Clark's nutcracker

I've had an awful couple of days. Food poisoning I think. Sorry about the lack of an update yesterday I just wasn't up to it

Art

Not sure see how I'm feeling later

Animal

photo by Giant Ginkgo

Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) is a mid-sized corvid from western North America. They are noteworthy for having probably the best long -term spatial memory among birds. One of the major components of their diet is pine seeds which they store in caches of 5 to 10 seeds in an area that can span 12 miles. They can hide tens of thousands of these seeds per bird. They can then relocate these caches up to 6 months later even under multiple feet of snow. They have a pouch under their tongue that helps them in carrying the pine seeds. They feed their young with these caches and so tend to nest far earlier then most other birds of the area. Both the male and female of this species develop brood patches on their chest to aid them in caring for the young during the winter. Clark's nutcracker gets it's name from William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition though at the time he thought it was a woodpecker.

Blue Jay

Last night I realized that it was getting particularly close to when I was going to have to visit my relatives and that I should probably make a something to give them. I started this clip on titmouse ornament last night.

Art

goal for the week 17 hours

Today

-fix and cast skull

-finish titmouse thing for relatives

Animal

photo by Eric Begin

I thought I would do another mythology post this time about blue jays. For the the Hotcak the Blue Jay was named Djedjedjiniga and associated with the trickster Wakdjakag. At one point the blue jay, the fox and the chipmunk were living with the trickster and having a rough winter. The trickster dressed up as a woman creating fake bits out of elk organs and had blue jay, fox, and chipmunk hide inside of him so that he can pretend to be pregnant. They went to a successful nearby tribe and managed to get the chief's son to marry the trickster. Then the story goes on about the tribe commenting how quickly she can get pregnant eventually the trickster gives birth to all of the animals and they start making ridiculous demands that the tribe tries to fill. Eventually the trickster drops the rotten elk liver he had been using as a fake part and the whole illusion falls apart, then the tribe runs the four of them out of town. The major god of the Hotcak also punished the blue jay for his ugly nature by removing his beautiful song so that the hideous shrieking of his song would reflect his inner nature.

The Bluejay was also a very important trickster figure to the Chinook, in this culture the blue jay figure fills a role similar to Loki. Blue jay is turned into a bird after losing an archery contest with the "supernatural people". The "supernatural people" also made his song a bad omen. Blue jay at some point is able to get the "supernatural people" to turn back into piles of bones, during which he rearranges their body parts so that when they become ghosts again they have the wrong heads.