Now that K^kwi:te/Spring is here I think of the Medicine Wheel which serves to remind me when I give thanks to the 4 directions; beginning in the east: thanking Ethwatsiha/our older brother the Sun ... that he shine his healing rays on those in Japan, the Middle East and all there to be in peace. Then the south to those in Australia, South America and all there to have peace of mind. Next the west, where California sits on a fault line with it's nuclear plants; and also the north, where the ice caps are shrinking, tar sands are polluting and too many oil wells exist. When I burn the 4 medicines

I ask Sonkwaiy^tisu/Creator for balance and peace in the hope that we will make better choices for humankind.

She:koli ... this is the moon time of Wahta/Maple when we tell the story of how maple sugar was 'discovered'. There are a variety of versions as one might expect for something as ancient as maple. One storybook I like is MAPLE MOON by Connie Brummel where a little boy goes walking in the woods and watches a squirrel sipping sap from a branch. When he also tastes it, he finds it sweeter than any water he's ever drank. He races back home to get a hatchet to try getting more water from the tree. ... I'll leave the story there for you to find out more on your own ;) ... so this photo shows the felt storyboard I've made to go with the story. Maple sap is the first medicine of the new year; it's our 'spring tonic.' We make mention of it in our Thanksgiving Address to acknowledge it as the leader of the trees.