Dear Friends,
Last week at the Feathered Pipe Ranch, we welcomed the summer solstice with beautiful Huichol ceremonies led by Brant Secunda. Sitting around the bonfire, dancing, and shaking rattles with a lovely group of people felt truly wonderful, especially after this long time of separation.
I kept asking myself if this group was really made up of such exquisite people or if it merely felt that way because we had been deprived of social and physical contact during the past year. Ultimately, I decided it was both, and combined they created an exponential feeling of joy.
A Place to Share
The Ranch is truly a place to share with a community and it was nice to experience that again and to see the profound beauty of the individuals creating that community.
We have started fresh after having been closed for nearly two years and it’s exciting. It’s exciting that we are here after the long pandemic! It’s exciting to see how a team of people can work together to accomplish amazing feats. It’s exciting to see how beautiful the place looks and feels with all the hard work that’s gone into it and with simple things like people walking across the lawn with yoga tights and water bottles.
And then there’s the food. It tastes divine. Our Culinary Director, Sam Wieland, and the kitchen crew have been creating the most delicious meals made from predominantly local and organic ingredients. The love and care going into the food bursts through every bite. If this is making you hungry, please check out the latest article from our favorite culinary writer, Allison Radecki, to get inspired about summer salads and learn how to make Laughing Water’s famous avocado dressing.
While I think of my mom, India Supera (founder of Feathered Pipe) everyday and miss her deeply, I hear peoples’ stories of the transformational experiences at Feathered Pipe and am continuously inspired to carry on her legacy at this beautiful place with all that it offers. The current incarnation of the Ranch feels truly magical as it is coming together carrying tradition of our elders and ancestors while bringing in the new.
If you are near Helena, please join us Wednesday, June 30, 2021 from 7-9 pm at Feathered Pipe Ranch to hear the R. Carlos Nakai and Flute Tree Foundation concert. RSVP here.
If you missed Brant this year, don’t worry. He’s already hooked and booked for next year at the solstice week. Stay tuned!
The Dandelion Effect
As a child I wanted to be a doctor or an artist when I grew up. What I didn’t know was that you can actually be both. My long time friend, Artist and Doctor Sidhbh Gallagher joins us this Pride Month on The Dandelion Effect Podcast and talks about how she serves the transgender community by treating gender dysphoria through gender affirmation surgery.
She views the creativity and innovation that goes in to this incredible field as art and at the same time people are being medically and emotionally healed. Her inspiration comes from helping people become on the outside who they are inside and (re)learning every day to listen deeply to what her patients want rather than what she thinks they want. The world is well served with doctors and artists like this! We hope you enjoy this fascinating episode, An Inside Look at Gender Affirmation Surgery.
With gratitude and hope,
Crystal Water
Executive Director of Feathered Pipe Foundation