A MAGIC LANTERN
Have you ever slept in a tipi? It is a unique experience. We were able to make one, out of material a friend gave us. It took me sewing, the kids to pull it through, and all of us to lay out and cut.
When we first put it up, it was in a pasture next to the horse corral. The day we erected it, the mare gave birth to a pretty appaloosa colt. We named him Dancer because of the funny movements he made while stretching his legs after his birth.
Then we waited until evening, came out and built a fire in the fire pit, told stories and roasted marshmallows and hot dogs.
The fire inside lit it up like a lantern. It literally glowed! There was this funny, eerie noise. I couldn't figure out what it was. It became a nightly thing, to head out to the tipi, light the fire and sit around it until bedtime. And always, that noise.
We finally learned that the noise was created by air through a nighthawks' wings. The glowing lantern of the tipi attracted bugs, and the nighthawks would come and "collect" them.
When we moved, we set the tipi right in the pasture with the horses. I was using it to have a place to go to where I could pray. Sometimes when I would go to it, I noticed the door flap was thrown back. There would be muddled prints around the fire pit. I thought the neighbor kids were coming and playing in it. Then one day, I stepped through the door, and got whooshed aside by a fleeing form! It was Dancer, he had been coming into the tipi!! I wonder if he was using it as a place to pray, too!
Even though the walls were canvas, I felt safe sleeping in it. There is something about looking up through the smoke hole at night and watching the stars go by....seeing its glow from a distance, and listening to the nighthawks' wings as they hunt.
The tipi photo on this page was digitalized by Jerry Pruiett..nice job Jerry!
