sacred Mountain it has been a frequent visitor and even a neighbor for us for the entire time we’ve been here. In fact, it was a Hawk swooping over our heads as we sat on one of the high mountains of the Land at dusk on our first day there that was the sign we took to validate what we already felt and knew – that WolfDance was the land we were to be living on for many years to come. So whenever we see hawks around the Land we stop whatever we’re doing and say hello and give thanks for the guidance made possible by their presence.

Fire ants are a good example of how difficult this attitude towards Life can be. Even more so are the meat bees and various kinds of wasps and stingy insects that inhabit the land. Cleaning out the homes of these creatures in a Sacred manner was only 1 of many "tests" and challenges as to our willingness to take the time for prayer before blindly tearing out the vegetation and other lives already living there.
There are always these many challenges, every time we act with this intent, even with such seemingly mundane tasks as keeping the road clear and the cabins safe takes quite a bit of work each year, even if we did not take the time we do for prayers. But it just wouldn't feel the same and it feels good to try to be in harmony with your neighbors.

We keep learning more about being caretakers, or maybe even just visitors, to this wonderful place. A place we call Home just like the other beings living there. Try maintaining that attitude when you run into a bear not more than 50 feet away from you. Or maybe waking in the midle of the night and flipping on a flashlinght to see dozen and dozens of wasps coming out of hibernation on the ceiling of your cabin - that's a serious challenge. Those things Hurt when they sting you!

There are so many more stories to tell... We'll try to keep that attitude of Sacredness in all the thoughts and images we present here on the website, just as we do in reality. Even computer websites are sacred, tho the computers can be as trying as fire ants on occasion. We hope you'll come back here as time goes by and we can continue to share our stories and offer our perspectives on the sacredness of homesteading wild land, or any land really. And you can share your stories as well. Sacredness is everywhere and if you think and act within this reality, you can see it, feel it , hear it, taste it, smell it as you go through your daily life, even in a city.....

If you'd like to talk more about these things with us, just as we do, please contact us here and we can start to get to know each other. New friends are such a wonderful way to spread this sacred energy. We're all blessed by it.

A final note - this website has a lot of pictures on it, and they tend to load slowly. So don't give up - there really is something there worth waiting for. Thanks for your patience.