The Beauty of Whatcom County

          I have lived in a variety of places: born in Anchorage, grew up in Chicago and Iowa, law school in St. Louis, and then to Seattle.  More recently I moved to Whatcom County.  It is my favorite place to love.
         
           Eastern Whatcom County has wonderful mountains around three sides: South, East, and North.  One of those mountains is Mount Baker.  It is majestic and beautiful.  The native people of this area, the Lummis, call it Komo Kulshan.  There is a wonderful story about Komo Kulshan, of love and envy:  http://home.online.no/~arnfin/native/lore/leg268.htm

            A long journey south of them stands their mother, Clear Sky.
You know her as Mount Rainier, (seen in the 'Paramount' pictures at the end of movies, in the cinema!)

            There was a woman named Fair Maiden, who planted seeds and roots.  The seeds she planted there grew and spread, and that's why the lower slopes bloom with flowers of every color. Often on a clear day or night, the mountain dresses in sparkling white and looks with longing at Komo Kulshan and the mountain children near him.

             What I love most about Whatcom County is the abundance of green: trees, farms, blooming flowers and tall cedar.  It always stirs my heart.

Whatcom County and Komo Kulshan

              I love the place where I live:  in Whatcom County.  The mountains divide
the western county from the east.  And in the west is the bay.  There is lush green almost everywhere in Whatcom County.  When I drive through the county, I cannot help soaking up the beauty of the trees on the rolling hills. 

              One of the most prominent part of the scenery is Mount Baker.  It is the tallest of the mountains in our area.  There is always some snow on Mount Baker, although in the summer there isn't much. The volume of snow and ice on Mount Baker is greater than that of all the other Cascades volcanoes (except Rainier) combined. 

              Mount Baker, along with Shuksan, have a special place in the lore of the native people of this area.  also known as Koma Kulshan or simply Kulshan, is an active volcano.

              Komo Kulshan, a very tall and handsome young man, had two wives, as was the custom of his tribe. One was named Clear Sky; the other, Fair Maiden.  As you might guess, there was quarreling.  Eventually Clear Sky packed her bags and left.

               Fair Maiden became an island, and Kulshan, left with his children in the mountains of the Northwest coastal range, kept stretching upward, trying to see his wives. So did his children.

                The Three of them grew taller and taller and became high mountains. One is Shuksan, a little east of Kulshan and almost as tall. Some people say the others are Twin Sisters, a little west and south of Kulshan.

                 A long journey south of them stands their mother, Clear Sky.
You know her as Mount Rainier, (seen in the 'Paramount' pictures at the end of movies, in the cinema! )

                 The seeds and roots she planted there grew and spread, and that's why the lower slopes bloom with flowers of every color. Often on a clear day or night, the mountain dresses in sparkling white and looks with longing at Komo Kulshan and the mountain children near him.

Go to the Birds!

Why Birds?  I have had extraordinary experiences with birds. 

For example, a few years back I was feeding the birds around and in a large bush in front of my living room window.  I had been in the kitchen, and when I went to the living room, I saw a bird with a very long tail. It was sidewise to me, and then it turned directly towards me.  I caught the feeling of this bird, wanting food but unable to get at it because of it's long tail. 

I watched, and waited, and finally it did find a way to get out of the bush. 

In the aftermath, it felt important to see what kind of bird this was.  With help from an ornithologist (a bird specialist) I discovered this was a juvenile cormorant.  Now a cormorant is almost always found on the edge of the sea.  It eats fish.  So the food I had for the usual bird wouldn't have worked anyway.  I wonder still whether that juvenile bird found his way to the bay off the Pacific Ocean some few miles away.

More recently, I saw a juvenile Northern Harrier Hawk.  It was on the roof in a place that it was visible from where I was standing.  At first I didn't see much of it, and the back feathers were mostly grey, so I didn't think of it as unusual.  And then it flew.  The underbelly was mostly gold and some grey, and as the bird flew, I saw a round patch of white just at the base of the body.  I had never seen anything like it.  So I got out my Audubon book.  Nothing like it there.  But I wouldn't give up -- I went to Sibley, and quite quickly identified this beauty.  Sibley says the juvenile's gold/orange fades to whitish by spring.  Sibley also said the white rump is always obvious.  I also found that it is a rare occurrence, even though the Northern Harrier is widespread.

Finally, a hawk has been taking refuge in the trees, near to the suet.  I am not sure what kind of hawk, though I suspect it is a Swainson's Hawk.  My guess is that there is actually a pair, nesting in the Rhododendron.  Last year there was a pair of Starlings nesting in a large, 10 foot stump.  There was a hole just enough for the birds to get into it. 

There are lots of usual birds: right at this moment there is a flicker feeding at the suet cage.  There are Finches, Juncos, Chickadees, Sparrows and a Stellar Jay.  I love them all!

The Day After

I had an interesting phone call yesterday evening - a young woman wanted to convince me to vote for same sex marriage.  It was late in the evening, but she was determined.  I told her I had voted a week before, and that I did vote yes on same sex marriage.  I told her I think it is essential.  It is really way past time.

I have friends who are devoted to their partners.  Two women friends have been together for more than twenty years.  They created their own wedding in a park.  I was in the wedding party. The brides were ecstatic.  Some years later they went to Canada:  July 20, 2005, Canada became the fourth country in the world and the first country in the Americas to legalize same-sex marriage.

My friends had moved to California, and then the same sex marriage became law there.  The period of granting such licenses began on June 16, 2008, due to a ruling by the Supreme Court of California based on an equal protection argument and ended November 5, 2008, due to the passage of Proposition 8, an amendment to the California Constitution that limited marriages to those between one man and one woman.

Before the passage of Proposition 8, California was only the second state to allow same-sex marriage. Marriages granted by any civil entity, foreign or otherwise, anytime before the passage of Proposition 8 remained legally recognized and retained full state-level marriage rights. Subsequent state legislation established that any same-sex marriages granted by other jurisdictions after the passage of Proposition 8 retain the state rights that come with marriage, except for the legal term "marriage" itself.

Perry v. Brown (formerly Perry v. Schwarzenegger), 671 F.3d 1052, is a case decided by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on February 7, 2012. A three judge appellate panel of the Ninth Circuit held that California's Proposition 8, a 2008 ballot initiative  that amended the state constitution state constitution to restrict marriage to opposite-sex couples, was declared unconstitutional. 

This was an historic decision, which opened the way for states to allow same sex marriages.  For me it was important because of my friends, male and female, who are in a same sex union.  The two women I have mentioned went through everything they could in order to be legally married.  There are many challenges for same sex partners who do not have a legal right as married partners.  One of the most basic is part of the usual marriage verbiage: in sickness and in health.  I know some same sex partners who were not even allowed in the hospital room when their beloved were sick or even dying.  Think about it -- it is heartbreaking.

So YES, it is essential!

Perelandra

I first heard of Perelandra in the mid 80's, when I visited a friend.  I wasn't up to par, and she suggested I do a "coning".  MAP is the name of program: Medical Assistance Program, and a coning is a connection with nature: the devas and Pan; and with the human side: the White Brotherhood, and with my own soul. The Great White Brotherhood is a spiritual order, an organization of Ascended Masters united for the highest purposes of God on Earth.

My friend had me read the process, and I settled in comfortably on the sofa.  Immediately when I asked, I saw symbols for my White Brotherhood personal MAP team and my team for helping others.  The symbols for my teams were so perfect for me: a bear for my personal work, and a momma bear herding her babies for working with others.  I was born in Alaska, and bear has been my healing ally, with me all my life.

Later, the same friend was learning to work with flower essences, and I was a guinea pig.  She would put together a flower essence combination for me, and I would take it for a couple of weeks.  Often when I came back to tell what happened, I thought nothing had happened.  Then she would read what I had described that I wanted to work on. And the issue had been resolved, usually with such ease I hardly noticed that anything was different. 

An intuitive friend told me I would make my own essences, and I scoffed at that.   Then, in 1992, I moved to the country.  There was large back yard, and lots of well composted horse manure. My housemate had the garden workbook, but wasn't using it and gave it to me.  So  I made a garden with the help of the devas and nature spirits.  When flowers filled the garden,  I thought it was a great idea to make essences. One day when I was in the garden making essences, I called the friend who foretold that I would make essences.

A few years later a friend gave me the entire sets of Perelandra essences, along with the books!  And, you guessed it,  off I went again to work with conings of all kinds.  I have used conings for myself and for others.  I also use a coning to do almost anything difficult, important, or new to me.  It always makes anything easier.

I am SOOO grateful: for Perelandra, and for all the people who helped along the way.  I suggest you check it out at www.perelandra-ltd.com/

Hair!

 My grandmothers were such a wonderful, profound part of my life.  They always loved me, and they taught me a lot.  But some of our time together was very special.  I remember one summer when I was about three years old my Mom was busy with something, and hadn't the money or space to hire a full-time nanny.  So I spent half the the summer with each of my grandmothers.

My Dad's Mother was in Wisconsin Dells.  Most of my cousins were living in this summer resort.  I was in the middle of the cousins age-wise.  Grandma Kimball, my Dad's Mom, would pick berries and I ate as many as I could.  In later years I would pick along side her.  She picked at least twice as fast as I was, even when I was in college.

I remember that my Mom called her Mom "Ma" but my Mom wouldn't allow me to call her Ma!  Gramma Long lived in a very small village, and there was an outhouse.  It was a novelty, but not my favorite thing to use.  She cooked over a wood-fired iron cook-stove. And I can remember her skill.  She made donuts, which I had never had before that time.  There was a dog, and lots of cats.

My most vivid memory of that summer is about my hair.  I have lots of very thick, curly hair, even today.  Now, of course, it is short.  But until late in grade school it was mostly long.  My Mother would put it into ringlets after the weekly hair washing (I hated it!).  And each morning she brushed and tamed my hair into shape.  But the Grandmothers hadn't the practice that Mom had.  I don't remember how well, or not, they were at taming my mane.  But I am sure it was a challenge!

I had gone to camp the summer I was two.  My parents were teaching, and I was with a group of children of various ages. The counselors were very strict about keeping the children together, and not allowing them to sit with parents. We had meetings in a large tent, and I could see my Mom and Dad.  I escaped and went to sit with them, but someone came and got me.  I don't think I dared cry.

So . . . that week my hair went unbrushed.  My Dad tells me that he saw me with the group, my hair wild and tangled.  I don't remember what it took for Mom to get it back to shining orderly curls.

I also had an "Auntie."   Auntie Anna Esau wasn't really an aunt.  Though she was almost old enough to be a granny, she never married.  We had a wonderful friendship.  Anna adored me and I adored her.  Often people would stop and comment on how beautiful my hair was.  At the time I was less than five years old. I didn't know better when I went up to passersby and said, "Isn't my hair pretty?"  And, of course, they said yes, probably with a chuckle.  My Mom was mortified, but Anna just laughed and said, "She's just telling the truth!"

These days, I have a wonderful friend who has hair a lot like mine.  He has a hair salon, and tames the curls, now short, and makes them beautiful.  Thank you Ward Wicklund!

The Music of Ireland

Today I listened to the "Irish Priests", one of my Christmas favorites, even though it isn't really Christmas music.  Dad heard the music and asked for the CD to listen to, and we got into a discussion about Ireland.  I think my Irish blood is about 4 or 5 generations back.  My Irish ancestors were part of the Long clan.  My Grandfather on my Mother's side was Vern Long.

My Dad has been to Ireland and I haven't - yet.  He learned quite a bit about Ireland however, when he went there.  He told me about a book:  How the Irish Saved Civilization, by Thomas Cahill.  Cahill argues a case for the Irish people's critical role in preserving Western Civilization from utter destruction by the Huns and the Germanic tribes.  The Wikipedia entry is skeptical.  I would guess that there were many factors in European civilization, including the Irish monks toiling away at copying books. 

 We do know that Ireland has a long history of avoiding death as a penalty in any case.  We also know that St. Patrick brought Christianity, or to be precise, Catholicism, to Ireland.  Whether he got rid of the snakes is a very different question!  We also know that the Irish have music in their blood.  My Grandpa loved to sing, and it was one of the few ways of entertainment on the farm when my Mother was growing up.  Not so long before my Grandpa Long went to the nursing home, I went to where he lived, along with my Mother and her husband.  We all sang, even Grandpa.  It was quite wonderful.

No one can dispute the music and dancing of Ireland.  Both music and dance have been important for me as far back as I can remember.  I can't dance anymore in my arthritic body, but I can sing, and I do!  I love to hear beautiful music, especially if it is meaningful and/or fun.  And someday soon, I will visit Ireland in person.