Wolf Shoppe: Pocket Journals

Bobcat (Lynx rufus)
Model: PJ-10
$11
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The bobcat is a shy and evasive creature known for its fierceness and agility as a hunter in the wild. Adults have a dark spotted tawny brown coat, long legs, and a handsome cat face. Their small ears have short ear tufts and their bobbed tail is striped with a tip that is black on top and pale underneath. Their head and body measure btween 25 and 30 inches; the tail adds another 5 inches to its length. Full grown they weigh between 15 and 35 pounds.

These cats make their homes in hollow logs, rock crevices and overhangs, blending in with their environment to keep themselves hidden. They have adapted well to the swamps, forests, and deserts of North America. Bobcats are solitary animals and hard to see in the wild but their populations are healthy.

Bobcats can teach us to be alone without being lonely, to trust in our own senses and that true power and stength can be found in silence.

artwork by Linda Matusich © 1993

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Coyote (Canis latrans)
Model: PJ-30
$11
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Tough and wiry, with keen senses and a quick wit, the coyote is an amazingly adaptive animal. Despite efforts to exterminate the coyote, it has steadily extended its range throughout much of the US as well as Canada as it moved off its native prairies in the late 19th century.

Native American lore about the coyote is plentiful. There is always hidden wisdom surrounding the coyote; but it is not straightforward as the coyote is a trickster and is associated with magic. In legends, coyotes often look for ways to do things that do not involve the use of their own skill; always looking for shortcuts, often making things more complicated than they need to be.

The coyote shows us the balance of wisdom and folly and reminds us that anything is possible.

artwork by Steve Sierigk © 2001

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Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus)
Model: PJ-31
$11
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At ease with the brutal arctic cold, the unending winter darkness, and the crushing ice pack, the polar bear rules in dignity. A creature of myth and mystery…to the Eskimos these bears were shamans in touch with the spirit world. Golden hued in the slanting light of the polar sun, who would seem more sovereign than the Ice Bear? Possessed of power and prowess and mammal warmth, resembling us humans, wrapped in rich robes, and commanding our respect like ancestors, these bears populate many an arctic tale. Gentlest of all the bears, they were a companion of kings, and lived as mascots in palaces from the days of Pharaohs and on through the Middle Ages.

Polar bears often weigh a half ton or more and approach 5 feet high at the shoulders. Their paws are a foot wide, enabling them to snowshoe across the arctic or paddle frigid waters. Polar bears are good swimmers and can go nonstop for hundreds of miles. Bold and beautiful, they have large flowing muscles and are ready for instant action. They can leap across great fissures and can scale walls of ice that tower above them. Their food of choice is seal, which they hunt by waiting at the seals’ breathing holes in the ice. Polar bears probably taught the Eskimos how to hunt seal.

But for all their dignity, polar bears are fond of a good time; mischief seems to be a part of their makeup. They are rarely hurried, they appear to pause and consider.

artwork by Linda Matusich © 1994

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Siberian Iris
Model: PJ-32
$11
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There are about 1,800 species in the Iris family which includes crocuses, irises, and tiger flowers. They are characterized by long, narrow swordlike leaves. The roots are generally rhizomatous but a few species are bulbous. They generally bloom from spring to early summer. Irises are easily propagated by dividing or cutting the rhizomes in late summer or by separating the offsets from the bulbous types.

The Siberian Iris, pictured here, is a native of central Europe and Russia. It is extremely hardy, easy to cultivate and long-lived. The flowers can be white, blue or purple, and are more delicate than bearded irises. They can grow from 18-36" tall.

Historically, irises have been grown by the Greeks, the Romans, and the Egyptians. The roots was valued for its medicinal qualities as well as in perfumes. In ancient times, perfumes were used as offerings to the gods. Iris root thrown on a fire gives off a very pleasant scent.

Today the iris is symbolic of higher inspiration and psychic purity.
artwork by Valerie Hayes © 2002

text by Anne Trawick

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Black Bear (Ursus americanus)
Model: PJ-48
$11
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The black bear has one of the most extensive ranges of any big animal on the North American continent. Many subspecies exist; color phases alone suggest numerous gene pools, varying from totally black to pure white. Their habitat in the East is primarily forests and swamps; in the West, forests and wooded mountains.

This uniquely American bear is primarily nocturnal, but may also be seen during the day. They are generally solitary, except during the breeding season. A litter of 1-5 cubs are born in January-February, usually every other year.

Although bears are classified as carnivores, most of their diet consists of vegetation, including twigs, buds, leaves, nuts, roots, various fruits, berries and newly sprouted plants. In spring they may peel off tree bark to get at the inner cambium. Bears tear apart rotting logs for insects. Small to medium-sized mammals are also eaten. A powerful swimmer, they also readily catch fish. A bear’s walk is clumsy, but it can attain speeds of over 30 mph. They climb trees readily, either for protection or food.

The bear is a powerful symbol among Native Americans, appearing throughout mythology and legends. They teach us to awaken the power of the unconscious.

artwork by Irene Brady © 2003

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Mountain Lion (Felis concolor)
Model: PJ-54
$11
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Cougar, catamount, puma, panther, screamer– all are names given to this shy and elusive predator. Unable to roar, the puma is capable of an unimaginable, penetrating scream. Largest of the North American wild cats, a male can weigh over 200 pounds and measure 8’ from nose to tip of tail.

Mountain lions are remarkably adaptable to a wide range of habitats from Canada to South America including northern alpine forests, deserts, and tropical forests. They have keen eyesight and are amazingly fast; they can jump vertically up to 15’ and horizontally up to 40’! Formerly distributed throughout North America the mountain lion is now mostly found in remote areas of the western U.S. and western Canada and much of Mexico. A small population still exists in southern Florida where the species is considered endangered. Once hunted to near extinction, mountain lion populations are making a comeback.

Mountain lions are solitary creatures and are most active at dawn, dusk and at night when they roam their home area in search of prey. They commonly select deer as their prey of choice but also hunt wild hogs, raccoons, rabbits, porcupines, elk, bighorn sheep, rodents and birds. The secretive cougar prefers to ambush their prey often from behind.

Can we learn the lesson that this beautiful and unique predator has for us; balance?

artwork by Linda Matusich © 2002
text by Steve Sierigk

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Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis)
Model: PJ-76
$11
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Bighorn sheep are found in the Rocky Mountains from southern Canada to Colorado; a desert subspecies ranges from Nevada to California to west Texas and south into Mexico. Bighorns inhabit alpine meadows, grassy mountain slopes, and foothill country near rugged, rocky cliffs and bluffs. They climb cliff faces with amazing ease, using tiny ledges for footholds and bouncing from ledge to ledge over distances of up to 20 feet.

Bighorn sheep have compact muscular bodies. Males can be easily recognized by their massive horns which curl back over the ears. The females are smaller then the males and have shorter, smaller horns that never exceed half a curl.

Bighorns are renowned for the spectacular competition among males during the breeding season. Male dominance hierarchies are based on horn size; males with smaller horns are generally subservient to larger-horned males. Males with similarly sized horns battle amongst each other for breeding privileges. Facing each other from a distance they run towards each other with heads lowered, rearing up and crashing their heads together. Foreheads slam with a crack that can be heard for more than a mile.

Bighorn populations began to decline in the mid-1800’s at the time of heavy human settlement, partly due to degradation of habitat, development, road-building, water-management and recreational activities. Bighorns live in increasingly fragmented populations which make them more vulnerable.

artwork by Irene Brady © 2003

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Acorn Gnome
Model: PJ-16
$11
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The guardian spirits of the trees are called dryads or wood nymphs. These spirits protect the woods from harm and preserve the species they are inhabiting.

Dryads sometimes are seen as faces or figures appearing upon the tree’s bark. The oak tree dryad is a wizened, earthy spirit with a somewhat humorous appearance. They are in the roots of the tree as well as its branches. These spirits help us to feel unrestrained and elevated and to see that every problem has a solution!

You may sense their subtle communication if you are still and receptive. If you become aware of these subtle messages– do not try to find a rational explanation! But rather, listen, and let yourself open up to the wisdom of the trees.

artwork by Linda Matusich © 1998

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Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)
Model: PJ-07
$11
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The Red Fox is renowned among the members of the canine family. With keen eyesight, sharp hearing, and a powerful sense of smell, the red fox is graceful with a quiet and sometimes cat-like stalk.

Red foxes are nocturnal, using the cover of dusk, dark, or dawn as well as their camouflage to remain hidden. They are amazingly adaptable. Red foxes love edges– between cities and suburbs, beaches and dunes, and field and woodland.

People in many cultures have looked to the red fox for wisdom and inspiration. To have fox energy means to be aware, to know when to be out in the open and when to remain hidden and silent. You are most likely to see a fox slipping “betwixt and between” the edges of nature.

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