Other men weave new cotton blankets and some of the boys are sent off to the south for more cotton. Cotton robes are not as warm as those made of feathers but they give added warmth when they are worn next to the skin under the feather blankets. When a feather blanket is old and worn some of the feather ends loosen and a cotton under-blanket is needed to prevent scratching. Deer and mountain sheep skins are tanned into soft white leather. By using bone awls and needles the women sew the skins together with yucca fiber or cotton string and make large robes. A few sleeveless slip-over buckskin jackets are made but most of the people prefer the loose robes. Yucca fiber sandals are worn throughout the year but in the winter grass and juniper bark are sometimes bound to the foot by the sandal lacings and extra warmth is provided. Short leggings, made from buckskin or woven of human hair, are often worn by the men when they leave the cave. As winter draws near and the threat of cold weather comes close the people check their clothing needs carefully. Each man, woman and child will need certain things so the weaving and sewing continue until everyone is well supplied. With the bountiful supplies of food, an abundance of fuel, and a good stock of clothing the people are able to face the dreary months of winter with less dread. They hate to see winter come for there will be suffering and sadness. But only winter can lead to spring so they must accept it. In the late fall, when the rush of harvest is over and the preparations for winter are well under way, the men begin to think of ceremonies. This is the season for the greatest ceremonial activity and the men are often busy carrying out the rituals that are prescribed by their elaborate ceremonial calendar. At almost any time of the year a ceremony of some kind is going on in Cliff Palace. It may be only a simple bit of ritual occupying a single medicine man or it may be an elaborate ceremony that occupies an entire religious society for many days. The priests of each society have a ceremonial calendar and as the seasons roll around they perform their ancient rituals. When, why and how those ceremonies originated they do not know. They learned them from their elders and they will pass them on to the younger men who will succeed them. Throughout the year many ceremonies are held but the important ceremonial season comes in the late fall and winter. The work of spring, summer and fall is over and the men now have ample time for the involved rituals that keep them in tune with the powers that control the universe. These powers, or gods, are many and varied and strangely, they are both good and bad. The effort of the priests, then, is to call upon the good gods to help the people and to influence the bad gods to leave them alone.